Music in sport at all levels is common. Whether it’s pre, post or during the game; music is omnipresent.
Likewise, music plays a large role in our daily activities. We listen to music in the car. It’s played on the bus and in elevators. Also, it simmers in the background while studying or eating. Zzzzzzzz… when we were babies, we fell asleep listening to it #rockabyebaby. Some of us still do! Hey, and sometimes educators use it in the classroom to pump up their students (or do they?).
Music pervades our lives in too many ways to count. So let’s focus on music in sport for now.
Back to Sport
Anyone allergic to peanut butter? What the h***. What does that have to do with sport? Indeed, it does. Music and sport go together like peanut butter and jelly. Mmmmmmmmm. That’s why!
Many layers exist when discussing music in sport. That’s why we’ve separated the discussion into three parts. This part looks at the nexus between athletic performance and music. We look at it through the lens of a sport marketer looking to enhance the fan experience.
One of the biggest components of the fan experience is the outcome (win, lose or draw). Unfortunately, those responsible for fan engagement cannot really control this aspect of the game. But they can try and give the home team an edge by playing songs they like.
Undoubtedly, numerous studies exist on the nexus between player performance and music. Researchers say athletic performance can be enhanced by music.
“When the brain is listening to music, it lights up like a Christmas tree. It’s an ideal stimuli because it reaches [parts of the brain] that can’t easily be reached.”
Costas I Karageorghis
One doesn’t have to look far to see that athletes use music all the time to get themselves energized. That’s especially true if you do a quick GIPHY search of Russell Westbrook dancing. Here’s just some what you’ll find:
A Sport Management Perspective on Music in Sport
Sport performance specialists and psychologists are super into the nexus. Why not? It’s their job to know what to do to help athletes perform better. But this is article is geared towards current and aspiring Sport Management professionals. So let’s look at it from a managerial perspective. If research says music pumps up your players, maybe it can energize the opposition too? Since winning effects the bottom line, how music impacts player psyche must be taken into account.
That’s where Game Day Operations comes in.
Music in Sport: What the players want
Typically, Game Day Operations teams seek advice on music selection from its players.
Thanks to this link and as confirmed by Taylor Dean, Manager of Game Presentation:
Nazem Kadri curates Toronto Maple Leafs’ pre-game playlist.
Ahaaaaaaa… we got our hands on 4 songs the Toronto Maple Leafs played during their warm-up skate. Since music selection changes, it’s important to note that this list is from when the team played the Tampa Bay Lightning at home on Monday, March 11, 2019.
The Impact of Walk Up Songs
Curate a list of songs players want to hear when they walk up to the mound or plate. For some players, this song is instrumental in their success at the plate.
For instance, former San Francisco Giants’ shortstop Brandon Crawford made some adjustments to his approach at the plate after being stuck in a major slump. One adjustment was switching his walk-up music to Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger.” His batting average jumped 20 points in the second half. Geeeeeeezz.
Funny enough, Major League Baseball (MLB) collects data from all 30 teams on what players walk up to. As a matter of fact, they share it with fans.
Here’s a collection of the Blue Jays’ walk up songs for the start of the 2019 season:
We’re still curious as to how this song pumps up a player. Anyone care to share their thoughts? You’re encouraged to in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
What about em’ road players?
Occasionally home teams play music to antagonize an opposing player. Yet music you though would get in that player’s head doesn’t always. For instance, the Atlanta Braves trolled Bryce Harper by playing this tune from Star Wars. This Star Wars theme song is meant to symbolize the bad characters in the film: Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Kylo Ren, and more.
Oops! Are the Braves’ Game Day Operations team to blame for the home run? Did they ignite a fire in Harper’s eyes and incentive revenge in the form of a home run. Maybe. But probably not. Many players are trained to ignore the background noise. Regardless, it is worth exploring which players react with more motivation when being trolled. On the other hand, knowing which players perform poorly when being trolled is strong consideration. Sometimes you just have to let the fans do the trolling. Fans will likely troll the opposition inherently.
Music Can Shape a Routine
Let’s move quickly to another sport. Figure skating is probably the most unacknowledged sport in Sport Management education. Any times you can remember when your professor(s) applied examples to this sport?
