Originally posted by: starkiller
ric is correct. The expression comes from when the Fonz jumped over a tank of sharks with his motorcycle. It is generally accepted that after that time the show went downhill after that point.

You're mixing up two episodes here. Actually, in that episode, they were on vacation somewhere and he got on waterskis with shorts on and of course, his leather jacket. So, he jumps over a big area of sharks with the waterskisskis and everyone cheers for him. A lot of viewers who saw this episode thought that this stunt was silly, and not something his character would do.

The episode with the motorcyle was where he decided to jump over 14 motorcycles with his street bike at Al's. After a big build up, he eventually crashed his motorcyle. However, the viewers of that two-part episode generally considered that stunt something he would do.

And I don't know how I remember this.