Bobby Moore (OBE) lifts the World Cup in 1966 after England beats West Germany 4-2 in extra time.
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
— A. E. Housman, "To an Athlete Dying Young"
It's always great to win or otherwise come out on top. The feeling one has is that of joy, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. It's even better when others share in the winner's joy. They can cheer, laugh, applaud, embrace them, or even shower them in a drink. Lifting them up can also be done.
This makes the victory even better, as not only are others happy for the winner, but they also accept them and have that sense of support to physically lift them up. The winner can also trust that they can carry them. Of course, it may always be a fake-out ploy to attack them, or more hilariously, either the crowd of the victor can't hold them up (they may be too heavy or the crowd is too weak). Sometimes it's not the whole crowd lifting the victor up, but just one particularly strong person or The Big Guy of the team while the crowd surrounds them and cheers.
A Sister Trope of Victory Pose and Celebratory Body Tossing. Related to Crowd Surfing, Bridal Carry, Twirl of Love, and Hoist Hero over Head. Can overlap with Forgot to Mind Their Head. See Team Hand-Stack, Group Hug, and Drench Celebration for another team activity done after or before a victory.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- My Love Story!!: Played for Laughs, twice, in one episode. Takeo Gouda, much admired by his male classmates, is trying to tell his friends about a mixer they're invited to. He starts by announcing that he now has a girlfriend, and his guy friends are so ecstatic for him that they attempt to hoist him into the air and catch him to celebrate, but he's so large and heavy, they drop him. Later in the episode, after Takeo rescues two of the girls from inside a burning building then escapes himself after hearing his girlfriend's anguished cries over the phone, his buddies once again attempt to hoist him up, with the exact same results.
Comic Books
- Sonic Boom (Archie Comics): In Issue #5, after Team Sonic destroys Eggman’s robots who were attacking the villagers, the grateful villagers cheer for the heroes and carry them away. Eggman sadly watches and asks why the villagers never carry him on their shoulders.
Films — Animated
- Hercules (1997): In one scene of the movie, Hercules fights the Hydra, which is a monster unleashed by Hades and grows a new head each time Hercules cuts one off. After defeating the Hydra by causing a bunch of boulders to fall on the monster, crushing it to death, the cheering citizens of Thebes hoist Hercules onto their shoulders and carry him away when it's revealed he's still alive.
- How to Train Your Dragon (2010): After Hiccup "wins" the penultimate test before the final one where the "lucky winner" gets to kill their first dragon, and is chosen over Astrid for it, everyone cheers and Fishlegs, who's physically the largest out of Gobber's students, lifts him on his shoulders. Only two people aren't happy with the outcome: Astrid who's furious with Hiccup outshining her and who gives him a Death Glare, and Hiccup himself ironically enough, given how he's recently learned that dragons aren't the Always Chaotic Evil monsters that his people have always viewed them as. To avoid having to kill the dragon, Hiccup decides to run away with Toothless, the dragon he's befriended in the next scene.
- Inside Out: As Sadness tells Joy, Riley once missed the winning shot in one of her hockey team's playoff games. She felt horrible and went to the tree in her backyard to be alone. Her parents came to comfort her, and she found that the whole team had come over. They hoisted her over their heads and cheered her name, letting Riley know that they still loved her despite an honest mistake.
- Meet the Robinsons: After Lewis learns that Goob fell asleep during a big baseball game (which caused the downward spiral that ruined his life), Lewis stops by the game and shouts at Goob, waking him up. This allows him to make the winning catch. His baseball team celebrates with him and carries him off the field.
- Monsters University: Sulley lifts up Mike after the latter catches Archie, the mascot of their rival university. Unfortunately, everyone else thinks Sulley did most of the work and he takes credit of the incident.
- Peanuts:
- The Peanuts Movie: Not an official contest, but a lifelong challenge that The Hero has been attempting to overcome. Charlie Brown is lifted by his friends to cap off the film after he succeeds in talking with the Little Red-haired Girl.
- A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Charlie Brown's friends lift him up to celebrate his winning the school spelling bee.
