Today we got a wonderful piece of sports news! Hank Williams, Jr. and all his rowdy friends are returning to Monday Night Football! That song became an iconic part of the NFL's signature franchise and it's definitely been missed on ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcasts since they stopped airing it midway through the 2011 season.
When NBC launched Sunday Night Football, they accomplished something similar with their version of Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself For Loving You," which has since been replaced by Carrie Underwood's "Something Bad." (Since I didn't know the actual lyrics to "Something Bad," I sang the Sunday Night Football version when I went to the Carrie Underwood concert in October.) And they have Pentatonix singing a Thursday night theme now, too. But neither is as connected to football as Hank Williams, Jr.'s song is to Monday nights (I'm talking classic Monday Night Football, too, with Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf).
There are a number of songs that are instantly associated with sports, and I'm not just talking about the Monday Night Football song. The most obvious example is "New York, New York" at the end of Yankees games, but there are plenty of others. In fact, legendary Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is so synonymous with "Enter Sandman" that he might as well be a member of Metallica. They even played it across town at Citi Field when he entered his final All-Star Game in 2013.
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is played at every ballpark, but Wrigley Field is where the song is most famous. It started with Harry Caray, and the tradition has since been continued with various celebrities that are Cubs fans singing it at each game. Meanwhile, in the eighth inning at Fenway Park, Red Sox fans sing "Sweet Caroline." And at the end of Dodgers victories, it's to the sound of "I Love L.A."
Chicago's hockey team has the best goal song in the NHL. Whenever I hear "Chelsea Dagger," wherever it is, my head immediatley goes to "Blackhawks goal scored by..." It's probably going to be like that whenever I hear Tim McGraw's "I Like It, I Love It" now, too. That's the perfect goal song for Nashville, which is really the only place it would work (Shania Twain's "That Don't Impress Me Much" for when the visitors score?). The Predators have a different tradition with the national anthem. There are so many country music stars in the city that they have a different one sing it at every game.
A different anthem singer at every game isn't that uncommon. Except in the NHL, most teams have their own anthem singer, and they're just as recognizable as any of the players on that team. The Kings have Pia Toscano from American Idol. For the Rangers, it's John Amirante. Jim Cornielson in Chicago is perhaps the best in the business. And in Philadelphia, where Kate Smith sang "God Bless America" for years, they start with her on video before their current anthem singer, Lauren Hart, takes over and does the rest.
The month of May always brings two sporting events that are ingrained in American culture--the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500. And each has its signature song. The month starts with the singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" as the horses march from the paddock to the track. Then you get the Preakness with the Naval Academy's choir singing "Maryland, My Maryland." Then on Memorial Day weekend is the Indianapolis 500, where "Back Home Again In Indiana" was performed by Jim Nabors for years.
For the last 30 years, CBS/TBS has played "One Shining Moment" at the conclusion of the NCAA Championship Game. The tournament isn't over until "The ball is tipped..." It went from the original version to the Luther Vandross version which is probably the most recognizable one. CBS had Jennifer Hudson do it in 2010, and her version was so bad that they switched back to Luther the next year. Some traditions you just don't mess with!
Heading back to the NFL, there are a bunch of teams that have their own anthem, none of which is more famous than Washington's "Hail to the Redskins!" Philadelphia's "Fly Eagles Fly" has also become pretty well-known, while the Bills have made "Shout!" their own. And, of course, they play "When the Saints Go Marching In" in New Orleans because, well, what other song would they play?
Movies have long been associated with particular songs, and that's no different with sports movies. You hear "Eye of the Tiger," you immediately think Rocky (even though that song was actually from Rocky III). Chariots of Fire had its iconic Academy Award-winning original score, and Madonna's "This Used to Be My Playground" brings you right to A League of Their Own. Even Aerosmith's "Dream On," which was already a pretty famous song, got that instant association when they played it over the credits in Miracle.
Likewise, Ravel's "Bolero" will forever be associated with Torvill & Dean and that iconic performance at the Sarajevo Olympics. Just like Katarina Witt's performance to "Carmen" four years later in Calgary.
It's not just figure skating, either. For a while, NBC capped its coverage by playing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" over Olympic highlights at the end of the Closing Ceremony. To be honest, I'm not really sure why they stopped doing that.
I do know why ESPN stopped using "All My Rowdy Friends" for Monday Night Football in the middle of the 2011 season. It's because Hank Williams, Jr. made some controversial comments about President Obama. But Monday Night Football hasn't been the same without it. It was about time for it to come back.
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