There’s the immortal “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”. Terry Cashman had “Talkin’ Baseball”. CCR frontman John Fogerty scored a solo hit with “Center Field”. You can find “Van Lingle Mungo” in jazz fake books. As befits a game with 150+ years of history behind it, baseball has inspired many musical musings. Even basketball, a game with a much smaller historical footprint, has made something of a mark on the musical landscape: Grover Washington Jr.’s “Let It Flow (For Doctor J)”. Kurtis Blow’s “Basketball”. And…this thing.
But football hasn’t had the same impact in the world of music as the other two major American team sports. Which is not to say there’s been no impact whatsoever. If we look closer, we can find some instances where gridiron and melody crossed streams in, shall we say, notable instances. So as we delve into the week nine picks, let’s look at the ways in which football and music have merged over the decades.
AFC WEST
Kansas City @ Dallas – the Zeke suspension finally rears its head
Denver @ Philadelphia – I’d say take the under if this was played in Denver
Oakland @ Miami – on the bright side, they’ll score some points this week
“The Autumn Wind”. Maybe you didn’t know it by name, but if you grew up with NFL Films Presents, you know it by heart. It’s even more stirring with John Facenda’s narration setting the scene. Here, restart the music and read this passage, imagining it in Facenda’s voice:
With February’s frigid chill in it’s full surge, Glibertarians.com entered the World Wide Web with a savage force equalled by few. Armed with world-class misanthropy and supported by a compliment of orphans, the Glibs contributors hit the ground running in their inaugural campaign. Swiss Servator’s signature narrowed gazes condemned rank punnery and facile jokes with ease. Sloopy’s sports linkage and fierce Ohio State fandom set a precise tone every morning. Heroic Mulatto’s YouTube finds seldom failed to shake the reader from his doldrums. And Sugarfree’s lurid, frank depictions of political pique and peccadillo shocked and appalled even the most jaded of readers.
AFC NORTH
Cincinnati @ Jacksonville – The Jags defensive front will rule the day
Baltimore @ Tennessee – The Ravens can’t win on the road if the opponent is worth a damn
The Steelers might have a bye this week, but by God’s grace, we’ll never have a bye from the musical stylings of Terry Bradshaw. If I’m being honest, I like his singing better than his play at QB. 212 TDs, 210 INTs, 51.9% completion percentage? Jeez.
AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis @ Houston – Apparently, Matt Schaub is destined to own the Texans’ QB records forever
Cincinnati @ Jacksonville – The Jags formidable defense shines at home
Baltimore @ Tennessee
Before they were the Tennessee Titans, they were the Tennessee Oilers. Before that, they were the Houston Oilers. And they had a famous fight song. Being a creative musician-type myself, I can only marvel at the way the songwriter ingeniously crafted a sound so reminiscent of the Bayou City. The way the lyrics pull the listener into Harris County with a charm and specificity worthy of Arlen, Sondheim, Dylan…well, give it a listen and prepare to be amazed.
AFC EAST
Buffalo 21 @ NY Jets 34 (F – 11/2)
Oakland @ Miami
I’ve shared this before, but it’s definitely worth a repost. To the extent that I have a favorite team, it’s the Houston Texans; I don’t exactly live and die with the results of their games. But teenaged Junior definitely died with each of those four straight Super Bowl losses. That was the last time I could honestly say I had a favorite football team, and I miss those days.
NFC WEST
Arizona @ San Francisco – Into the win column, boys!
LA Rams @ NY Giants – Your week nine upset special
Washington @ Seattle – The Redskins’ weaknesses are starting to show
Without any notable song I can connect to this division, this seems as good a time as any to discuss “Heavy Action”. It wasn’t even written for football, but for NFL fans it is inextricably linked to the gridiron game. “Heavy Action” has been a part of NFL TV broadcasts for 42 years and counting. Still don’t know what it is? Alright, here’s your link.
I’m hosting a Super Bowl party at my apartment come February. Fair warning: “Heavy Action” will be playing on a continuous loop, and the party starts at 10 AM.
NFC NORTH
Detroit @ Green Bay – On the plus side, the Ravens matchup that our OMWC and SP will attend is looking up for the Ravens
The year was 1985, and 1985 in the NFL was all about the Chicago Bears. For good and for…whatever this was. Honestly, “The Superbowl Shuffle” was such a masterpiece of cringe it deserves its own post. Perhaps later…?
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta @ Carolina – The Falcons’ slide continues…
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans – …as does the Saints surge
I’ll come clean and admit that I’m running out of songs. It’s not my fault; the teams in the NFC South don’t have much of a musical heritage. In Carolina, they bang a bass drum before games; the Atlanta Falcons had ties to MC Hammer in the early 90s, which is a much greater shame than their Super Bowl loss to the Patriots. Tampa Bay’s formative years were far too embarrassing to write songs about, and while New Orleans is world-famous for a distinctive style of jazz, it hasn’t really bled into the football team. So here’s some Super Bowl halftime music from Up With People to fill the void.
NFC EAST
Kansas City @ Dalllas
Denver @ Philadelphia
LA Rams @ NY Giants
Washington @ Seattle
In honor of the team with the best record in the NFL, here’s an appropriate song.
PICKS
Week 8: 10-2 (Yeeeeeaaah, boyeeee!)
Total: 45-37
Comments
48 responses to “With A Song In My Heart: NFL Week 9”
Third!
Do you have an alibi?
It isn’t that the Redskins weakness is starting to show, it’s that they’re too banged up to play.
I don’t believe any (zero) of the Redskins offensive line practiced this week–too banged up.
We’re missing three starters on the defensive line.