Films — Live-Action
- BASEketball plays it for laughs, as resident Butt-Monkey Squeak is hit by the billboard while celebrating the Milwaukee Beers climactic victory at the end of the movie.
- Hook: When Jack hits a home run, the pirates hoist him on their shoulders and parade him around.
- The Knowledge: Downplayed, when Ted passes the Knowledge, and is ecstatic with glee. After persuading him to have a celebratory drink with them, Chris and Gordon flank Ted and lift him by his shoulders as they lead him to the bar, so that Ted's feet are waving in the air.
- A League of Their Own: When Kit scores her World Series-winning home run, the rest of the Racine Bells carry her on their shoulders while the crowd chants her name.
- The Phantom Menace: Qui-Gon Jinn proceeded to lift Anakin Skywalker onto his shoulder after Anakin had won the Boonta Eve Classic podrace.
- Rudy: At the end, when Rudy finally gets to play in a game, the team's already ahead and would have won if Rudy played or not. That said, they still treat him like the game's MVP and carry Rudy off the field while cheering his name.
Literature
- The Berenstain Bears Big Chapter Books: Done more than once throughout the series.
- The Berenstain Bears and the Nerdy Nephew: At the end of the book, after the Bear Country Cousins defeat the Bruin City Bulldogs in a big football game, the team tries to lift Too-Tall (who made the winning touchdown) onto their shoulders to celebrate. Too-Tall, however, won't let them — he instead gets Ferdy Factual, who came up with their winning strategy, onto the field, and has the team carry him in celebration.
- The Berenstain Bears and the Female Fullback: After the Bear Country Cousins defeat the Beartown Bullies in a big football game, the team tries to lift Coach Grizzmeyer into their shoulders into celebration, but have trouble doing so until Bertha Broom, the titular Female Fullback, moves in and helps out so they can carry him off the field.
- The Berenstain Bears and the Wheelchair Commando: The cover shows a group of cubs carrying Harry McGill, wheelchair and all, on their shoulders — presumably to celebrate his victory over Too-Tall in a one-on-one round of Wheelchair Basketball in the last chapter. Within the book though, no such lifting occurs, as the other cubs merely stand by Harry after his victory.
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: When Ron unexpectedly wins the Quidditch match, he is paraded high in the air on the shoulders of his team. When they arrive at the castle entrance, nobody wants to put him down, and there is a scrum at the door, and his head gets bumped on the lintel.
- In The Last Continent, the people of Fourecks hoist up the faculty wizards and carry them through the streets, to celebrate them bringing rain to the continent. (They actually didn't, but they're more than happy to revel in the praise.)
Live-Action TV
- Odd Squad:
- In "Bad Luck Bears", Olive is lifted up by her teammates when she ends up winning the game for the Burly Bears. She also gets soaked head-to-toe in water.
- In "Now You Don't See Me", Olive is lifted up by the entirety of Precinct 13579 and carried back to Headquarters after she confronts Odd Todd and he pulls a Villain: Exit, Stage Left, though since the agents are all invisible, it makes it look like she's floating in midair.
- Frasier: In "Coots and Ladders", after Niles manages to put the medal back where it belongs, Frasier decides to hoist him onto his shoulders as he proudly declares that Niles has conquered his arachnophobia, agorophobia, and acrophobia all in one go. The two brothers then make a hasty exit, only for Niles to get a good smack to the head as Frasier remarks that he should have ducked so Niles wouldn't hit the overhang.
- Married... with Children: In "Poke High", cheerleader Kelly grows obsessed with the star quarterback and deliberately trips him before making the winning pass to get his attention, costing Polk High the game and gaining the ire of the crowd and school, save for the opposing team, who joyfully lift her up and carry her on their shoulders to a booing audience.
Music
- The cover of Robbie Williams' album Sing When You're Winning has him in a football uniform at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea's home stadium) being hoisted in such a manner, symbolizing how Williams was at the height of his imperial phase as a pop star such that he could credibly compare himself to the players on a triumphant football team.
Poetry
- A. E. Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young" contrasts the narrator's memories of the townsfolk carrying the victorious athlete home on their shoulders with the funerary procession carrying his coffin.
