When Did Bill Raftery Start Saying Onions?

March Madness is here and that means we’ll soon have cries of ONIONS! ringing through bars and living rooms across America. Bill Raftery, who has been calling games for CBS since 1983, is the one who will be shouting the beloved basketball catchphrase during the tournament, but where did it come from?

According to Ian Eagle, Raftery first used the phrase ONIONS during a November 1995 game between the New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic. Raftery confirmed that version of the story for Seth Davis during an interview in 2014.

Raftery also filed for trademarks for “onions” and “with a kiss” in 2014. Here’s how Eagle remembered the call for ESPN.

“I always thought I was pretty good at translating what Raftery was getting at,” Eagle said. “So Kevin Edwards hits a shot and he says, “Ohhh, onions!” We go to break and I say to him, ‘What was that? So good you had to cry?’ And Bill says to me, ‘No, big balls!'”

Edwards scored 21 that game, but the Nets ended up losing to the Magic, 130-122, in triple-overtime. Penny Hardaway had 42 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in 54 minutes.

Onions means everything. If Bill Raftery hits you or your team with an ONIONS! then someone just made a big shot. The veteran voice of the Final Four saves it for huge moments and it’s the last thing you want to hear if someone on the other team just scored.

Sometimes, it’s the last thing you hear before the confetti falls. Just know that it’s March (Except for the Final Four which is actually in April).