Chicago Blackhawks Goal Song: Chelsea Dagger

The Chicago Blackhawks goal song this year is "Chelsea Dagger" by The Fratellis. The Chicago Daily Herald has the scoop:

"We were searching high and low for a goal song," Tom O'Grady said. "It was a little quirky, and it was certainly contagious. I really respect Blackhawks fans, and I wanted something uplifting that could be pretty organic once it got going."

It wasn't an immediate hit, however

"The first few games we were getting some pretty bad responses - we were like, 'We might not make it,'" O'Grady said with a smile. "(Hawks president) John McDonough has a great vision; he said, 'Let it roll for a while.'

"Now it's pretty contagious and people really like it and it's become our goal song - more by patience than design."

NHL Playoff Pre-Game Shows: Western Conference

Yesterday we did a round up of all the NHL Eastern Conference pre-game shows, and now here's what the West has to offer. The Western teams have a much stronger line-up.

• San Jose: Flag kids come out to Sandstorm ... then there's a highlight video to Audioslave's "Cochise" ... Then the shark head drops.
  
  
• Anaheim: Hey, both the bird teams are using Metallica. The Ducks go with "Nothing Else Matters". Can't tell what the video looks like, but the Ducks have the best cyberlight show in the NHL, hands down. Watch on YouTube.
  
  
• Vancouver: The most original video of the playoffs, showing Canucks players as kids. "Every kid ... who ever had ... a hockey stick ... dreamed ... of one thing ... to score the goal to win ... THE STANLEY CUP ... and a very few ... will get their chance ... to live that dream." Plus bonus vintage photo of Roger Neilson waving a white towel. Watch.
  
  
• St. Louis: Charles Glenn is live on ice singing "When The Blues Go Marching In" This is perfect for St. Louis, they are probably the only NHL team who can pull something like this off. Watch on YouTube.
  
  
• Calgary: Good idea using player quotes at the start - but will anyone hear 'em? Calgary fans are so loud... Music is Rev Theory "Hell Yeah". Watch.
  
  
• Chicago: My favourite music of all the pre-game videos, it's "Testify" by Rage Against The Machine. Watch.
  
  
• Detroit: Red Wings use "Ready To Roll" by Jet Black Stare. A ton of extra lights up on the trusses. I guess the Stanley Cup Champions can afford some extra effects. Watch on YouTube. Alternate link.
  
  
• Columbus: Here's a YouTube video - but I can't tell what the music is.

Who's got the best open? San Jose's shark head? Anaheim's cyberlight show? Chicago's use of Nine Inch Nails? St. Louis with their live singing show? Actually it's not a hard choice - Vancouver wins for best open of the West (and East), with their goosebump-inducing tribute to the quest for the Stanley Cup.

One final note: We've been using Twitter to post real-time comments about NHL playoff music and videos. Check it out here.

NHL Playoff Pre-Game Shows: Eastern Conference

Here are some links & info about what all the Eastern Conference teams are doing for their playoff pre-game shows this year:

• Boston: Yellow lights on the ice, and AC/DC's Thunderstruck pumping through the building. Here's a shaky clip from YouTube.
  
  
• Montreal: No surprise, Montreal uses another U2 song. This time it's a montage of historical photos while "One" plays. Watch it on YouTube. Part-way through they switch to another cover of the song - not sure who's singing it. A bit dull IMHO.
  
  
• New Jersey: Song choice is "Hysteria" by Muse. Nice choice, includes lyrics like "I want it now" and "dreaming I'm alive". Watch.
  
  
• Carolina: Can't find anything - can anybody help?
  
  
• Washington: Caps keep up their rock star theme with a "Rock The Red Tour" video, featuring "War" By the Sick Puppies. Watch.
  
  
• New York Rangers: A playoff extension of their "I Am A Ranger" campaign. Check out the blue glowing thundersticks in the crowd. Watch on YouTube.
  
  
• Pittsburgh: The song is from Metallica, "Broken, Beat & Scarred". A heavier tune than we would have expected from the Penguins but it does work - with key lyric What don't kill you make you more strong." Watch. Also check out this behind-the-scenes vid about the on-ice projection.
  
  
• Philadelphia: Aggressive as always, their song is "Hunt You Down" by Saliva. Watch it ... then read more about it here.
  
  

Our faves: Nothing really stands out, the best are New Jersey and Philadelphia, but we'll give the nod to Philadelphia for song choice and use of retro Flyers footage.

Tomorrow: the Western Conference.

How the Philadelphia Flyers rev up their fans

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Eric Godard of the Penguins and Riley Cote of the Philadelphia Flyers fought last night at Wachovia Center, even though neither was in the lineup.

OK, their scrap was part of a video of bouts between the teams -- another video has vintage fights -- shown on the big scoreboard screen above the ice during Games 3 and 4 of the clubs' first-round National Hockey League playoff series.

It was one of the ways the Flyers whipped their sellout crowds into a frenzy for the games Sunday afternoon and last night.

...

In addition to the vintage fight video, the club's opening montage features the phrases "Stomp you into the ground" and "Hunt you down." A message on the video board proclaims they are the most intimidating fans in the league, a title bestowed by The Sporting News last year.

...

When the Penguins' starters are announced, each name is followed by a loud obscenity. That word also is part of a chant -- often accompanied by the arena organist -- directed at the Penguins and, especially, their star captain, Sidney Crosby.

...

Before last night's game, an ice-level announcer egged on the crowd to let Talbot know the Flyers' supporters didn't like comments Talbot made Monday saying he didn't think the fans made the Flyers a better team.

Read the entire article...

And here's the video that was referenced in the article, featuring the song "Hunt You Down" by Saliva.

