In the era of 100,000 seat stadiums, fans that pay to see sporting events need to be entertained in between quarters, during timeouts and before the game.
That’s where music comes in.
Rocketing out of hundred pound plus speakers come the anthems that have made sports fans, players and coaches sing along, dance, chant and get pumped up.
Because of that, the songs become popularized; listeners don’t care who sings them, just that they do their job — entertain.
There are five sports anthems that stick out to be the best throughout the years.
They have stood the test of time and are still being blasted through stadium speakers to rile rowdy crowds and pump pure adrenaline through players’ veins.
5. The Final Countdown- Europe
This mid-80s hair band hit brought to us by rockers from across the pond is blared in stadiums everywhere.
A pre-game favorite to play before games start, the electronic sounds do as the song says and “countdown” to kickoffs, tip-offs and face offs in thousands of stadiums to this day.
The song was Europe’s only big hit, but it hit a chord with sports fans everywhere.
4. Lets Get it Started- The Black Eyed Peas
The song gained its popularity not only with sports fans, but with music listeners as well when it became the theme song for the 2004 NBA playoffs.
For the last five years, it has started games at high school, college and professional games all across the country.
The lyrics definitely make it a sensible choice to begin a game and its upbeat tempo energizes fans and players alike. It will remain a staple in stadiums for years to come.
3. We Will Rock You/We are the Champions- Queen
This quintessential sports anthem from Queen has spanned three decades of use as a stadium anthem.
It has withstood years of change in music and still can be heard after championship matches in dozens of sports.
The declarative dual-song combo that everybody can sing along too makes it immortal in sports anthem lore.
2. Kernkraft 400 (stadium chant remix) - Zombie Nation
A relative newcomer to stadium anthems is 1999’s Kernkraft 400 from German techno band Zombie Nation.
The song was remixed to specially appeal to large crowds of screaming fans to chant along with the intoxicating beat.
Lots of fans will recognize the song, but will have no idea who it is by or what it is called.
It is played most notably at Pittsburgh Steelers games, but it is also used at SCSU football and hockey games.
The chant gives energy to a raucous crowd and therefore is an anthem that has stuck.
1. Rock and Roll Pt. 2 (The Hey Song) - Gary Glitter
The best of the best when it comes to stadium anthems, Gary Glitter (creepy as he is) struck gold with this song in 1972.
Nearly 40 years after being written, it is still played by high school pep bands, stadium speakers and post-goals at Husky hockey games.
The simple beat and the crescendo have kept this song around, but as a second part, one wonders occasionally what happened to Rock and Roll Pt. 1? The chant in the song is so easy to do even Roseanne Barr could not screw it up.
Therefore, it is the greatest sports anthem ever to grace a fan’s, player’s, coach’s or referee’s presence.
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