I don’t necessarily get wrapped up in the debate that rages from time to time on Twitter and Facebook about The White Stripes’ 2003 hit song, “Seven Nation Army” that has basically turned into an audible “OHHHH, OH, OH, OH, OH, OH… OH” chant performed by 70,000 jacked up, boozed up Ravens fans on Sunday afternoons.
Its an easy way to get the fans fired up (as if they needed any more reason to be fired up) starting immediately once the music blasts through the speakers.
Hell, from time to time, even the Orioles use it at OPACY to get the crowd going, though it’s less frequent there than at M&T Bank Stadium.
Thing is – and here’s where I’m required to give my two cents on this silly topic – it was a song I enjoyed very much so during my college years listening to HFS, (you know, back when HFS was on 99.1 FM) and was a #1 hit single by July of 2003.
The album, Elephant is terrific and even received a nomination for Album of the Year and I think Jack White and The White Stripes are very talented, but the chant has absolutely ruined my enjoyment of the song.
There I said it.
Don’t get me wrong, everyone is free to chant and sing/hum off-tune to any song they want, but I just prefer to stay quiet when the Ravens production crew plays the song.
I did a quick poll on Facebook last week (because that’s where everything is official) and just about everyone agreed against the chant. Some even threatened kicking and punching anything within striking distance at the next playing of the song. (They’re kidding of course)
There are people out there that complain they’re exhausted hearing “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” from John Denver during the 7th inning stretch for every Orioles home game. And they’re free to that opinion of course, but the difference for me is they actually play the song, not just a four-minute instrumental version of the same two lines of the song, over and over.
Getting back to Seven Nation Army, it is crazy to think how the song has become a complete cult hit around the world, something The White Stripes likely never expected. The funny thing is, no one in the band during the song actually says the word “oh”.
I liken it to the game telephone where you whisper something and pass it on and the further it goes, the more it changes. It was cool the first few months it made its way to Ravens games. It was a rallying cry.
Now, it’s part of a song that derived from European soccer games 4,300 miles away some 10 years ago and transplanted into NFL stadiums around the country.
My thing is, the ship has sailed on the song being part of the weekly home experience at M&T Bank Stadium.
As our good buddy, Kris “Goob” Jones has said before, the song should have rode off into the sunset like Ray Lewis did after last season’s Super Bowl victory with something fresh in 2013.
If there were to be a new chant or part of a song to use starting this season at Ravens home games, what would you choose?
Image Credit: John Denver
New Kids on the Block “You Got (The Right Stuff)”. “Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh”. Same thing right?
Yeah, I agree. Totally over it. It would be one thing if it was just the Ravens that did it, but it’s in almost every city now. It’s. Played out. It’s done. It’s turning into this generation’s version of that awful Gary Glitter song from that played at every sporting event in the country back in the 90s. Please don’t make Jack White into Gary Glitter.
Also, people have no idea when to even chant it correctly. I was at an O’s game last season where they were down by like 4 runs and then 2 guys got on base so they started chanting it. You don’t do that there. You wait until they score and tie the game or go ahead.
Anyway, Ravens fans should learn the words to their own fight song and sing that.
I think the Gary Glitter song was revived when the Maryland students turned it into “HEY! YOU SUCK!” in the late 90’s. Any other time, it’s awful.
Goodbye Seven Nation Army. Like skinny jeans and v-neck t shirts on guys, I wish you would have stayed in Europe. Now Gary Glitter’s tune is different. The U of M added the “you suck” and made it a Maryland thing.