No matter what sports event you’re attending, the atmosphere of an arena is a moment that can shape memories for life. The best way to create that atmosphere however, is the underlying sounds behind it all is the songs that were made famous by collateral, or had already been famous and helped bring even more attention to the product in the stadium. We looked at some of the most recognizable songs that have managed to become the soundtrack of sports.

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Zombie Nation “Kernkraft 400”

Zombie nation’s song “Kernkraft 400” turned into a key pump up track for hype atmospheres’ specifically in the arena in the early 2000s. It began with the creation of the track being a remix of an organic Italian chant often utilized at their soccer games. Mixed with the electronic sounds of a 1984 Commodore 64 game Lazy Jones. The track started to gain early traction after it began playing on Chicago Radio Stations, before being used at Chicago Rush games prior to the indoor league folding. The song became popular however for its use in hockey arenas, as it was adopted most famously by the Boston Bruins as their powerplay hype songs for fans to “take over” the momentum of the game with fans chanting the infectious chorus of “Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh Oh.”

The White Stripes “Seven Nations Army”

While the song was already a massive hit, the song was actually integrated into sports outside of North America surprisingly. It all started in the Champions League with a clash of the small Belgian city of Brugge going up against a powerhouse in Milan. Fans of the Belgian team who had made the trek out to watch the match had heard the song’s strong guitar riff along with the catchy lyrics and carried it all the way out towards the stadium and began singing it after they had scored, flooding the arena in an otherworldly atmosphere that led them to victory. Italian fans had seen the magic that the “Seven Nations Army” had brought Brugge and decided to make it their own, using the riff as their unofficial battle cry at the 2006 World Cup. This global stage presence gave North America every reason they needed to introduce it at their stadiums, with Penn State’s college football team being one of the first to ever introduce it in their games to hype up the crowd prior to games.

Darude “Sandstorm”

Darude’s 1999 trance track “Sandstorm” was quick to become a large sports staple after its usage at yet another college football game this time in South Carolina. The song was played during a crucial moment in the game that led to their win, sending the crowd into a chaotic towel-spinning uproar. Described as a “rave in the stands” by commentators, South Carolina would go on to embrace the track as their new hype anthem inspiring other stadium DJs across the country to utilize it even in other sports.

Steam “Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye”

One of the more interesting applications of songs into the sports world, Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” is commonly used at games by fans or team DJs in a scenario where players are consequentially ejected from the match due in punishment for an offense during the game. The tradition was taken from an old-time baseball game where the Chicago White Sox organist Nancy Faust had played the song to taunt the opposing team’s pitcher being pulled from the game after a bad performance, causing the crowd to on-cue sing along.

The Fratellis “Chelsea Dagger”

By complete accident, “Chelsea Dagger” by The Fratellis blew up as a staple in the world of sports, specifically hockey. The “Accident” occurred when a team intern had mixed the song into the audio rotation for their 2008-2009 preseason matchups. The song was overheard by team executives and the bouncy, chant-heavy chorus had caught their ears as a potential permanent goal celebration chant. Over the course of a couple years, the song had etched itself into the teams culture, and as they won multiple championships in the 2010s, the iconic “da-da-da-da” had officially become the iconic sound of victory for the team and hockey itself. Prior to this, the song was often used in European soccer leagues with larger teams such as Juventus in Italy or Celtic in Scotland.

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