MICHAEL PHELPS could not have made Olympic history without Lil “Weezy” Wayne:
“Every time I walked to the pool, I was blasting my music to put me in the
zone, listening to artists like Jay-Z, Young Jeezy and that giant they call
Lil Wayne.” We also know that England owed much of their revival in the 2007
Rugby World Cup to Kenny Rogers, whose song The Gambler they adopted.
In the age of the iPod, music has become almost as important as the huddle in
the pregame build-up. Where once they played cards to shut off, footballers,
cricketers and rugby players now mark the journey from hotel to ground with
their headphones on. Rock music tends to be the preferred soundtrack.
When they get to the ground, the tempo picks up, which is where, as with
Phelps, hip-hop comes in. But not for everyone. England’s Nick Kennedy told
us that his captain at London Irish, Bob Casey “tried to get his iPod put on
but it got booed off - some of it was weird Irish stuff . Once I caught him
listening to Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On - and he tried to defend it”.
Boxers have the same upbeat preferences - Joe Calzaghe likes to come out to
The Prodigy’s Spitfire - but Usain Bolt is the opposite. He says his coach
has banned music before a race “because it might break my concentration”.
Finally there is the bonding song to be belted out in unison after success.
The 1997 Lions in South Africa sang Wonderwall. Shaun Edwards leads a
rendition of Saturday Night At The Movies when Wasps or Wales win. Edwards
is a coach on this year’s Lions tour. Let’s hope he’ll be in good voice in
June.
HOW ELTON INSPIRED THE 2005 ASHES WIN
‘I’m bad with songs, I play ’em over and over and my voice isn’t the best,’
said Andrew Flintoff after the 2005 Ashes, where he often played Elton
John’s Rocket Man. In 2006, he used Johnny Cash to rouse England. Duncan
Fletcher said it produced ‘one of the most motivational moments in sport
I’ve ever witnessed’
The middle of the road gang
ANDY MURRAY
Draws inspiration from You can take the boy out of Scotland but you
can’t take Scotland out of the boy. Loves 500 Miles by The Proclaimers: ‘The
Proclaimers are from Edinburgh and when Hibs - my football team - score a
goal that’s the song that comes on at the stadium’
Gets pumped up by Eminem, 50 Cent and the Black Eyed Peas are all on
the prematch iPod
JOE CALZAGHE
Draws inspiration from Burning Heart by Survivor - it was used in Rocky
IV. Like Murray, he’s also loyal to his home country: ‘I’m a Stereophonics
fan, of course.’ However, this Welshman’s favourite song is Queen’s Who
Wants To Live Forever
Gets pumped up by The Prodigy song Spitfire: ‘It was played at the
arena in Manchester the night I walked to the ring to fight Jeff Lacy’
SUNDERLAND FC
Drew inspiration from Abba. Not that it did any good ahead of defeat by
Ipswich in 2006. Boss Roy Keane explained: ‘I swear [the players] were
playing Abba before the game. There was two dancing in the corner. I
remember thinking, “that's not right”. It was the masseur’s choice, but what
annoyed me was that none of them had the balls to say, “We’re not listening
to this rubbish”’
DAVID HAYE
Draws inspiration fromThe British heavyweight says he’s a ‘relaxing
kind of guy’, as his choices prove: ‘I listen to a lot of soul music and
songs from the 1970s and 80s. Earth, Wind & Fire, Otis Redding, Al
Green, Donny Hathaway are among my favourites’
Gets pumped up by‘A lot of boxers play ridiculous songs on their ring
walk. Mine is Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now by McFadden and Whitehead’
The ghetto blasters
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD
Draws inspiration fromProud by M People became an unofficial anthem for
the England team who won the 2003 Rugby World Cup
Gets pumped up by Sounding like a teacher trying to get down with the
kids, he says he loves Lose Yourself by a certain Detroit rapper: ‘I really
like Eminem. All the lads are into it and I have teenage children, which
means I get to hear different music’
NATASHA DANVERS
Draws inspiration from ‘When I kept getting injured, I would constantly
play We Made It by Busta Rhymes. I would picture myself crossing the line at
the Olympics and singing it to my coach in the stands’
Gets pumped up byLike Usain Bolt, our Olympic bronze medallist blocks
out the tunes before a race: ‘I do not want to become attached to something
in case my iPod gets lost’
SHANE WILLIAMS
Draws inspiration from ‘I quite enjoy the Foo Fighters - but if I want
to chill out I’ll listen to someone like the Stereophonics’
Gets pumped up byThe IRB world player of the year is a Prodigy man: ‘I
want something uplifting with a quick beat. I always play the same four
Prodigy songs before a match - Outer Space, Everybody In The Place, Breathe
and Firestarter’
RIO FERDINAND
Draws inspiration fromThe United defender modestly says: ‘My iPod has
by far the greatest variety of music [at the club]: 80s pop, 80s soul, R &
B, reggae, dance’
Gets pumped up by Hacienda house music, whatever that is.
‘Unfortunately, some of the young European lads don’t appreciate it. Patrice
[Evra] tends to cater for the foreign lads a bit more with his Euro pop’
PAT CASH’S FAVOURITE KIND OF RACKET
For almost as long as I can remember, tennis and rock music have been
inextricably linked in my personality. When I want to get myself in a
competitive frame of mind, I pull on the earphones.
I come from the rock generation of players: Vitas Gerulaitis, Mats Wilander,
McEnroe and myself . Our guitar skills weren’t all we might wish but we gave
it a go and to this day I resort to loud music before and after a tough
match. If I am to be categorised then it is as a classic rock guy with a
metal twist. So much of my listening matter is Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas
Priest, AC/ DC.
There is one song that stands out because it was so important in what remains
one of my greatest triumphs. I was just 18 when I walked out on Kooyong’s
grass to win the deciding rubber in the 1983 Davis Cup final against Sweden
and the song in my head was We Can’t Be Beaten by rock band Rose Tattoo. If
ever a song was inspirational, this was the one. Mick Cocks, once a member
of Rose Tattoo, was the person who taught me how to play guitar. I’d help
him with his tennis and he’d reciprocate by teaching me chords.
