To chant is to taunt
The Financial Times has a great survey of soccer chants and songs. Among the gems covered in the article:
In German football it’s common for supporters to chant at the opponent: “You’re only a points supplier.” When Germany played Sweden at this summer’s World Cup, fans turned this into: “You’re only a furniture supplier,” a reference to Ikea
Standards are so low that the old chant for the Nottingham Forest player Jason Lee’s hairstyle, “He’s got a pineapple on his head” (to the tune of “He’s got the whole world in his hands”), became a classic.
What are your favorite chants?
17 comments
Thank you, this was a very entertaining article. I have to admit, the songs and chants are something that draw me to soccer. Other major sports don’t really have this, with the possible exception of baseball, and even then seemingly only in tradition-rich places like Boston. I think all music that is pumped over the PA systems should be outlawed at sporting events.
One of my favorite moments of sports chants was during the 2004 NBA playoffs (I think it was the playoffs, anyway). The Lakers were playing in Minnesota during the Kobe Bryant rape allegations, and when Kobe was shooting free throws the crowd starting chanting, “No means no! No means no!”
Mine, courtesy of ThreeLions, is England’s “Are you Scotland in disguise” which is chanted to lesser opponents.
I love a good regional conflict.
One of my favorites of recent years (beside some of our Thunder chants) is when Norwich was in the premiership for a season. Their owner, Delia Smith came out at half-time of a home game and cheered on the Norwich supporters by going on the field and grabbing a microphone. The only problem was Delia was stinking drunk and sounded every bit as much when she screamed into the mic, “The message for the best football supporters in the world is; We need a 12th man here. Where are you? WHER ARE YOU? Let’s be havin ya. COME ON!” Her voice was cracking, she was screaming and all the while slurring her speech real badly. It was hysterical.
The next week when Norwich had to travel to Emirates stadium to play Chelsea the Chelsea fans jumped all over that incident. They sang a song to a famous classical opera piece that I cannot remember the name of.
But the chant was sung, “We have Abromovich, you’ve got a drunken bitch.
A classic indeed.
I vaguely remember the Norwich incident. I didn’t know about Chelsea’s response.
Funny.
In 2002, I was studying abroad and got the opportunity to attend a charity match at White Hart Lane between D.C. United and Tottenham Hotspur.
About 5 or 6 times during the game the chant of “If you hate Aresnal, stand up!” rang out and the entire stadium rose to it’s feet. Except of course, for 12 seats of Americans who had no idea WTF was going on. Finally after about the second time of the chant starting and people behind us asking why we weren’t standing up, we just stood up whenever everyone else did.
Yeah, at a charity match.
You always have to bring that one up, don’t you, bq? =P
as i left the usa v italy match at the recent world cup i was trying to avoid having a stroke due to high blood pressure or pounding the first person i saw in an italy shirt into the ground due to my now full-on hatred of their team
to vent i decided to make up a song as i walked the mile or so down the hill to the train station
for reasons that still totally espace me, the tune i chose was the oscar meyer weiner song (why?????)
within half an hour the song was completed and i began to spread it around to fellow americans
we sang it loudly on the train that night at about 2am
a couple nights later in the town square of nurmberg i sang it to about 30 americans who went wild and began singing it too
since then its taken on its own life which i hope will just grow and grow
any fan who is anti-italy can sing it if they know the oscar meyer song
here we go:
oh i wish i was a fucking diving wanker
that is what i truly want to be
cuz if i was a fucking diving wanker
then i could make my home in italy
Funny article.
I’m also enjoying that diving wanker chant. Catchy.
One of my favorites was when DC United supporters started singing “Get Up, Stand Up,/Get up off your ass” to the Harbour View keeper who was time wasting. It gets my vote for best use of a Marley song.
In Brazil, the majority of chants involve the forced insertion of something up the opponent’s anus. They are quite rhythmic, however.
–WKW
They are quite rhythmic, however.
Yikes.
Put the PC control down, Jeremy. I live here and go to countless games. And trust me, half the time, it’s like Carnaval has broken out in the stands. It can be an epic experience.
–WKW
WKW: Not sure it PC stands for Personal Computer or Politically Correct but I can assure you that Jeremy is acquainted with neither.
Josh,
Well, Ok. If he was connecting what I said the subject of the chants are, along with being rhythmic, then, I’m forced to agree.
Yikes.
It was unintentional mind you.
–WKW
WKW: That was precisely the connection I was trying to make. I knew it was unintentional on your part, and I will now hang my head in shame for being low-brow enough to point it out.
But I’ll keep giggling.
Josh: Zing.
Then my apologies Jeremy. And now that I know the PC gloves are off, let me tell you: I’ve felt more like a gringo then at games I’ve attended here.
I am so out of step with it all it saddens me. However, as long as you are with fellow fans of the home team, everyone’s family.
I am hoping to make it to Sao Paulo to catch a Santos game. I’ve been to Yankee Stadium, I’ve been to the L.A. Coliseum, I’ve been to Madison Square Garden. I’d like to watch a game in the stadium where Pele played.
Cruzeiro is my team of choice, and I had the opportunity of seeing Fred develop from a raw talent into a brilliant goal-scorer and selfless offensive force.
But I’ve seen several different teams play. It’s a great country to see a game.
–WKW
I’m sure many of you are acquanted with it, but a great resource for thing such as this is:
http://www.footballchants.org/
Full of great stuff.
Leave a Comment