College Football: Top 20 Fight Songs
Okay, this is the time of year that is just agonizing for you die-hard College Football fansโthe time of year between spring ball and summer practice, and a month before EA Sportsโ NCAA โ09 hits stores.
Yes, I am a 32-year-old gamer.ย Okay, โgamerโ may be a little strong, but Iโm a big nerdy guy who enjoys sports video games after his wife falls asleep.ย Iโm that guy who goes to the midnight release at his local game store and takes the next day off work to play it.
Somehow, my wife stays married to me.
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When you play NCAA, the background menu music includes most of the free worldโs college fight songs.ย If you log enough hours trying to build your dynasty or take your created player to the top of the draft class like I do, then you know almost every important college fight song in the nation.ย Problem is, you may not know that you know these songs.
I canโt tell you how many games Iโve watched on ESPN on a Thursday night when Louisville is taking on Rutgers or some similar matchup, when all of a sudden I hear said schoolโs band strike up and I can hum every note.ย I never even realized I knew Louisvilleโs fight song!
Honestly though, I probably know more than your average bear when it comes to school fight songs.ย So in order to kill time until NCAA โ09 comes out, I figured that I would weigh in with a Top 20 list of the best college fight songs in order to create discussionโbut more than likely it'll just tick off about 80% of the people who read it.
So to preface the list, keep a few things in mind:
1)ย Iโm not, nor ever was, a student of music.ย Iโm just a guy with a pair of ears that knows what he likes.
2)ย The songs below are official fight songs, not songs associated with a college, so songs like Alma Maters, Chants, or adopted songs like โHang On Sloopyโ or โCountry Roadsโ would not qualify for this listโbut maybe Iโll do another list soon.
3)ย This is only a countdown of Division I-A (or Bowl Subdivision) schools. So while the Ivy League has some great tradition and HBCโs have the best performers, they donโt qualify.ย I also left out the service academies because they are all winners in my book.
4)ย I listened to every single fight song in Division I-A just as a refresher. This is the most time Iโve ever spent researching an articleโฆever!
5)ย Lastly, I posted a link for each song underneath its ranking. If the link opens in the same window as this article, just hit โBackโ on your browser after the song to get back here. I know you know thisโIโm mainly writing this for my Mom, who would be stuck after No. 20.
EDIT: Links may not work. Open a second browser window and cut and paste in address line to listen. Mom, just call me laterโI'llย go through it step by step.ย
On a side note, I had no idea my high school fight song, โGo Big Skippers,โ was actually โOn Wisconsin.โย I felt cheated when I got to college and found out that the song, which was a staple on Friday nights and at pep rallies in my high school years, was just some Weird Al version of an already existing song.
Well, I hope you can agree with at least part of the list, or at the minimum understand where Iโm coming from.ย I know you wonโt agree with everything, so Iโd love to hear your feedback on what you would have done without calling me vulgar names.ย So warm up your flute and line up your drums because here we go.
First off, it doesnโt feel right doing college rankings and not having a Top 25, so:
Honorable mention
No. 25 Iowa
No. 24 SMU
No. 23 Kentucky
No. 22 East Carolina
No. 21 Arizona
Other receiving votes: Toledo, Wyoming, Tulane, and Minnesota
No. 20 West Virginia
OK, I have to admit that having a male baton twirler in a band may be a bold move.ย But Iโm not going to argue with a bunch of coal miners.ย Besides, West Virginia is a hard state to draw on paper, yet the band can form it on the field. At least I think they doโIโm not 100% sure how West Virginia is shaped.ย Either way, that takes talent while playing a catchy fight song.
No. 19 Mississippi State
The only reason this song makes the list is that it gets stuck in my head.ย โHail Stateโ is like the last song you hear on the radio before you go to work or class.ย Itโs infectious, from what the doctor tells me, and itโs hard to clear up.ย In fact, I have a fever, and the only prescription is โmore cowbell.โย Saw that coming a mile away, didnโt you?
No. 18 Miami
Thankfully 2 LiveCrew and Vanilla Ice had nothing to do with the Uโs fight song. Itโs a pretty simple tune, but then again so was โIce Ice Baby,โ except this time there was no sampling a Queen and David Bowie song.
Also, special thanks to Gloria Estefan, Trick Daddy, and DJ Magic Mike for having nothing to do with this song either.ย Actually, the fact that this song rose out of the same birthplace as all the above artists is a modern miracle.