Professional Wrestling
- When Mick Foley defeated The Rock to win his first WWF/E World Championship, D-Generation X lifted him on their shoulders while Michael Cole listed off all the hardships Foley endured in his career.
- After Kurt Angle defeated "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for the WWE World Championship at that year's Unforgiven PPV (in front of his hometown crowd of Pittsburgh, no less), his family came into the ring to celebrate where they lifted him onto their shoulders. It remains one of the more iconic moments from Kurt's career.
- After Randy Orton defended the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw, the rest of Evolution celebrated and Batista lifted him onto his shoulders. Unfortunately for him, it was a trap so his teammates could beat him up and kick him out of the group due to jealousy.
- A similar thing occurred at the 2005 edition of Survivor Series when Randy Orton won the event's titular match type for Team SmackDown and the other members of the WWE SmackDown roster hoisted him up on their shoulders. Unfortunately, the celebration was interrupted by The Undertaker returning from the grave after being defeated in a casket match and burned by Randy and Bob Orton Jr. a month before at No Mercy.
- After Dean Ambrose successfully defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against his former Shield brothers Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at Battleground 2016, the entire SmackDown roster, including Shane McMahon, came to the ring and lifted Ambrose up as his victory meant that the title would stay on SmackDown. Had Rollins or Reigns won the match, then the title would've been taken to Monday Night Raw.
Video Games
- In the online game Oriental Flirting Game, you play a girl in a pink kimono running through a Japanese festival, trying to make as many guys as possible fall in love with her before time runs out. The ending screen depends on the number of guys you get; there are endings where they carry her in a palanquin, row her in a dragon-shaped boat, or celebrate with her on top of a giant tower. If you didn't get any guys, the ending screen shows her walking home sadly by herself while melancholy music plays.
- In the Wii version of Punch-Out!!, Doc Louis will do this to Little Mac whenever he wins a title belt. He also hoists Mac's arm up in one of his victory animations in the Super Smash Bros. series.
- Sabres of Infinity: Can happen at least once during the war in Antar that takes place in "Sabres of Infinity" and "Guns of Infinity", if the player's soldiers have high enough loyalty. Despite otherwise being expected to maintain a Stiff Upper Lip, the narration notes that such a genuine display of admiration, respect, even love is enough to move him.
Web Animation
Western Animation
- Arthur: Inverted; The Teaser for "Arthur and the Big Riddle" opens with Arthur's friends cheering him and hoisting him for losing. It turns out that Arthur chose not to answer a question he knew on a game show, fearing he'd be stuck on it eternally, and instead took the runner-up prize of a year's supply of chocolate.
- Captain Flamingo:
- Happens near the end of "The Even Greater Escape", where Meghan was hoisted up and cheered after her great hockey efforts lead to Milo's hockey team winning the championship against Wendell's team.
- Happens at the end of "Everybody Was Tofu Fighting", where the children cheering and hoisting the Captain for his heroic efforts regarding The Nugget and the Vegetable Medley mascots becoming a great combo for the Dairy Monarch restaurant and becoming great pals.
- Lambert the Sheepish Lion: The sheep carry Lambert in this way after he defeats the wolf that threatened their flock.
- The Little Rascals: At the end of "Beauty Queen for a Day", the boys do this to Darla after making her an honorary member of the He-Man Woman Haters' Club.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
- In "Sisterhooves Social", after Berry Punch and her little sister, Piña Colada, win the race at the titular Sisterhooves Social and the blue ribbons, they're carried away by a crowd of cheering attendees.
- In "Brotherhooves Social", Apple Bloom wants to participate in the Sisterhooves Social, but since Applejack is out of town at the moment, Big Mac puts on a dress, makeup, and a blonde wig and pretends to be Apple Bloom’s long-lost cousin, "Orchard Blossom", so they can compete together. In the end, Big Mac and Apple Bloom win thanks to Big Mac bashing the other competitors out of their way, and Big Mac lifts Apple Bloom in the air and cheers. However, they then get disqualified for Big Mac’s needlessly aggressive behavior, so Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo (who finished second) win by default. The other competitors then cheer for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo and carry them away.
