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 of the crowd are on the pitch... they think it's all over [ Geoff Hurst scores the winning goal for England ]... 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".
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. Team regulars have also included comedians Rory McGrath, Lee Hurst and Jonathan Ross. In May 2003, Talkback Productions, the producers of the show, announced that Phil Tufnell is to be a team captain for the series starting in August.
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 5 Live station.
