They think it's all over

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This article is about the quotation. For the TV series, see They Think It's All Over (TV series).

They think it's all over is a well known quotation popular in England. It is taken from Kenneth Wolstenholme's BBC TV commentary in the closing moments of the 1966 World Cup, where England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time to win the FIFA World Cup.

Transcribed, the quotation is:

And here comes Hurst! He's got...

(Wolstenholme's attention is diverted by some of the crowd spilling onto the pitch)

Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over!

(Geoff Hurst scores to put England two goals ahead)

It is now! It's four!

ITV's commentary for the match as the final concluded with "It's four! It's four!" is not quite as notable, as per the BBC's dominance of the British media at the time.

The fourth goal was allowed to stand, although it was scored as a pitch invasion was in progress. The laws of the game clearly state that in such circumstances, the game has to be stopped because of outside interference of any kind [1].

[edit] In pop culture

The phrase, along with other calls from English football matches, appears in New Order's song "World In Motion". The British band The Dentists called their first album Some People are on the Pitch They Think It's All Over It Is Now in Wolstenholme's honour; the LP begins with a sample of Wolstenholme's original commentary. Track #3 on british folk metal act Skyclad's EP Jig-a-Jig is called "They Think It's All Over". The song contains the phrase "They think it's all over. Well is it now?" in its chorus and includes several references to the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

The quotation was also used as the title of the BBC's satirical sports quiz show They Think It's All Over, which has appeared on BBC One since 1995. The show has heightened the popularity of the phrase in recent years, though Kenneth Wolstenholme was reportedly unhappy with the use of the phrase for the title of the show.