"YOU CAME ALL THE WAY OVER HERE TO TALK TO LITTLE OLD ME?" Brian May, the legendary guitarist from Queen, asked with genuine surprise. Sitting in a London theater, he seemed genuinely bemused that someone would travel across the Atlantic to discuss one of his most famous creations.
But yes, the journey was made to talk to May, though perhaps with a touch of playful annoyance. This wasn’t directed at May himself, but rather at the cultural phenomenon he inadvertently unleashed. For anyone who has spent time at sporting events, from local games to major championships, the soundtrack is often inescapable: piped-in pop music. The genre, quality, or lyrical relevance to sports seems almost secondary. If a song has energy, if it rocks, it gets played. Music has become as integral to the modern sports experience as overpriced concessions.
And in many ways, we can trace this back to May. BMI, the music licensing organization, compiles a list of the most-played songs at American sporting events. For years, topping that list, was “We Will Rock You.” Written by May decades ago in a hotel room, this two-minute, one-second track is incredibly simple: two stomps, a clap, and Freddie Mercury’s powerful vocals layered on top. Yet, “We Will Rock You,” the We Will Rock You single, remains more relevant than ever. It even surpassed the previous chart-topper, “Pump It” by the Black Eyed Peas. But with constant repetition, even a great song can become tiresome – unless, of course, it’s perfectly timed to the moment, like when the home team makes a crucial play.
Image alt text: Brian May, iconic guitarist of Queen, pictured inside the Dominion Theatre in London, where the “We Will Rock You” musical has been a long-running success.
On a January night, the journey across the Atlantic involved repeated listens to “We Will Rock You,” hoping to find some deeper meaning, but mostly just embedding the iconic stomp-stomp-clap rhythm further into my brain. The rhythm was still there upon arrival at London’s Dominion Theatre to meet May, where the “We Will Rock You” musical was in its eighth year. Inside a private suite, a “We Will Rock You” program in hand, the soundcheck of – what else? – “We Will Rock You” echoed through the theater. (It becomes clear why the song was reportedly used for interrogation at Guantanamo Bay). The stomping and clapping was now physically felt. So, when May entered, tall and with his signature frizzy hair, the thought wasn’t about encountering the 39th greatest guitarist according to Rolling Stone, or a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. The immediate question was: Why has this song become the sound of sports?
From Liverpool to Locker Rooms: Stadium Music Traditions
To truly appreciate the state of stadium music in America, consider a stark contrast. Search YouTube for “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and Liverpool FC. The result is one of the most moving experiences in sports: 45,000 fans standing, flags waving, singing in unison. While some voices are off-key, the collective passion mirrors the intensity on the field, forging a powerful bond between fans and team. This is stadium music. In European soccer, pre-recorded music is used sparingly, and certainly not to replace a tradition dating back decades.
Image alt text: A sea of Liverpool FC supporters passionately singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at Anfield, showcasing the powerful atmosphere of traditional European stadium anthems.
In the States, however, DJs constantly press play, not just to energize (think Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping”) but sometimes even to quiet crowds (perhaps something mellow like Susan Boyle). Traditions are manufactured; the Red Sox playing “Sweet Caroline” in the eighth inning started somewhat arbitrarily. Established traditions, like the hockey organ, have even been discarded by many NHL teams.
This wasn’t always the norm. In the 1960s, music at sporting events was rare, perhaps reserved for a star like Tony Bennett singing the national anthem. The 70s saw the rise of piped-in music, a trend that has only grown. This reliance on songs points to a deeper question. Are we restless fans? Easily bored? Is chanting not our style? Or does music connect us to ourselves and each other in a way similar to sports itself?
Whatever the reason, fan preferences dictate the playlists. NBA DJs cater to a largely urban, 40-something demographic with hip-hop. NFL fans, also around 40 but less diverse, get hard rock. NHL crowds, slightly older, hear classic rock. Baseball, with its broader audience, offers a mix for everyone. The artist’s background, even controversies, often become irrelevant. For almost 20 years, Broncos fans celebrated touchdowns to Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part II” (the “Hey!” song). Even after Glitter’s conviction for child molestation in 2006, fan demand brought the song back to the rotation.
