Fans can thank the Lakers and other sports pioneers for discovering that songs like “We Will Rock You” make natural pairings with fade-away jumpers and entrances from the bullpen. But you can thank corporate synergy for the fact that you still hear them.
Sharyn Taymor worked for ESPN in the mid-’90s, when the company was making its first forays beyond television. She was its point person for an out-of-left-field collaboration with the hip-hop and dance record label Tommy Boy — an album of sports anthems called Jock Rock.
Jock Rock pulled together the classic rock songs that were being played at a few influential venues. Soon, the album made its way to just about every coliseum and auditorium in the country.
…Jock Rock demanded a sequel, but the first CD seemed definitive. Its cover promised ”The Greatest Crowd-Rockin’ Sports Anthems of All Time,” and it delivered. ESPN and Tommy Boy had to find new anthems, so Taymor says the Jock Jams album took a turn toward contemporary music.
Over the course of four years, they released five successful editions of Jock Jams. Each collected high-energy dance songs that had nothing to do with sports. That is, until ESPN and Tommy Boy said they did.
My hometown’s Seattle Mariners are known for ‘breaking’ some arena anthems, most notably “Who Let the Dogs Out” (for which we apologize—it was meant ironically but A-Rod has always been a jackass). Despite my affection for a good arena anthem, I find myself appreciating the fact they’re entirely manufactured by Tommy Boy and ESPN. Somehow, that strikes me as fitting.
