“Up The Irons” is a phrase I saw a lot during my 30 seconds of Iron Maiden research last week. What does it mean? I thought it had something to do with the heavy-metal devil-horn thing people do with their hands. Turns out it has to do with SOCCER, of course:

Iron Maiden frequently use the slogan “Up the Irons” in their disc liner notes, and the phrase can also be seen on several t-shirts officially licensed by the band. “The Irons” has been used to refer to the London football club, West Ham United, of which founder Steve Harris is a fan. Fans of Iron Maiden have been known to use the phrase as a greeting or sign-off to other Iron Maiden fans.

Why are British people so crazy, with their soccer and pints of beer and chanting and whatnot? This is how I knew not to be honestly scared of Iron Maiden when I was a kid, in spite of their scary album art: Because if they really were devil-worshipping sadists, would they really mention lager and soccer in their liner notes, and give everyone fifty nicknames?