So we mention figure skating because music has an enormous impact on the skater’s performance.
Until recently, the International Skating Union banned the use of lyrics during Olympic competition. After the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, figure skaters were permitted to use lyrics. In the 2018 Olympics, here’s a list of some of the songs used for routines. The entire routine is choreographed around the beat, tempo and message of the song selection.
Actually, our (Canada’s) gold medalist ice dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue ended their final routine with “El Tango de Roxanne” from Moulin Rouge! Don’t tell us they aren’t dating, haha. The music selected provides a theme for the routine. It also allows the audience to connect to the skaters. Think about the deep connections Canadians felt towards the skating duo.According to fans on social media, the added dimension of lyrics enhanced the viewing experience for figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The Verdict on Music in Sport: Player’s Perspective
To conclude, Game Day Operations departments have the difficult task of parsing through music trends and team desires. They must find music that energizes the home team. What’s more, they need to recognize music that will energize the opposition. Also, they may discover music that irritates the opposition. Overall, balancing music choice is an extremely difficult task. Sometimes all the work done to curate playlists doesn’t pay off (see Harper example above). Nonetheless, it can fun and rewarding to plan for and to reflect on.
Next we’ll look at how game day music impacts fan identification.
Very interesting how times have changed. Game Day Ops teams have to react quickly to keep up with the newest trends to keep fans engaged!
I find it interesting how home teams play certain music to antagonize the away team and/or their players. It’s an interesting tactic, but as shown, doesn’t seem to always work.
I love that athletes have an increased role and effect on Game Day Ops. Not only do they get to influence the flow of the game through their personal music selections (i.e. selecting songs that get them so pumped that they have an awesome game), but us fans sometimes get to witness some funny trolling gone wrong moments like the Harper example. I also think that it is so fascinating to see how much Game Day Ops has had to change, and how we as fans are receiving it
I think it is interesting that athlete performance is enhanced by the music that is played. This is important to the game day operations team because they want to provide the best environment for the athletes to perform well. They will have to consider the music that may distract the athletes from competition. At the same time they want to create a fun engaging environment for fans so they need to consider the demographic of the fans and what music they will enjoy listening to.
I think this article is great! I feel that the songs they play during the game impacts the game in crucial moments, especially in the NBA. something that we often see on social media is athletes training to their favorite songs.
it’s so interesting and the article is 100% right! music pervades everywhere. it controls people’s mental and physical situation. For example, lots of NBA player listen Hip-hop music during practice because while they are listening the music, they can handle a ball with rhythm, and to gear up home team player, Gameday operations team have to keep changing music. What The braves against Harper turned Starwars music was nice tactic. For me, my hobby is listening the music. I usually listen rock-music at morning to get energy, on the other hands, listen slow music at night. That’s why music is… Read more »
Excellent personal example. It’s interesting to hear how you play different music for different settings (ex. slow music at night and rock in the morning). Just like you set the music you play to the time of day, game day operations managers set music they play to the time of the game.
I found it very interesting that the players will actually be paying attention to the music that is being played while on the ice. It is cool that in some cases it will pump them up and could be a factor in them playing better.
I find it interesting because music can help to create lot of good things. Not only sport organization using certain music, most people using music to grab people attention.
It is incredible how many layers game day operations has, even just within the music aspect of it. I think we can all agree that there are certain songs that pump us up more than others do, so it is understandable that music can impact athletes in the same way. It must add a bit of stress to the game day operations team, making sure they are playing the right songs at the right time!
100%! The stress game day operations managers feel to get it all right is probably high. Especially nowadays when there are so many types of music, and what’s popular is changing so much. Getting it right can definitely be stressful. BUT, it is very rewarding at the end of the time.
Interesting that the players pay attention to the music. Ops teams have to stay on top on all the new music coming out.
I love the athlete involvement when it comes to game day operations because it gives the players the chance to be creative and express themselves. Often in sport we do not get a chance to see who the players really are, so small things like letting them choose their walk up music gives them a chance to.
I like how statiums use certian music to antagonize opposition players or even when people make blunders. Also walk ups songs, primarlily used in MLB and MMA are great ways for players/fighters to show their peronsality an taste.
