One of my first memories of football always goes back to the music that accompanies the game, whether that be the fan chants, or the theme music used by the broadcasters for big tournaments. France 1998 is really one of my first football memories: Scotland’s last appearance at the finals of a World Cup… the iconic match against Brazil…
The tournament was full of colour but also music; the iconic Carnival de Paris, whilst not the official song of the World Cup, became the song most attached to the tournament. BBC brought Italia ’90 and Nessun Dorma, whilst more recent tournaments in South Africa introduced the world to Waka Waka. It simply can’t be denied that music has a place amongst football.
Listen to KEVIN MILES with A Celtic State of Mind here:I bet some of those songs brought back memories as you were reading the opening paragraphs of this article? That’s the effect that music can have on you. Bring it closer to home and anytime I hear Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis, I am reminded of Scott McDonald’s last-minute winner against AC Milan. Fiesta by The Pogues brings memories back of the Martin O’Neill era where we would regularly knock 5 or 6 goals in at home, however when it got to 5 it was always an occasion for the PA team to bring out the Hawaii Five-0 theme. Players even got their own goal celebration song, Jimmy Dean would sound out around Paradise when Big Bad John Hartson would score. Pilot was cued for some ‘Maciej’ moments and in recent years it’s always been good to Wanna be Edouard.
Critics may counter that the game is fast becoming more and more Americanised. What next? Will players soon be coming out to their own theme songs like a WWE Wrestler or boxer? To be fair, over the last few years at Celtic it was getting to the stage where almost every player had their own goal celebration song – Scott Sinclair, Leigh Griffiths, Odsonne Edouard and Stuart Armstrong to name a few.
So, what should the goal celebration be about? Should it be about the player or the moment?
Are we at a stage now where every player should have their own goal celebration song or do we hark back to the days when we had the one generic song with a few variations? Songs like Just Can’t Get Enough, Chelsea Dagger and Fiesta all bring back their own memories for the Celtic support, but so do the individual classics – many tears were shed back in 2004 when the Magnificent 7 theme song was played over the tannoy for what would be the last time as Henrik Larsson scored against Dundee United in his final game at Paradise.
This article isn’t to suggest what should be done, it is to start a discussion; a discussion of memories, goals and moments that you can link back to when you hear a song played in the pub, or on the radio, and ask what you think should be the future of goal celebration music across Football.
Tweet us at @ACSOMPOD and let us know your musical Celtic/football memories and what the goal celebration songs mean to you.
Colin Watt
Watch JOHN YOGI HUGHES with A Celtic State of Mind:
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