A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team.[1] The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand, these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated with collegiate sports, fight songs are also used by secondary schools and in professional sports.
Fight songs are sing-alongs, allowing sports fans to cheer collectively for their team.[2] These songs are commonly played several times at a sporting event.[1] For example, the band might play the fight song when entering the stadium, whenever their team scores, or while cheerleaders dance at halftime or during other breaks in the game.[1][3] In Australian rules football, the team song is traditionally sung by the winning team at the end of the game.
Some fight songs have a long history, connecting the fans who sing them to a time-honored tradition, frequently to music played by the institution's band.[1] An analysis of 65 college fight songs by FiveThirtyEight identified words commonly used in the lyrics of these songs, including fight, win, and victory.[4] Other common elements of fight song lyrics are mentioning the team's colors, spelling out the school's name, and using the words "hail" and "rah."[4] Many songs were composed by students, alumni, or faculty of the institution; for example, Cole Porter wrote "Bulldog" for his alma mater Yale College. Some songs are created by pairing new lyrics with a pre-existing tune, even another college's fight song.[4][5][3]
Hundreds of colleges have fight songs, most originating from the early 20th century in connection with football.[5] The first collegiate fight song in the United States is Boston College's "For Boston", written and composed by T. J. Hurley in 1885.[6][5] One of the oldest fight songs in Australia is Melbourne Grammar School's "Play Together, Dark Blue Twenty" dating to before 1893.[7] In 1997, USA Today selected "Aggie War Hymn", the fight song of Texas A&M University, as the "No. 1" college football fight song in the United States.[5]
Although used similarly, stadium anthems differ from fight songs because they are not written specifically for a sports team. Fight songs are also different from an alma mater or school song, which is a patronal song for an educational institution and usually has a slower tempo.[1]
List of college fight songs
Many colleges have unofficial fight songs or have changed their official song over the years. Additionally, some colleges have rally songs, spirit songs, cheer songs, and alma maters. This list is exclusively for the fight song or songs currently approved by the institution, even if played infrequently.
Canada
University Name | Team Name | Fight Song | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
University of Alberta | Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas | "University Cheer Song" | [8] |
University of British Columbia | UBC Thunderbirds | "Hail, U.B.C." | [9] |
Bishop's University | Bishop's Gaiters | "Raise a Toast!" | [10] |
Royal Military College of Canada | Royal Military College Paladins | "Precision" | |
Queen's University | Queen's Golden Gaels | "Queen's College Colours (Oil Thigh)" | |
University of Saskatchewan | Saskatchewan Huskies | "Fight! Fight! Fight!" | [11] |
University of Toronto | Toronto Varsity Blues | "The Blue and White" | [8] |
University of Western Ontario (Western University) | Western Mustangs | "The Western Song" | [12] |
Japan
University | Team Name | Fight Song | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Kwansei Gakuin University | "Shingetsu-ki no moto ni, Fight On Kwansei" |
Mexico
University | Team Name | Fight Song | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara | "Himnos Tecos!" |
United States
List of professional sports team fight songs
Australia
Club | Team Name | Fight Song | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Adelaide Football Club | Adelaide Crows | "The Pride of South Australia" | |
Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club | Brisbane Lions | "The Pride of Brisbane Town" | |
Carlton Football Club | Carlton Blues | "We are the Navy Blues" | |
Collingwood Football Club | Collingwood Magpies | "Good Old Collingwood Forever" | [44] |
Cronulla Sutherland District Rugby League Football Club Ltd | Cronulla Sharks | "Up, Up Cronulla" | |
Essendon Football Club | Essendon Bombers | "See The Bombers Fly Up" | |
Fremantle Football Club | Fremantle Dockers | "Freo Way To Go" | [44] |
Geelong Football Club | Geelong Cats | "We Are Geelong" | |
Gold Coast Football Club | Gold Coast Suns | "Suns of the Gold Coast Sky" | [44] |
Western Sydney Football Club Limited, trading as Greater Western Sydney Football Club | Greater Western Sydney Giants | "There's a Big Big Sound" | |
Hawthorn Football Club | Hawthorn Hawks | "The Mighty Fighting Hawks" | |
Melbourne Football Club | Melbourne Demons | "It's a Grand Old Flag" | |
Melbourne Storm | "We Are the Storm" | ||
Melbourne Victory FC | Melbourne Victory | "Melbourne The Brave" | |
North Melbourne Football Club | North Melbourne Kangaroos | "Join in the Chorus" | |
Perth Glory FC | Perth Glory | "We Are the Glory" | |
Port Adelaide Football Club | Port Adelaide Power | "Power to Win" | [44] |
Richmond Football Club | Richmond Tigers | "We're from Tigerland" | |
St Kilda Football Club | St Kilda Saints | "When the Saints Go Marching In" | [44] |
South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club | South Sydney Rabbitohs | "Glory Glory to South Sydney" | |
Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club | Sydney Roosters | "Easts to Win!" | |
Sydney Swans Ltd | Sydney Swans | "The Red and the White" | |
Indian Pacific Limited, trading as West Coast Eagles Football Club | West Coast Eagles | "We're Flying High" | |
Footscray Football Club Limited | Western Bulldogs | "Sons of the West" | [44] |
Canada
Team Name | Fight Song | Reference |
---|---|---|
BC Lions | "Roar You Lions Roar!" | |
Edmonton Elks | "Eskimo Fight Song" | |
Saskatchewan Roughriders | "Green Is The Color" | |
Toronto Blue Jays | "OK, Blue Jays" | |
Toronto FC | "The Legend TFC" |
Japan
Team Name | Fight Song | Reference |
---|---|---|
Orix Buffaloes | "Sky" | |
Chiba Lotte Marines | "We Love Marines" | |
Chunichi Dragons | "Burning Dragons" | |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | "Go Young Hawks" | |
