The much-talked-about The Last Dance chronicling the breakthroughs of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls naturally brought back to public consciousness that musical backdrop soundly associated to the six-time NBA champion. That bit was testament to the ingenuity of Alan Parsons Project—basically a recording combo built on progressive rock.
Titled “Sirius,” the mood-setting gem was a nearly two-minute instrumental passage segued to the conventional single “Eye In The Sky,” which lead singer Eric Woolfson vocally cut clean. It was packaged together as a single in 1982 as the lyric-less album intro eventually became popular for introducing the Bulls’ starting lineup during home games.
The memorable sound landscape led me to other arena anthems that gave sports fans ample excitement. White Stripes’ “Seven-Nation Army” provided Miami Heat supporters with a catchy riff to groove to while cheering for Wade and company.
Frontman Jack White initially saved his composition in case he’d be asked to do a James Bond theme. We now wonder how his riff would have impacted Bond’s legacy considering that he did an arguably inferior track with Alicia Keys for Quantum of Solace.
We Filipinos fell once more for “Eye Of The Tiger” after Manny Pacquiao took it for his ring walk-through. The Survivor classic was released for the 1983 Rocky III movie starring Sylvester Stallone. The original Rocky film in 1976 featured the melodic horn-anchored “Gonna Fly By Now” written by Bill Conti who also had a hand in creating “The Moment of Truth” for 1984’s Karate Kid. Stallone then portrayed an arm wrestler-dad in another 80s film Over The Top featuring the Kenny Loggins-sung “Meet Me Halfway.”
Back to real-world action, WatchMojo provided a reliable list of top sporting anthems, with inclusions like Europe’s “The Final Countdown” and Gary Glitter’s “Rock N Roll Part 2” (1972)—a crowd-getter you likely have heard.
In current PBA (Philippine Basketball Association), Van Halen’s “Jump” is played on cue when a jump ball is called, while Black Eyed Peas' “I Gotta Feeling” often blasts off during crucial timeouts.
I read that Queen did not allow Sly to use “Another One Bites The Dust” for his Rocky franchise. It’s not one to regret though as the band owns the two most memorable chant-along in competitive sports, both released off their 1977 News of the World album. The Brian May-penned “We Will Rock You” was concise stomping classic that led to the point of glory aptly titled “We Are The Champions.”