10 Baltimore Sports SongsAs is obvious, I like lists. Recently I thinking about music that is played at sporting events and aside from the stadium standards (or "jock jams" if you must) and a rotation of current music there have been songs that have a certain attachment to my personal Baltimore sports experience. This is list in chronological order because to rank them would be comparing apple to oranges. It covers the timeframe of my personal experience which would start in 1979, even though I did not attend a sporting event in Baltimore in person until August of 1981.Thank God I'm a Country Boy - John DenverHow can not this be on the list? This is the theme of every Orioles fan since the glory days of the late 70’s. To those old enough to have been there this song brings back the good times of 33rd Street, with Will Bill Hagy, and when O’s games where not an "entertainment experience" but a ballgame. Back then, the team played ball and the fans made their own fan in the stands to help the Orioles.
Downtown - Petula ClarkSome may ask why this song? It’s more of a Zen thing. This song was always part of the play list during the pre-game batting practice at Memorial Stadium. I heard this song countless times on the tinny speakers out beyond the center field wall, drifting in on warm summer breezes. I found out a couple of years ago that if you play this song with the treble turned all the way up, the bass turned all the way down, with the smell of fresh cut grass in the air, if you close your eyes you’ll almost swear that you are back in Memorial Stadium.
Celebration - Kool & The GangAny one who grew-up in the Baltimore of the early 80’s associates this song with Baltimore Blast. Yes, there was a time when going to see indoor soccer at the Civic Centre was a big attraction. But then again this was 80’s! I always wondered, whatever happened to Heinz Wirtz, "the cute vun". Thank goodness I was introduced to Skipjacks hockey soon after.
Union of the Snake - Duran DuranThis was the song that the Baltimore Skipjacks would take ice to in 1983-84. This was one of the best hockey teams Baltimore ever had. They were such a tight group that they would skate in single file and spiral at center ice like a snake coiling up before breaking formation to prepare for the game. This team was one the best Baltimore hockey teams ever chemistry-wise. The previous season they had come close to claiming the Calder Cup if it wasn’t for a young goalie for Fredericton named Patrick Roy!
Horse With No Name - AmericaOkay this one is a little retro, but in the two seasons that Baltimore was in the CFL in 1994-1995 NFL Properties had a problem with the team being named the Baltimore CFL Colts. So the name was taken away and until the Stallions name was approved, Horse With No Name was played once during the pre-game, sometime during a game break, and immediately after the game. It was the song that really reflected how Baltimore football fans felt during that period before the Ravens came to Baltimore. I actually miss the CFL games, they had an odd atmosphere that was a cross of the old Colts games and Orioles games before Camden Yards.
Boom Boom Boom - Outhere BrothersHe is the oddest of my selections. This song was popular during the Orioles post season runs in 1996 and 1997. The reason I picked it is because it seemed that every time they would play this song Rafael Palmeiro would do something spectacular. Even though it is a "stadium standard" this will always be to me the song that takes me back to those days.
C'mon N' Ride It (The Train) - Quad City DJ'sDuring the Ravens’ first year in Baltimore, this song seemed to be one that jacked the team up despite their 4 -12 record. Often after a really great play, they would be raisin’ the roof on the field while C'mon N' Ride It blasted though out the old house on 33rd Street. Whenever I hear it today, I just won’t stomp on those metal bleachers in the open end zone and celebrate having a team again.
Purple Haze - Jimi HendrixI would not be a true Baltimore Ravens fan if I did not pay homage to not only Jimi Hendrix but the song everyone associated with the team since the early days. This is the one song that truly bridges the both the 33rd Street era and the Camden Yards era. It’s a song that sounds good on tinny loudspeakers or state-of-the-art sound systems.
All Along The Watchtower - Jimi HendrixYou got to give Jimi his props and like Purple Haze this also sounds good no matter where you play it. But this one is real special to me since moving in to the new stadium. Why? Well any guy that goes to home games knows that this song is played during the first TV time out and you have to watch the side lines! ;-)
Hot In Here - NellyEver since the advent of the Ray-Ray pre-game dance, this is definitely a Baltimore sports song. Once you experience the Ray-Ray dance you are changed for life! It ‘s my belief that the Ray-Ray Dance can promote world peace and cure the ills of mankind if only everyone would embrace it! |
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