Top Songs in Sports

Today while listening to my iPod during my "workout" at the ESPN gym, one of my favorite songs came up, The Who's "Baba O'Riley". Roughly the first minute of that song is all instrumental and it just gives me chills each time I hear. Mainly it's because I associate it with being in Yankee Stadium on a brisk October night starring Aura & Mystique.

What that did was jog my memory of a list of other songs that I'll always associate with sports.

"Bro Hymn" by Pennywise - This song was written for in remembrance of a deceased member of the band. But when I hear it, I immediately think of the Flyers or Ducks scoring a goal at home. It's just a great song that has an awesome sing-song chant that's very catchy.

"We Will Rock You" by Queen - An easy one. I can't name one game I haven't been where I didn't hear this song. Even if it's just the easy stomp-stomp-clap. If you've done that, you've done your part to keep this song alive.

"Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project - What by who? If I said, "You know, the song the Chicago Bulls would use to announce their starting lineup to," then I think you might know what I am talking about. It's tough to not get pumped up when you hear that song. Plus it's the instrumental that leads into one of the more underrated songs of the early 1980s, "Eye in the Sky".

"Workaholic" by 2Unlimted - You might know them better for their hit song "Get Ready For This". But the reason why this song appears in the list is just for the first 10 seconds. It's played every time the Yankees score a run or when a road team takes a penalty at an Ottawa Senators home game.

"Right Now" by Van Halen - If that piano intro doesn't get you ready for a game, you might want to check your pulse. This is the essence of why Van Halen was BETTER with Sammy Hagar. If I ever made it to the Major Leagues or the softball team in our league that brings a boom box to the games, this would be the song I would come up to in my first at-bat. Arguably the best 5:21 in music history.

"Enter Sandman" by Metallica - There might not be a song that better describes why it's played in sports. Mariano Rivera comes in and 90 percent of the time at Yankee Stadium, it's been prophetic, the team he faces goes to sleep and the game ends. Just the mention of the first note has gotten 50,000+ people on their feet roughly 35 times a year at Yankee Stadium. Another classic

"Rock & Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter - For the moment, let's put aside the fact the performer of this song was convicted and imprisoned on child pornography charges. It's one of the most popular songs in any sports stadiums. I'd like to think one of my favorite teams indirectly helped bring it to light in sports. The song was reportedly first used in a sport stadium during Colorado Rockies games -- no, not the baseball team, but the hockey team that later became the New Jersey Devils. The New York Islanders used "Rock & Roll Part 1" when they scored a goal. After Glitter was arrested, the NFL asked teams to stop playing the song. I'll always associate it with the Minnesota North Stars as the song they played during their memorable run to the 1991 Stanley Cup Final

"Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation - Some people might think I just got the title and name of the performer reversed. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I don't know, I don't care. The Sport Chant remix is the most popular version that you'll hear at sports stadiums. The song gets over 100,000 people at Beaver Stadium to start bouncing up and down. But it's the song I hear when the Devils score a goal at their new home, the Prudential Center. It was also the song used after the Oilers goal horn during their run in the 2006 NHL playoffs.

Feel free to add or comment on your faves!