- The Owl House: In "Enchanting Grom Fright", after defeating the Grom, Luz and Amity are lifted by the students of Hexside on their way back to the school; they also lift King as well, as appreciation for his commentary on the fight.
King: They love me!
- The Powerpuff Girls (1998): In "Beat Your Greens", after the Broccoloids are defeated and Townsville is saved, all the kids are cheering. Buttercup is tossing two children in the air, while two other children are tossing Bubbles up and down.
- In the Schoolhouse Rock! short "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College", the candidate who wins the U.S. Presidency gets lifted up by the public like this.
- The Simpsons:
- In "Homer at the Bat", after Homer forces in the winning run of the softball tournament when he's hit by a pitch, his fellow power plant employees/teammates parade his unconscious body around in celebration.
- In "Bart Star", after Bart's football team wins, the boys briefly lift up coach Homer before dropping him due to his weight.
- In "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", Abe quits his Krusty Burger job, to his and the rest of the disgruntled senior citizens' delight, and they lift him up in victory...only to immediately drop him due to being seniors.
- Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM): In "Cry of the Wolf", Sonic destroys Robotnik’s Doomsday Pod by luring it into a field of storm clouds, where it got hit by a lightning bolt and disintegrated. The Wolf Pack then cheers for Sonic and starts tossing him in the air and catching him.
- SpongeBob SquarePants:
- In "F.U.N.", after foiling Plankton's latest scheme, SpongeBob is hoisted aloft by the townspeople, who proceed to toss him into the air while singing his praises. SpongeBob is too busy wondering whether Plankton can be redeemed to enjoy the moment, and the song anticlimactically peters out as the townspeople lose interest.
- Subverted at the end of "The Chaperone". At the conclusion of their dance, SpongeBob and Pearl are picked up and carried aloft by the other promgoers, prompting them to exclaim, "They love us!" In actuality, their dance resulted in untold amount of carnage, and the angry promgoers carry them out of the venue and unceremoniously dump them on the sidewalk.
Promgoer: Go wreck someone else's prom, will you?
- Total Drama:
- In "Dodgebrawl", Harold beats Owen in the last round of the dodgeball challenge and is carried on DJ's shoulder, surrounded by the triumphant Killer Bass.
Duncan: Nice dodge, skater nerd.
- In "Basic Straining", Gwen wins the boot camp challenge for the Screaming Gophers by lasting the longest while dangling upside down from a tree. Owen carries her on his shoulder while the Screaming Gophers cheer.
- In "Dodgebrawl", Harold beats Owen in the last round of the dodgeball challenge and is carried on DJ's shoulder, surrounded by the triumphant Killer Bass.
Real Life
- One of the most iconic images from England's victory at the 1966 FIFA World Cup is captain Bobby Moore being held aloft on the shoulders of Geoff Hurst and Ray Wilson, the Jules Rimet Trophy held aloft in his right hand. The image became the standard issue stamp for the Royal Mail over the following year.
- One of the more bizarre moments in the FA Cup's history came after Arsenal won the 1992/93 League Cup; striker Steve Morrow fell from his teammate's shoulders and sustained a broken arm, punnily encapsulated by the headline "Joy Today, But Sorrow To Morrow."
- Similarly, Diego Maradona being lifted by his teammates after kissing the World Cup as a result of Argentina's coronation in Mexico 1986 is as iconic.
- After the Miami Dolphins won Super Bowl VII to complete their perfect season (the first and only undefeated and untied season in NFL history), Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti and little-used backup guard Al Jenkins picked up and carried head coach Don Shula off the field in celebration. The moment would be immortalized with a statue that now sits outside the Dolphins' home stadium.
- Another iconic example is the one of Oakland Raiders coach, John Madden, after winning Super Bowl XI. Several times it was used to remember his pass as Coach in the NFL, and was widely used after his death in 2023, specially in a special cover for Madden NFL 23.
- In the late 90's, when the New York Yankees two Davids, Cone and Wells, threw a Perfect Game each, they were carried off the field afterwards.
- Is a common scene in bullfighting after the matador made a good fight, he is prized by being carried by his fans out of the arena.