Brandon, thanks for mentioning MMA walk up songs. That wasn’t done in this article. I’d love to explore that in the future. The entertainment value in MMA is super amplified. So getting music to match the personality of the fighter is crucial.
Very cool to see how much players get affected by the music that is playing during the game. And how the right song can make fans sing along.
I find it interesting how music can be so impactful. Not just for teams and players but everyone picks a certain song or playlist for specific occasion or mood.
Its pretty cool to see athletes using music to their advantage. Especially in pregame warm ups. Its interesting to think that just one song can get them pumped up enough to have the game of their career. Even teams can use it to their advantage while in game time outs. They can play songs that will get their players hyped up in certain situations of the game to give their team a competitive advantage.
As mentioned in the beginning, music does play a large role in our everyday lives so it would make sense that teams and players would have music they listen to help pump them up before a game and even during. There’s some strategy that goes into some of the music that is played in a way to antagonize the opposing team. It’s great to see how much of an impact Game Day ops have on making or breaking a sporting event.
I think that music absolutely has an impact on the athletes state of mind heading into competition. Westbrook has fun during shoot around, which gets him into the state of mind that he needs to be in to dominate. Elvis Andrus choose the baby shark song because his son loves that song, and hearing it instantly registered positive emotions that can enhance his performance. Every athlete has something that gets them pumped up, being able to connect with that on a gameday operations side of things is very important. It is also interesting to note that music played can pump… Read more »
For sure Anthony. Nearly impossible to measure the effect of certain songs on the performance of opposing players. What Kawhi Leonard may like to hear during the dribble up the court may pump up T. Ross or Evan Fournier. ??? See Game 1 result ?
Quite an intriguing take on how music can play a small yet pivotal role in the Game Day Operations process for sports teams. Conveniently enough my group covered this topic for an assignment. I would like for us to talk more about it. Great piece!
I think this article brings up a very interesting point. As a fan I’ve always felt impacted by the music being played during a game which led to an annoying experience at a Niagara Riverlions game. During the gameplay the DJ would be playing his music (which isn’t always bad), but his playlish consisted of 2010 hits from Miley Cyrus, LMFAO, and Katy Perry. Now, nothing is wrong with those songs on their own, but I could only imagine having to play basketball while Party In The USA is blasting out of the speakers. Maybe that is why they were… Read more »
Haha! Excellent example Andrew. I am sorry you lost that year. Hopefully it wasn’t the music the zapped the energy from you. I’ve played Party in the USA in class before. Someone requested it!!! Certain songs may pump up people in one setting and do the opposite it another.
Music has a huge impact on one’s emotions and with sports, this feeling grows exponentially. Sports already promote high emotions and with the addition of music, these feelings can be increased dramatically. Not only can it engage fans, but athletes as well. Baseball is a prime example of this with the walk-up songs mentioned in the article. Emotions run high, and these songs set the tone and create a mood that both fans and athletes can appreciate. Great read
After reading this article, it shows me how important music is and how impactful it can be to athletes and teams during pre-game, mid game and end game. Music has so much power to change the outcome of the game. Playing the right music hypes up the crowd thus generating a more energetic atmosphere!
I personally use music in my pre-game routine for mens league ice hockey. I find that the genre and tempo of the song impacts my mood and focus. Example, upbeat electronic dance music gets me motivated and pumped for game action, whereas if i listened to country I would be more relaxed and this would impact the intensity factor of my performance on the ice. I wonder if there are psychological correlations between the tempo of music an athlete listens to pre-game and their in game performance?
This article is on point with music being a relevant factor in game day ops, an example of that is in the NBA where majority of the game has some form of background music playing when the offensive team is bringing the ball up the court, timeouts, intro to games, halftime and after the game is over. This article is bang on with the positive effect music can have on enhancing athletic performance but also can be a distraction to some athletes. Also, game day ops is great tool for players to express themselves and get in a certain zone… Read more »
I think it is interesting how much music can have an impact on a athletes performance. Music in a way gets the athletes into the right zone they need to be in in order to compete at a high level. It is also cool to see how engaged the fans are with it.