The Rise of the Stadium DJ
The origin of pop music at sporting events is hazy. The “Rock and Roll Part II” phenomenon started in 1974 with Michigan DJ Kevin O’Brien at Kalamazoo Wings hockey games. When O’Brien moved to the NHL’s Colorado Rockies (now New Jersey Devils), he brought the song, and it spread to Broncos games. Stadium entertainment is now a significant industry. Pro Sports DJs, a website founded by Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Lightning DJ Sean Bovelsky, caters to this niche. Almost 600 employed sports DJs are registered, representing nearly every major US pro team. They share popular song ideas and discuss topics like “Clips for Opposing Free Throws” or “Rain-out Songs.”
Image alt text: A stadium DJ in their booth, focused on selecting the right music to energize the crowd and enhance the game-day experience.
Unlike club DJs who might surprise with obscure tracks, stadium DJs reassure with familiar songs. “You have to play stuff that the crowd wants,” explains Mavericks DJ Anthony Johnson. Safe choices dominate: Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” Europe’s “The Final Countdown.” Cleverness is risky. In 2002, a White Sox music director was fired for playing Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” when pitcher Chuck Finley, amidst a divorce from actress Tawny Kitaen from the song’s music video, entered the game.
Many DJs have extensive situational playlists. Teresa Shear, the Broncos’ game-day entertainment director, has a detailed music chart matching 18 in-game moments with specific songs, from sacks to opponent touchdowns. Gregg Greene, Mariners marketing director, plays Fats Domino’s “I Want to Walk You Home” after a bases-loaded walk. For fights at Red Wings games, Ayron Sequeira, Detroit’s entertainment director, uses U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” When a Mavs player fouls out, Johnson plays Foo Fighters’ “There Goes My Hero.”
The goal, DJs agree, is to create excitement. Leagues have rules: the NFL and NHL restrict music to when the game clock stops. Baseball allows music between innings and pitching changes. The NBA permits music during play, sometimes adding energy, sometimes creating an exhibition-like feel. Johnson notes, “Sometimes fans need to be motivated.”
Is this so bad? Armies once marched to drums and bagpipes. Is it surprising Atlanta Hawks fans need Outkast’s “Hey Ya!”? Or Patriots fans cheer louder to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”? At Minnesota Wild games, Paul Loomis, game presentation manager, uses a reliable wake-up call, sometimes six times a game. Just a few bars of a certain song are enough before the Xcel Energy Center erupts in stomping and clapping, chanting the six words: “WE WILL, WE WILL ROCK YOU.”
Brian May on the Anthem He Created
Any initial annoyance with Brian May dissolved quickly upon meeting him. He’s affable, polite, and intelligent (holding a PhD in astrophysics). He’s always been fascinated by math and music, even building his own guitar, the “Red Special,” at 16.
May followed cricket as a child but isn’t a sports fanatic. He was unaware “We Will Rock You” was America’s top sports anthem until informed. However, this erudite musician-scientist has theories on music’s prevalence in American sports. “America seems to have become so full of fear,” he suggests. “A nation looking over its shoulder. Maybe music restores pride. Sports offers escape, optimism, power. Music reinforces that.”
Image alt text: A classic photograph of Queen, featuring Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor, the iconic lineup behind the “We Will Rock You single.”
Ironically, May didn’t intend “We Will Rock You” to inspire strength and optimism. In Queen’s early days, they wanted fans to listen to complex songs like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” not sing along. Rock concerts were different then – you paid to hear the band.
After hits like “Killer Queen,” fan participation became unavoidable. Following a 1976 concert where the crowd spontaneously sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” Queen needed a simple, anthemic song to connect with audiences. The next morning, May awoke with the stomp-stomp-clap rhythm in his head. He paired it with lyrics about “the futility of man.”