The team that beat the crap out of the Raiders and played Kansas City hard was a pretty good team–but that team isn’t the one going out on the field against the Seahawks.
The consensus has the Seahawks at -7. I’d take ’em at -6 1/2 all day.
P.S. Over/Under on that game at 45?
Take the under.
Thus spake Shultzathustra
mid point prediction.
eagles make it. pats finally lose to the steelers in the post season.
where’s this super bowl shindig?
I’ll bring beer.
The ultimate football music classic.
Rand Paul assaulted in his home:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/04/sen-rand-paul-assaulted-in-kentucky-home.html
jesus.
My first thought when I saw the headline, “hope it wasn’t mom”.
The question is how did the person get in his house?
It appears that their families know each other.
I guess there could be a breakup.
on the day antifa things were supposed to start?
Interesting. Assaulted by another republican doctor.
huh I saw he was a dem. it’s all fake news?
This is what I was going off of
https://heavy.com/news/2017/11/rene-boucher-rand-paul-assault/
“A Democrat doctor has been arrested in Kentucky.”
Rand must have said some mean libertarian stuff or else he was criticizing Obamacare.
Or, maybe he was just resisting. Paul has been spotted golfing with Hitler.
it’ll be interesting to see what the cause was.
The guy was just resisting, that isn’t a crime because Paul is a Nazi.
Oh, but then there’s this:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DN0N37TUEAIYXbf.jpg
Give these idiots enough rope, they’ll hang themselves. I mean what professional doesn’t think it’s a great idea to assault your neighbor over their political views?
Has anyone paged Ken?
I’m planning a cocktail vigil for Girlfriend’s Of Rand this evening – not sure what the BOR’s are doing.
Ken doesn’t deny going to Bowling Green.
Sounds like the guy is anti-Trump, progressive type.
I’m surprised a progressive would be pissed off at him–after all, Rand Paul all but single-handedly saved ObamaCare.
They say there’s been a feud. I’d bet on a property line dispute, right where Rand Paul was mowing at the time.
Must be a pain in the ass when you have to mow your own lawn because the next door neighbor is watching to see if you hire any illegal aliens.
Can’t even hire a nanny?
How are your kids ever gonna learn to cuss in Spanish?
“I’m surprised a progressive would be pissed off at him–after all, Rand Paul all but single-handedly saved Obamacare”
I think the horse twitched! Beat it again!!!
*unzips*
I hope you appreciate that ObamaCare still hasn’t been replaced and that’s still, largely, because of Rand Paul.
It’s just sportzball all the way down.
libertarian republic’s title has “pain doctor” in it.
is it bad that i wanted to make a prescription joke? It feels bad.
In other news, Virginia gov race. RCP avg Northam (D)+1.2
Interpreted: Gillespie is up + 7 now and will win by around +5. Maybe the deplorable running over poor brown children in his Nazi confederate pickup truck didn’t work so well.
Their first idea for the campaign video was to have the racist redneck get out of his pickup with his bump stock rife and start letting off hundreds of round at the kids, but then they thought that might not be quite so subtle so they picked the redneck trying to run them over with his pickup.
My heart bleeds
Labor unions have done more for the average American than all the rich industrialists put together. Unions are a legal right and the single most powerful tool that regular working people have to improve their lot. DNAinfo and Gothamist employees, who did the fundamentally important work of telling us all what is happening in our cities, were punished for exercising their rights.
The business of journalism has always been fickle and grim. It is an industry full of idealist workers scrambling to cobble together a living at publications owned by a shifting group of cutthroat capitalists and incompetent rich dilettantes. The careers of most journalists feature constant uncertainty and heartbreak, interspersed with periods of life-affirming work that you hope make it all worthwhile. That uncertainty is why The Los Angeles Times, whose owners have been famously anti-union for more than 100 years, is now in the midst of its own union organizing campaign.
That big bully Ricketts pulled the plug on his “newsrooms” rather than take on the union as a partner. What a monster. Maybe those genius writers will offer to buy the place from him, and show the world how it’s done.
What the lefties forget about is that was his own business. No one HAS to create a business and employ people. But this is how lefties are BAKE ME THAT CAKE!
You mean jobs don’t fall out of the sky?
The Clinton Files
It’s about fucking time. I sooo want that witch to go to prison. The email server thing is a fucking FELONY. Any of us would be in jail, damnit the fuck.
Prison? I thought she was dying of an incurable disease and wouldn’t last out a year (at least according to some posters on TOS during the election.)
Well she ain’t exactly as spry as old Bill
DNAinfo was never profitable, but Mr. Ricketts was happy to invest in it for eight years, praising its work all along.
Yeah, and you you don’t badmouth a business you’re probably hoping to get out from under.
Which reminds me of what I was listening to this morning. Something about how Trumputin is lying when he refers to Manafort and those other guys as “nobodies” now, when he talked about how awesome they were when they worked for his campaign.
What a surprise. “He’ll do great things. He’s a great addition to our team, whoever he is.”
The Raiders move to Las Vegas has one further drawback that has been little discussed. How are the Raiders going to maintain a top notch cheerleading team when all of the girls are going to be getting serious offers to make thousands a day at Mayweather’s strip club? I see the quality of their cheerleading talent taking a serious hit after the move.
It’s a part time job.
Ya, and we’re talking Sunday day shift, and the occasional Thursday, Monday, or Sunday night shift. It’s been working that way in Tampa bay and Atlanta for 30+ years
So Tampa and Atlanta strip clubs have provided the cheerleaders then?
If I were a betting man….
Thank you, Iowa.
Even tennis has music.
Rough couple weeks for Penn State ?