"It just didn't go over well," said Teresa Shear, director of cheerleaders and game-day entertainment. So, Shear found a more hard-edged anthem: Thunderstruck by AC/DC. The verdict from the blue and orange jury?
"We haven't gotten any more complaints." Programming the soundtrack to sporting events might sound as easy as throwing Queen's We Will Rock You on a turntable, but Shear and her counterparts confess that knowing what to play and when to play it requires a certain amount of skill. "You're ultimately going to fail if you try to keep the energy at a fever pitch the whole game," says Cassidy Bednark (aka DJ Bedz) who handles music for Denver Nuggets games.
"It's more about peaks and valleys and knowing when to get the crowd involved at the right time." The Nuggets, Broncos, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Mammoth all employ music to varying degrees to set a mood. The Avalanche, who cease all off-ice entertainment once the puck is in play, broadcast anywhere from 60 to 100 songs (including instrumentals and sound effects) during a game.
The Colorado Mammoth plays music throughout the game. The Broncos and Nuggets fall in the middle, spinning between 100 and just over 200 tunes on game day. Most of the teams develop playlists based on feedback from fans, input from their in-house entertainment experts and occasionally, player requests.
Teams pay a royalty fee to ASCAP/BMI for the songs used for entertainment purposes in-arena. Though many associate the NBA with hip-hop, the Nuggets play more classic rock because that's what fans like. Surveys from the end of last season showed that 54.
3 percent of Nuggets fans preferred rock and classic rock. Alternative and hip-hop music garnered the second- and third-largest percentage of votes. Shear says the Broncos take the mainstream route, but there are also old favorites.
"We play La Grange by ZZ Top before the team comes out and we changed that about four years ago," remembers Shear. "We got comments from fans saying, 'We didn't win today because you didn't play La Grange.'" The Mammoth might be the most experimental.
In addition to playing everything from hard rock to kids' music, the team showcases local bands such as Opie Gone Bad. "If it fits with our team and demo(graphic) we'll play it," says Karen Woods, senior director of game entertainment for the Avalanche and Mammoth. All the teams feature clean, profanity-free music.
They also lean toward the familiar because of the wide demographic at most sporting events. "You have 6-year-olds, you have 60-year-olds. So, you have to appeal to what people are comfortable with," said Bednark, who's been DJing the Nuggets games since the 200 2/2003 season.
League rules also heavily influence what teams play and when they can hit the play button. The Mammoth has the most freedom, but the Nuggets, Avs and Broncos can be fined for playing music at the wrong time. The Nuggets can't play any vocals when they have the ball.
Music during free throws is also banned. The Broncos used to play music right up to the huddle, but now the team stops the tunes once the play clock starts. You won't hear any music when the Broncos play defense either, because the league decided that practice could provide an unfair advantage to home teams.
"It's up to our fans to provide the music," says Shear. The players exert their musical influence during warm-ups. Denver Broncos safety Nick Ferguson is in charge of providing a list to Shear of what each section of the team wants to hear.
The offensive line, appropriately, is partial to Outkast's Mighty O. Defensive squads sometime choose Welcome to the Terrordome by Public Enemy. During night games, In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins is a popular request.
For the Nuggets, hometowns come into play. Andre Miller, originally from Los Angeles, likes West Coast rappers such as Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre.
East Coast dweller Carmelo Anthony prefers Jay-Z. The Mammoth allows its players to pick the songs they hear when they score. Forward Mike Law likes Bobby Fuller's I Fought the Law.
Jump Around by House of Pain is team captain Gavin Prout's song. Most teams want high energy for the start of the game. The Broncos find that playing Archie Eversole's We Ready (based on a suggestion from linebacker Keith Burns) when they kick off and the Black Eyed Peas' Pump It when they receive, gets the crowd moving.
The Nuggets go to the Rolling Stones' Start Me Up or Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses for tipoff. When a key timeout is taken, the Nuggets turn to proven standards for pumping up the fans, including Billy Idol's Mony Mony and Twist and Shout by The Beatles. When the Mammoth scores, it relies on Todd Rundgren's festive Bang on the Drum, which has proven to be a fan favorite.
But there's one song you're bound to hear at every sporting event after any major victory, says Brian Kitts, senior director of marketing and public relations for Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which owns the Nuggets, Avalanche and Mammoth. "If your team wins, you're going to hear (Kool and the Gang's) Celebration, possibly until the end of time." Keep it clean: Because most sports teams are marketed as family-friendly entertainment, songs containing profanity or obscenity are strictly prohibited.
Keep it league legal: The rules vary from sport to sport, but most teams must abide by very specific rules in terms of what they can play when the game clock is running. Keep it accessible: Since sports fans represent such a wide demographic, the teams must play music that will appeal to everyone from your 4-year-old niece to your 65-year-old grandmother.
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