Passing on the Sports Songs We Love

Since time immemorial, music has always had a special place in sports and games. From a young age, children incorporate chants and music to their games or the songs are games in themselves. In various sports and sporting events, music is played at the start of the game or event, during breaks in a game and at the end of the game or event. Many sport events such as the Fifa World Cup or the Olympics start off with a music performance and will usually have a theme song or several theme songs, such as Waving Flag by K'naan for Fifa's 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Varsity teams are also very creative when it comes to sports songs, with various colleges and schools having different songs such as Michigan State University’s fight song. Others have been used for many years in different sports by different teams or associated with a given player such as Mr. Touchdown.

Sports songs serve various purposes in different games:

Acts as a team's or player's anthem

Various teams and players have a song that is played or sung by the fans as they make their entrance before a game or sport starts. A good example is Liverpool FC's You Will Never Walk Alone. Players competing in individual sports such as boxing or UFC also typically have an anthem that is played when they are entering or before the event kicks off.

The team's or player's anthem is used to galvanize a team's or player's fans, intimidate their opponents, to psyche up the player/s, show the fans' respect for a team/ player and in creating a team's or player's identity and raising their profile. Fans will also show their recognition for a given player by singing a song when they are about to play or when coming off the field.

Creating a Sense of Camaraderie and Community

Sports fans travel great distances when on away matches to watch their favorite team or player and singing sports songs is a great way of bonding and creating a sense of oneness. Teams have used songs for ages either in the locker rooms or when on the field to create a sense of oneness and mutual trust as well as to motivate each other before, during and after games.

Fans of various sports take great pride in knowing and singing the various songs that their teams or players uses and by singing a sports song, fans get to experience a sense of belonging and community with people who share their interests and hobbies. It is also a way of connecting the fans and the players as both may participate in the singing or in psyching up the players.

For Fun and Bringing People Together

Sports songs are a great way for family members who support the same team to bond as well as with friends and strangers. Sports songs are vibrant, upbeat and enjoyable as well as being easy to sing along to, making them a fun thing to do while watching a game on a screen or from the stands.

Raising the Profile and for Branding

Sports songs are used to sing of a player's or a team's triumphs, glory and strengths and to raise the profile of a given player, team, game or sporting event. Various sporting events such as the World Cup will usually have theme songs that are essential in not only capturing the attention of the target audience but also in branding the sport or event, and can more easily target diverse groups such as by region or age.