Hanshin Tigers | "The Hanshin Tigers' Song" | |
Hiroshima Toyo Carp | "Let's Go, Carp" | |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | "The Fighters' Song" | |
Saitama Seibu Lions | "Roar, Lions" | |
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | "Fly High! Rakuten Eagles" | |
Tokyo Yakult Swallows | "Tokyo Ondo" | |
Yomiuri Giants | "Fighting Spirit" | |
Yokohama DeNA BayStars | "Passionate Star" |
United States
List of secondary school fight songs
Australia
School | Team Name | Fight Song | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Melbourne Grammar School | "Play Together, Dark Blue Twenty | [7] |
Philippines
School | Team Name | Fight Song | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Ateneo de Manila University | Ateneo Blue Eagles | "Blue Eagle, the King" | [47] |
Ramon Magsaysay High School, Manila | "Mabuhay" |
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Dodrill, Tara; Vasen, Debbie. "High School Fight Songs". Love to Know. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
- ↑ Greatrix, Paul (20 September 2019). "Rah, rah, rah: deconstructing the US college fight song". Wonkhe. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Edgemon, Erin (2016-09-09). "The greatest college football fight songs ranked". AL. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Koeze, Ella; Paine, Neil; Ziegler, Sara (2019-08-30). "Our Guide To The Exuberant Nonsense Of College Fight Songs". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Pinto, Michael. "The 50 Greatest College Football Fight Songs of All Time (With Video)". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ Soyer, Daniel (2008-04-29). "Beyond "For Boston"". @BC. Boston College. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- 1 2 Eagle, Chester (1986). Play together, dark blue twenty. Melbourne: Trojan Press. ISBN 9780869140314.
- 1 2 "Fight Songs: Canadian Songs". www.1122productions.com. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "UBC Archives - Harold King and "Hail U.B.C."". www.library.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Raise a Toast, your next earworm". Bishop's University Blog. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "University of Saskatchewan Archives - The Student Experience". digital.scaa.sk.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "Western Mustang Band - Songs & Cheers". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "Fight Song". University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Studwell, William E; Schueneman, Bruce R. "Top College Fight Songs". www.collegexpress.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "War Eagle | Auburn University". www.auburn.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ Widdoes, Reed (2015-09-17). "Who is Ray Bucknell? Students debunk University fable with social media takeover". The Bucknellian. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
- ↑ "Yale Fight Songs | Yale Bands". bands.yalecollege.yale.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "Alma Mater and Fight Song". Central Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Fight Songs & Alma Mater". University of Cincinnati Athletics. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Colgate University: 200 Years of Tradition" (PDF). Colgate University. p. 8. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ↑ "School Songs". University of Colorado Athletics. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Alumni Spirit Zone". Franklin College. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ↑ "Furman Football". www.sciway.net. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "Georgia Fight Song Lyrics". SEC Y'ALL. 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Georgia Tech Traditions: GT Songs". traditions.gatech.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Fight Songs". Harvard University. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ McGuffey, Kevin (2017-06-14). "The History of Kentucky's Fight Song". Last Word on College Football. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Fight Song - On Lafayette!". Lafayette College Athletics. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Lehigh Fight Song". Lehigh University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Sounds of Miami". www.miamialum.org. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "Michigan Fight Song". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- 1 2 Marie, Lisa (October 26, 2021). "The Real Rivalry in Michigan: Who Has the Better College Fight Song?". Cars 108. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Fight Songs | Band | Nebraska". www.unl.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "NC State Fight Song & Alma Mater". NC State University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "Notre Dame Victory March". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - official athletics website. 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Songs and Songbooks". rbscp.lib.rochester.edu. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ↑ Phillips, Gretchen (February 25, 2022). "St. Mary's College of Maryland Premieres Student-Composed Fight Song". St. Mary's College of Maryland. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "Alma Mater and Fight Songs | St. Norbert College". www.snc.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ↑ "Tennessee Vols Fight Song Lyrics". SEC Y'ALL. 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "UCLA Songs". UCLA Alumni. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Official Fight Song | About USC". about.usc.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Bow Down to Washington — UW Libraries". www.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ↑ "Yale Fight Songs | Yale Bands". bands.yalecollege.yale.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, Gordon P. (June 6, 2017). "A scientific breakdown of the best AFL team songs". The Roar. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ↑ "The Baltimore Fight Song". Archived from the original on 21 March 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ↑ Fields, Dave. "Here Is The Voice of The Buffalo Bills Shout Song". WYRK. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ↑ "Blue Eagle, the King". Ateneo de Manila University. Retrieved 28 March 2023.