Non-soccer fans may not realize that the popular fan chant/song version of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army started as a soccer “thing”. For my part, I didn’t realize it was popular anywhere else, let alone American college football, until I read this story from Deadspin, How The Song “Seven Nation Army” Conquered The Sports World.
The march toward musical empire began on Oct. 22, 2003, in a bar in Milan, Italy, 4,300 miles away from Detroit. Fans of Club Brugge K.V., in town for their team’s group-stage UEFA Champions League clash against European giant A.C. Milan, gathered to knock back some pre-match beers. Over a stereo blared seven notes: Da…da-DA-da da DAAH DAAH, the signature riff of a minor American hit song.
Then, on Feb. 15, 2006, Club Brugge hosted A.S. Roma in a UEFA Cup match. The visitors won, 2-1, and the Roma supporters apparently picked up the song from their hosts.
“I had never heard the song before we stepped on the field in Bruges,” Roma captain Francesco Totti told a Dutch newspaper later. “Since then, I can’t get the ‘Po po po po po poo pooo’ out of my head. It sounded fantastic and the crowd was immediately totally into it. I quickly went out and bought one of the band’s albums.
The rest, as they say, is history. Check out the whole Deadspin article to see how it spread from those humble beginnings to take over the sports world. You can watch the Seven Nation Army video if you’re not familiar with the original, or if you just want to rock out again.
(Just two days left in group-stage voting for this month’s tournament, and the 2nd place spot is still very close — vote yet?)
Yanks Abroad: Bradley Moving To Serie A:
American midfielder Michael Bradley appears on his way to Italy, with the Serie A meddlers Chievo having been successful with a $2.5 million transfer bid from Borussia Moenchengladbach.
…When the deal sees its completion, Bradley will become only the second American player in the modern era to play in the Italian Serie A behind Alexi Lalas. Oguchi Onyewu’s tenure at AC Milan did not see him feature in a league match.