“We Will Rock You” begins with a boy, “make a big noise,” with “mud on your face,” dreaming of more but too timid to act. The second verse shows a young man, bloodied, fighting for goals. The song concludes with an old, poor man, dreams unfulfilled. “Somebody better put you back into your place.”
The chorus, in context, isn’t a rally cry, but reassurance. May was inspired by a Czech lullaby where parents sing “We will rock you, rock you” to a child. He flipped it to “We will, we will rock you.” This iconic song, this sports anthem, took just ten minutes to write.
Queen recorded it in an old church for its acoustics. Mercury and May spent weeks stomping and clapping on pews to get the right sound. “We Will Rock You,” paired with “We Are the Champions,” reached No. 4 in America as a single from the News of the World album. Years later, at a Lakers-Bulls game in Chicago in 1990 – May’s only US sporting event – he witnessed his creation firsthand. He heard the stomp-clap rhythm, saw his face on the video board, and realized, “The song had become something bigger.”
It had become ours.
The Perks (and Perils) of a Sports Anthem
Writing a sports anthem has its advantages, though being in the crowd while it plays might not be one. Metallica’s James Hetfield felt “embarrassed” when “Enter Sandman” played at a Raiders game and fans stared at him. But Frankie Sullivan of Survivor, co-writer of “Eye of the Tiger,” met Muhammad Ali and countless fans thanks to his song’s popularity after Rocky III. In the 80s, women sought him out at stadiums, drawn to the song, if not him personally.
Image alt text: The iconic Rocky statue in Philadelphia, symbolizing the spirit of “Eye of the Tiger” and its association with overcoming challenges and athletic achievement.
Doors open. Village People’s Randy Jones (the cowboy) sat with mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg at Yankee Stadium, leading “Y.M.C.A.” Kool & the Gang’s Ronald Bell befriended Reggie Jackson after baseball embraced “Celebration.” Tag Team’s Cecil “DC” Glenn got Nike gear after performing “Whoomp! (There It Is)” at the NBA Finals. Hetfield became friends with Randy Johnson because of “Enter Sandman.” Hetfield finds it “ironic when a sports figure tells me that our music pumps them up, because what they do pumps me up.”
Who cares if “Enter Sandman” is about nightmares? Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” played at Giants Stadium, is about escaping New Jersey. EMF’s “Unbelievable” is about a lying girlfriend. “Whoomp! (There It Is)” is about a strip club. “Y.M.C.A.” is rumored to be about many things, including gay life. Jones coyly describes it as “about young men.”
Todd Rundgren disliked “Bang the Drum All Day,” intended as a non-single album track. But a Packers DJ used it in the mid-90s, then the Rams adopted it. Rundgren calls it “like a child that doesn’t do very well in school, but suddenly gets a great job.”
These songs are financially lucrative. Licensing agencies like BMI and ASCAP track plays and distribute royalties, based on play counts, attendance, or flat fees. Artists with heavily played anthems can earn six figures annually. Ian Dench of EMF, who wrote “Unbelievable” in 1990, says, “That song has fed the band for a long time.”
The Enduring Power of “We Will Rock You”
May keeps a large iTunes folder of “We Will Rock You” covers. He played a symphonic version by E.S. Posthumus, possibly part of a Super Bowl show. While “overproduced,” it remained powerful, catchy, and unifying in its own way.
The best songs are adaptable. Their meaning evolves, resonating with broader truths. May wrote “We Will Rock You” for Queen fans, but created instant community. The US military uses it before deployments. Politicians play it at rallies. May dislikes some uses, but knows he has no control. “Once you put a song out there, you say goodbye to it.”
And then it clicks: May isn’t to blame for his song’s sports dominance. We are. We need music to create community because, frankly, games aren’t always enough anymore. We’re distracted by phones, fantasy leagues, and stadium spectacle. Sports DJs aren’t ruining the game; they’re trying to save it, reminding us to focus. And nothing grabs attention like “We Will Rock You.” At Wild games, Loomis only plays a few seconds; the crowd’s stomping and clapping takes over, “like Pavlov’s dogs,” savoring moments where excitement needs no manufacturing.