No. 17 UCLA
I donโt know why, but when I hear the โSons of Westwoodโ I think of some Japanese lady on a unicycle balancing plates on a twenty-foot pole (just listen to the song).ย Itโs fine if it doesnโt make sense to youโyou probably havenโt been to enough basketball halftime shows.
Of course that makes me think of my favorite basketball halftime show, โQuick Change.โย I think watching โQuick Changeโ while baked would totally blow oneโs mind.ย Despite the visual image, UCLA has a pretty well-known and unique fight song.ย Time to take my Ritalin. (BTW, sorry Cal fans.)
No. 16 Florida
Being as objective as I can (Me no likey the Gators), I have to say that Florida has a quality fight song.ย โThe Pride of the Sunshineโ sure does get on my nerves with that โGet up and Goโ chant, but fight song โOrange and Blueโ is definitely a keeper.ย With the success of the program in the last two decades, no doubt youโve heard it at some point while watching the Gators play.
No. 15 Ohio State
โThe Best Damn Band in the Landโ is famous for dotting the "Iโ but also for its fight song โFight the Team Across the Field.โย You pretty much have to like a band that sneaks a curse word into their title.
Fight song lyrics tend to be simple and monosyllabic.ย But the Bucks add the word โreverberatingโ into the fray.ย All of a sudden itโs like, whoa, whatโs with the hundred dollar words, pal?ย I was swimming in a sea of โrahsโ and โhooraysโ and they throw โreverberatingโ in there.ย Nicely done.
And just for the record, I like Florida at No. 15 and OSU at No. 16โbut havenโt the Buckeyes suffered enough?
No. 14 Wake Forest
Nothing says โfight songโ like bass drum exclamations.ย โHereโs to Wake Forestโ has got them in spades.ย Wake Forest making the list is probably an upset in its own right, but this team knows a lot about that with its rise to prominence in the ACC.
What I didnโt know was that Wakeโs original mascot was the โFighting Baptists,โ which kind of sounds funny.ย I mean, Baptists donโt drink, so how apt were they to get into fights in the first place?ย But then I thought if someone told me I couldnโt drink ever again, Iโd probably punch them in the face, so maybe it works.
No. 13 Ball State
Talk about upsets!ย Ball State proves with โFight Team Fightโ you donโt need original lyrics for a good fight song.ย Itโs a โFight Fightโฆonward nowโฆbring glory...school colors...victoryโฆyada yada yadaโ kind of song.ย But the music is great.ย And when it comes down to it, this kind of song is what this list is all about.ย Itโs always nice to see a mid-major make some noise.
No. 12 LSU
You may call this a biased pick since Iโm an alum, but โFight for LSUโ is an energetic foot tapper that probably doesnโt draw the praise it deserves.ย Playing fourth fiddle to the spine-tingling, goose bump producer known simply as โPregame,โ the sing along go-to โHey Fighting Tigers,โ and the traditional spelling exercise โTiger Rag,โ โFight for LSUโ is a rousing treatโprobably one of the most underrated songs on this list.
My friends will give me guff for putting them outside the Top Ten, but once again, I'm trying to be objective as I can.ย Howard Schnellenberger would probably vote the song No. 87.
No. 11 Alabama
My LSU brethren will probably scold me for putting this tune on the listโahead of LSU no lessโbut I have to try to be as objective as possible.ย The โMillion Dollar Bandโ (you should see what they pay for their athletes. Bah-zinnngg!!!) produces this little ditty that exudes all that is good about the south.ย A song that is as traditional as โThe Bearโ himself, I honestly canโt hear it start without finishing it in my head.ย God, I feel dirty.
No. 10 Wisconsin
Quite simply put, โOn Wisconsinโ is a fight song template that is often copied and never duplicated (Iโm looking at you Mandeville High!).
Wait a minute!ย I just found out that โOn Wisconsinโ was originally a song composed for a contest at the University of Minnesota, and the songโs composer was convinced to let a man named Carl Beck use it for his school UW.ย Beck rewrote the lyrics and the name was changed from โMinnesota, Minnesotaโ to โOn Wisconsin.โ
What a dirty little secret!ย Wow, this song is like a hot chick with a shady past.ย Now Iโm really hooked.
No. 9 USC
You wonโt see me cheering for the Trojans anytime soon, but USCโs band, known as โThe Spirit of Troyโ is tabbed as โThe Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe.โย Well, thatโs what USC calls them anyway.ย Hey guys, by the way, modesty is a virtue.