Animals in sports: Hawk & dog delay games

Two animal stories came across our desk today:

1. In Atlanta, a Hawks basketball game was delayed by their mascot -- a real, live hawk: "Spirit, the Hawks mascot, has a set pattern of flight whenever he is allowed to go out on his own. But the mascot deviated from the schedule and flew a bit through the stands, landing on a shot clock camera. The game had to be stopped early in the first quarter so that Spirit could be coaxed down." (source: Associated Content)
   
   
2. In Greensboro, Yogi the dog was ejected from a baseball game after, um, soiling the field. Read more from Ben's Biz Blog...
   

Promotions round-up #264

• Giants Hit Home Run With Ethnic Marketing
  Darren Rovell reports on the San Francisco Giants efforts to market to the Filipino community. "The Giants are attributing about 10,000 additional fans to the promotional cultural night tonight as they honor Filipino boxer Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, who will be throwing out the first pitch before the game."
  
  
• German football team offers refund for poor play
  BBC News reports: "A German football club will refund the tickets of 600 fans in an unusual apology for a "pitiful performance" that ended in a 4-0 loss at Schalke."
  
  
• Brooklyn Cyclones host "bellies and baseball"
  Ben's Biz Blog highlights another creative promotion from the Cyclones: "Brooklyn Cyclones are hosting Bellies and Baseball: A Salute to Pregnancy, and inviting expectant parents to participate in a variety of themed activities...including a special prize for anyone who gives birth at the game."
  
  
• Washington Capitals hold a beard-a-thon
  Kukla's Korner has the details about this promotion, designed as a fundraiser to tie in with the playoffs. A few other NHL teams are running similar promos this spring.
  
  
• Huntsville Stars host Househusbands Night
  Ben's Biz Blog (again) has the lowdown on this one: "Men who bring their "Honey Do" list of chores to the game will receive a half-price ticket, and these emasculating missives will be read over the PA. Whoever submits the best "Honey Do" list receives an excellent prize -- Stars' staff will do the chores instead."

All about writing an arena anthem (and Zombie Nation)

Ben Raynor in the Toronto Star writes about "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation:

The booming tune's belated rise has come as a bit of a shock to its creator, a Munich electronic musician named Florian Senfter who's released four albums of generally rather more subtle tech-house and electro under the Zombie Nation moniker...

"Kernkraft 400" first attained renown overseas when the crowd-stoking "Sports Chant Remix" was heard at European soccer games and trickled into the background during last year's Olympic coverage, which is probably where it tickled the ears of folks who program music for sports events on these shores.

He also offers some insight into what it takes to write a successful arena sports anthem:

• Aim low: A hockey rink during the third period in the playoffs is no place to get arty. It is, in fact, exactly the place where the lowest of the low – "novelty" one-hit wonders – live on in infamy: the Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out?" Rednex's "Cotton Eye Joe," the Vengaboys' "We Like to Party," Los Del Mar's "Macarena," the entire Jive Bunny catalogue... [this stuff is] so simple and maddeningly catchy that everyone from 4-year-olds to grandmothers get it right away and recognize it.
  
  
• When in doubt, add crowd noise: Zombie Nation's "Sports Chant Remix" of "Kernkraft 400" found its way into soccer stadiums when it added the sound of a stadium crowd yelling in unison to a galvanizing dance track. Sporting events thrive on mob mentality, so any music that encourages the mob in that direction with a few cues to "Join in the Chant," as Nitzer Ebb once put it (in a tune that should, come to think of it, get played in more arenas) is usually an instant hit.
  
  
• Get your "gay" on: Pro sports have done more to keep the vibe of late-'80s/early-'90s gay club culture – gutsy diva vocals, throbbing house beats – alive than a thousand Pride Parades combined. C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)," Snap!'s "The Power," Black Box's "Everybody Everybody," seemingly everything 2 Unlimited ever put to tape and the like are guaranteed to be heard whenever there's male bonding to be done at the big game.
  
  
• Mention movement: Once again, you've gotta cultivate that tendency to mob mentality. Peruse the track listing of any entry in ESPN's big-selling Jock Jams compilation series and you'll always find at least a couple of tunes most explicit in their instructions: Brooklyn Bounce's "Get Ready to Bounce," House of Pain's "Jump Around," Reel 2 Reel's "I Like to Move It."
  

How many people does it take to change the light in a video scoreboard?

Last week we told you about the installation of the massive video scoreboard at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. Ever wondered how they change the bulbs in a video scoreboard?

This article from Star-Telegram.com has the answer:

How long does it take to change a light bulb on the Cowboys stadium scoreboards?
Technically, there are no light bulbs on the scoreboards, but there are light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, that sometimes go dark. Workers can access the back of each scoreboard from an interior catwalk on the metal frame.

Each panel is made up of smaller LED "bricks," and each brick can be removed in less than 15 minutes, Mitsubishi’s Mark Foster said. Those bricks can then be returned to Mitsubishi’s Pennsylvania factory to be repaired. (Read the original article.)

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper does the wave

Macleans has photo evidence of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper doing the wave at the World Men’s Curling Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick. Who knew watching curling could be so much fun? (Thanks CC)

5,000-calorie stadium burger is a hot seller

Last week, we pointed you to an article about the Fifth Third burger, a $20, 5,000 calorie burger served up by the West Michigan Whitecaps. Apparantly it was a big hit on opening night. Darren Rovell reports:

We just got the numbers in from the team and, despite a health warning and the price tag ($20), the team sold 107 of them. Of the people that bought the burgers, 32 people attempted to eat the whole burger -- complete with meat, cheese, fritos, chili, sour cream and more -- during the game. We're told that 17 were successful.