I personally did not know that all this detail went into game day operations. An example from the article would be playing the Star Wars theme when Bryce Harper went up to bat to make him look like the bad guy. I also didn’t know that walk-up songs were used to pump up the players, I thought that pump up songs were played because the players like those songs however, knowing that is just another piece to game day operations. Overall, music and sport do go together and I cannot wait to see what game day operations will look like… Read more »
Most definitely Damon! Teams are getting more and more creative with their delivery of music. Stay tuned.
It is evident that there are many elements involved within game operations, whether spectators/fans know or don’t know that they exist. Relatively, music is not an element that I would have ever thought of impacting not only the fan’s experience, but the athlete’s performance as well. However, the impact that it has on performance is completely understandable because when looking at personal experience, music has a tendency to effect your mood. When working out at the gym or playing sports (usually prior to), the music that you listen to tends to hype you up causing you to work harder and… Read more »
I thought that sport organizations just played popular songs just to keep the crowd interested during stoppage of play. I had no idea that music had such an impact on game day experiences. This article is very interesting and gives a proper insight on how much music influences game day operations. Another interesting aspect is the fact that the players have a say in what songs they would like to be played while they warm up and get ready for the game. Obtaining the 4 songs that the leafs players chose to listen to, does shed some light on how… Read more »
Great analysis Shamar. As sport fans, we don’t always realize the significant impact that small things have on players. Indeed, music played boosts the fan experience as well. But sometimes it can be bothersome.
The shark song is really awkward to hear at a MLB game and might turn off some fans. I wonder what the restrictions are for walk-up songs or just normal pump up songs. I’m sure profanity and violence but anything else?
It’s crazy to think that music leading up to an at-bat or the favourite song of a Toronto Maple Leafs player playing within an arena will get them excited, pumped up and motivated. Music as seen above in the article does play a big role in the lives of athletes because they want to hear music that they enjoy listening to but also music that they can relate to since our likes with music go into correlation with what is said. I love the fact that athletes especially within the Toronto Maple Leafs organization have a say in the music… Read more »
It’s interesting to see what teams are quick enough to use the most trending music, and to see if it fits the demographic that goes to those games. Game day ops is more than just what goes on behind the sense and what is presented.
100 percent agree with the nexus idea and how music pumps players up on game day. My walk up song for me is very important because I want it to fire me up, but also capture my personality and style of play. I see walk-up songs to be more about personality of players and if the song provides a great stimuli and makes you feel ready and relaxed, then it did its job
I love how athletes get more involved with the music. I feel like Elvis Andrus uses ‘Baby Shark’ as his walkup song because it makes him feel relaxed and ready to hit. As a baseball player myself, I’ve had the privilege to select my walkup music, and I always choose something that gets me very excited to go up to hit in addition to intimidating the pitcher.
Very interesting post. I loved the section on music shaping sport like in ice skating and its evolution, like can the music have lyrics? The “troll” job on Bryce harper was an excellent job by the game ops crew to play to their audience in a fun and playful way. Ultimately, music and game day is all about the fans in attendance. Baseball has also been interesting with its reliance on walk-up songs and how music has become so integrated into the sport itself.
It is crazy to think that just music itself can influence how a player performs. It is very true that music can either help you perform better or worse depending on the selection of music that is chosen. I think it is great having players being more involved in the choice of music for game day.
I find it interesting that these athletes are influenced by the type of music being played and can change how they play, I also love how the players have a choice with what they want to hear
For so many people, music plays a huge part in their lives – not only in sport. Typically, people listen to different genres of music depending on what they’re doing. In sport, a song being played at a specific time can be make or break as music can drastically affect one’s performance. For example, I believe it was the Bucks that played the Barney theme song during the announcement of the Raptors starting lineup in Milwaukee (during the playoffs a few years ago) and it set a completely different tone to the start of the game.
It is interesting to see how athletes, different from those in the past, have a significant impact on game day operations. Even somethings as simple as in game music, athletes provide their take on what should be played which inturn helps engage with the fans.
Very thought provoking article about the relationship shared between athletes and music. Although not surprising that music plays a large role in many lives, it’s interesting how humans use music as a way to enhance life. Specific to athletes I can see what a difference music can make on game day, if athletes are hyped up the fans will be as well.