But outside of all the self touting, โFight Onโ has got to be a staple in your Fight Song Soundtrack.ย In addition, the band is the Snoop Dogg of marching bands, appearing in absolutely everythingโmovies, TV shows, award shows, and the youngest Lowenstein boyโs bar mitzvah.ย Heโs such a good boy that one.ย
A side note: โThe Spirit of Troyโ played the Alabama band in โForrest Gump.โย Thatโs such a shame because this was a totally believable movie before I learned this little piece of info.ย My world is now shattered.
No. 8 Oklahoma
OK, another dirty little secret: โBoomer Soonerโ is actually taken from โBoola Boola,โ the Yale fight song.ย But as weโve seen so far, how many of these songs are actually original?ย Plus, I donโt get many Yale games on my TV.
โBoomer Soonerโ is a short song with a great ending.ย No frills, thatโs what I like.ย Also, the song makes me think of the plains, covered wagons, and women in bonnets and ankle-length dresses.ย And if that doesnโt get you excited, I donโt know what will.
No. 7 Virginia Tech
โTriumphโ has the same militaristic undertones as A&Mโs โAggie War Hymn"โfitting since both schools have military academy history.ย VT made the trek down to Baton Rouge this past season and were great guests that were fun to party with.ย Plus, how can you go wrong with lyrics like:
No. 6 Notre Dame
Iโm no domer sympathizer, but โThe Notre Dame Victory Marchโ is probably the most recognizable fight song in all of college football.ย With a catchy tune that sounds at home in a football stadium just as much as it does in a victory parade, I couldnโt leave this song off the list.ย Omitting it would be impossible.ย This is truly a song for the conquering hero.
Plus, any fight song that appears in the movie โAirplaneโ is alright with me.
No. 5 Texas A&M
First off, I have to give you my true feelings on TAMU.ย I think itโs a cult.ย There, I said itโnow letโs move on.
Despite the schoolโs summer camp vibe, the โAggie War Hymnโ is a great blend of college fight song and militaristic march.ย Whatโs disturbing is that the songโs entire lyrics are based on the organ envy of another school.ย At least I think itโs disturbingโit could make it one of the most telling factors in just how good the A&M-UT (ahem, sorry Aggies, I meant TU) rivalry is.
Also, fans of the 12th man will be happy to know that the T-sips donโt appear in my Top 25. But donโt worry Hornsโtake solace in the fact that I cheer for you guys in just about every Lonestar Showdown.
No. 4 Oregon
When you think of a slow yet powerful prodding march, you probably donโt think of Oregon.ย But โMighty Oregonโ is one of my personal faves.ย It almost sounds suited to a military academyโinstead it represents a Disney character and the worst uniforms in college football.ย Go figure.ย The Ducks, however, should stand proud for having one of the best fight songs in the nation.
No. 3 Georgia Tech
If this were a list of most-fun-fight-songs, โRamblin' Wreckโ would be at the top.ย Itโs truly a song that should always be associated with Saturdays in the fall.ย I do wonder about when this song was writtenโhow many choices of words did they try that rhymed with โTechโ before they settled on โwreckโ?
I think after countless hours of debate and coffee and cigarette chasers, they went โOK, โwreckโ is a term thatโs usually bad, but weโre gonna make it good.โย Everyone agreed and called it a night.ย I think it worked.ย (Actual history may vary.)
No. 2 Rice
First off, how could you not love the โMarching Owl Band,โ more affectionately known as โThe MOBโ?ย With the exception of the โGolden Band from Tigerland,โ they are my favorite college band in the universe.ย They turn their noses up at tradition and mock other schools.ย If USC thinks sunglasses make you cool, then an entire band dressed like Jake and Elwood Blues is legendary.
Theyโve got a great fight song to boot.ย I once attended a Texas A&M-Rice game in College Station, and the MOB greeted the A&M band with a mock Nazi salute.ย Iโve loved them ever since.
No. 1 Michigan
OK, I know what youโre gonna say.ย I made it through this whole list to get to Michigan?ย The obvious choice?!ย Iโm so sorry to disappoint, but when it comes to fight songs, โThe Victorsโ is โStairway to Heaven,โ โBillie Jean,โ and โHound Dogโ all rolled into one.
I know the lyrics are a little cocky and pretentious, but isnโt that the point of fight songs?ย A mission statement of how much better my school is than yours set to music?ย This is a list of my favorite fight songs, and for me, โVictorsโ is a little bit better than everyone else's.
If I made a mistake with any facts, such as one of these songs not technically being the schoolโs official fight song, I apologize.ย I tried really hard to hold that line, run up the score, and go onward to victory.
Well, thatโs the listโnow go, fight, and win!
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