They think it's all over is a catch phrase popular in England. It derives from Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous commentary in the closing moments of the final of the 1966 World Cup - "Some people are on the pitch (The crowd is spilling onto the pitch)... they think it's all over (Geoff Hurst scores to put England two goals ahead)... IT IS NOW!". England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time to become world champions.

The phrase, along with other calls from English football matches, appears in New Order's song "World in Motion".

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They Think It's All Over (1995-) is also the name of a British satirical game show with a sporting theme shown on BBC 1. The show's name is taken from the catchphrase and the show has heightened the popularity of the phrase. The show is presented by comedian Nick Hancock. Ex-England football team captain Gary Lineker and ex-England cricket team captain David Gower were the show's team captains from 1995 until they announced their retirement from the show in 2003. They were replaced as team captains by ex-England football goalkeeper David Seaman and ex-England cricketer Phil Tufnell. Former footballer Ian Wright took over from David Seaman in autumn 2004. Team regulars have also included comedians Rory McGrath, Lee Hurst and Jonathan Ross.

One of the popular rounds of the quiz is a section called Feel the Sportsman in which the team captains have to try to guess the sporting field of a mystery guest by touch whilst blindfolded, and to try name him/her.

The show has been said to be the sporting equivalent of the BBC's similarly satirical news quiz Have I Got News For You. However the sports show style tends to be more laddish and crude than its news counterpart. The show was originally produced for BBC radio's Five Live station, where it was hosted by Des Lynam.

Kenneth Wolstenholme was reportedly unhappy with the use of the phrase for the title of the show.

See also A Question of Sport.

External link

UK Gameshows Page (http://www.ukgameshows.com/index.php)