God Made Me Funky
We don’t often automatically associate music with sport, but the partnership between music and sport is an interesting one for both fans and athletes.
Arenas play music to rev up the crowds before games, between stoppages in play, at intermissions (just think of the anticipation of who will play the Super Bowl every year—and the controversies that have arisen from the performances of Janet Jackson and the aging band, The Who, this past year), and when goals are scored. I remember the first time I attended a Raptors basketball game, how surprised I was to discover that hip hop, rap, and dance music were played throughout the entire match—tempo changing depending on whether the Raptors were on offence or defence.
Over the course of the games, I’ve discovered that music is pumped through speakers to entertain spectators at skiing events, and live bands sometimes play at the speed skating oval while the zamboni floods the ice. During the Women’s 3000-metre competition, a Dutch Levenslied band played to a crowd of orange-clad costumes stomping and cheering. And, of course, if there are no pre-recorded or live offerings, fans frequently take it upon themselves to cheer ditties or sing short songs. In international competitions, it’s neat to hear the various anthems and rhymes and staple cheers of other nations.
But music is also a fundamental instrument utilized in sport training and by the athletes themselves before, during, and after competitions. As many athletes spend the better part of their days on exercise equipment, or performing the rote actions of their sport, at times completely on their own in a room or outdoors, music is companion, fan, or coach. Music can keep the athlete in a specific rhythm or head space, or simply distract them from the pain and tedium of their sport’s routines. And, in the case of gymnasts and figure skaters, music is a piece of sport equipment and they may be judged as much on how well they perform with their musical choices as on their technical skills.
I met a young 2012 javelin hopeful who told me that she is almost always outdoors and alone for her daily training, and so music is a way to handle the extreme solitude. And a common gift among athletes are burned CDs of their favourite tunes to comfort or entertain them during the hours of transportation to and from competition venues. Many noted during the Beijing Olympics that Michael Phelps was never without his iPod upon entering the pool, the same way that Dany Heatley is never without his upon entering a hockey rink. And, as part of the press surrounding Clara Hughes’ position as Canadian flag-bearer for the opening ceremonies, newspapers printed the five songs she was listening to in Torino before winning Olympic gold (which included U2’s “Beautiful Day” and The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside”).
How top athletes use music to aid in performance is worth studying, as the connections between music and emotion and action are, without a doubt, extremely complicated and fascinating, and would have ramifications for many other areas of human activity. Who listens to what, when, and why—and what are the effects?
I was thinking about all this last night as we have the privilege at CAN Fund Athlete House of listening and dancing to live music every night. In the last couple of nights, we’ve even had private performances by bands playing at the Victory Ceremonies: Barney Bentall over the weekend, and God Made Me Funky last night. The athletes know the words to almost every song played, and jump at the chance to boogie on the dance floor. Music is their friend, their release, their celebration, and their common language among other athletes. You can tell by how joyful they look when they are singing that music has played a fundamental role in their lives as people, but also as performers themselves. And they certainly have the energy to funk the night away.