Music is a huge part of sport and has evolved over the past few decades in a lot of different ways in various sports. Baseball is a great example of this with individual walk up songs for batter really sets the mood for the player to get locked into the zone, and it gives the crowd a bit of insight to what the players style is.There has been long standing tradition organ playing and sing-a-longs during games, while these are still upheld today, it is interesting to think of when they will evolve to a different instrument, or different songs.
Nice article Mat. I feel music is important during a pre-match warm up, in the change room before a match, etc. and game day operations staff must recognize the connection that fans can have with the music selection. For example, Serie A club Sassuolo play Tubthumping (I Get Knocked Down) after they score and a very strong connection with this song was formed by their fans because they associate the lyrics “I get knocked down, but I get up again” with their club and this connection forged a “never say die” attitude among the fans in and around the stadium.… Read more »
In todays society music is so accessible and people are constantly plugged into things like spotify and apple music, which means in the sports industry it is evolving so much. Walk-up songs are now associated with those players, or songs like “sweet Caroline” are now associated with the Boston Red Sox and Fenway park. It has the ability to pump players up or take you back to a certain time and memory and it is now being used by sport teams to associate fans with them. Its amazing how a song can be a catalyst for a memory.
I think that its great that music can not only have an impact on the fans experience, but the players as well. I often wonder if the players are even paying attention to what is going on in the arena other than the actual game, and it turns out that they are part of the decision making of what music is being played.
The Costas quote is extremely true. Music has the unique ability to generate feelings and emotions that nothing else can. Music can bring a person back in time to a time or place and force them to feel the emotions associated with that memory. Not surprising that each athlete would have their own way of using music to pump themselves up and build energy through music.
I definitely think that music plays an important part in sport. I competed in both gymnastics and track and field, and I always felt like the time went by faster and I felt more focused in gymnastics when I had music playing, and enjoyed competing and felt more relaxed in track and field when I listened to music beforehand. However, sometimes at the gym they would play songs that I didn’t necessarily connect with, and it almost inhibited my ability to do things because I didn’t feel ‘pumped up’ enough. Everyone’s emotional intelligence is very different, and some people connect… Read more »
Very interesting to see a different perspective on music during sporting events. I know from personal experience that the type of music played during games can have both a positive or negative effect on the player’s game.
It’s amazing to see just how Game Day Operations has improved over the years. Games have become much more than showing up and watching, it has become an atmosphere for anyone to enjoy, not just the typical sports fan. It is also great to see how players also have input on how the games are fun, for themselves as well.
Well written article! As a person who is in love with music I can totally see how music impacts the way athletes play, it gets them pump up before they play the game case in point Russell Westbrook, music maybe the reason why he averages a triple-double.
Music is an essential part of not only sport, but practically any aspect of life. Personally, silence freaks me out, so even as I type this out, I have music playing in the background (Lo-Fi Hip Hop – greatest study music – don’t @ me). It provides the ability to concentrate and get in the “zone”, or simply to be happy. We all have a rhythm in our minds and that rhythm is translated to movement. Music allows us to warm up the rhythm in our minds so that when we’re required to perform a physical act, we’re mentally prepared… Read more »
I completely agree with this topic. Music has become such an influence over athletes throughout the years. for example It’s become the norm as you can tell players would come off the bus, walk to stadiums with beats headphones or air pods in their ears preparing themselves as a type of pre-match ritual.
My man Mat hitting on all cylinders with this article. I find it quite interesting how you took many sports examples and laid it out for people to be aware of and how it shapes sport. My favourite I have to say is the Bryce Harper one, as he trots up to the home plate and Atlanta is playing a song from Star Wars to get him “off” his game and it actually turns to the worse case scenario for the braves as he smacked one over the fence haha… I must say a workout at the gym is not… Read more »
Music is definitely very important on game day. Music can really get an athlete in the zone.I think this is one of the reason Beats marketing is so successful because Athletes need music. Conor McGregor who mainly fights in USA represents his whole birth country through a folk Irish song. Music is definitely a big factor in gameday ops.