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September 8, 2006
A Seven Nation Army in the AL Central
In which I nominate a domestic inheritor of the cool White Stripes thing that the Azzurri fans were rocking at the World Cup
For those among you who followed the action over on F.C. Camena during the Weltmesiter, you’re well aware (or at least you may sort of recall) that I was pretty obsessed with this cool cheer that the Italian fans were doing at the World Cup. We first ran into it at the USA – Italy game, and spent the next couple days a bit dazzled and intrigued by it all. They were definitely chanting the bass line from the White Stripes song “Seven Nation Army” – but why? What kind of sense did that make? The White Stripes weren’t remotely Italian, and I had no prior knowledge of this kind of cheer. This is the sort of thing I expected to be briefed on in my advance research!
Eventually, I was able to dig up an explanation of what this was all about on the Electric Internet. Something to the effect of it being from Belgium, but was adopted by some AS Roma fans in April, and very quickly caught on nationally, becoming some of a craze/ fad along the way. For a complete explanation, including an example of the cheer itself at around the 1:52 mark, you should click through to this podcast. It’s worth it.
Of course, ever since I've returned from the World Cup and done my online homework, I've been eager for the White Stripes cheer to enter the American sporting event songbook. After all, the White Stripes are an American band, and there's definitely room for more cool cheers at our sporting events. But the cheer needs a home -- a team at the right point in their season and history, and a town that makes sense for the song.
And I think I have an answer.
As much as I would absolutely love to volunteer the Phillies for this detail, I really can't in good conscience do it. They're still too much of a bubble team for the playoffs, and while I certainly endorse the Ryan-Howard-and-Chase-Utley version of the Phightins much more than the loser Pat Burrell-Bobby-Abreu-Mike-Lieberthal edition, I don't think they've completely found their character quite yet. So I think I have to reluctantly hold back.
There actually is a much better answer to this question. It's a team from which no one expected terribly much, playing in a city that had suffered through some lean baseball years, and they're running away with the toughest division in the majors. Even better, they're playing in Jack White's hometown, and they're almost assured of a spot in the postseason. I think this is actually a pretty good answer.
That is, fans of the Detroit Tigers, I hereby grant you the U.S. license to the cool White Stripes chant from the World Cup. Congrats! I'd like nothing more than to hear Comerica Park rocking in a postseason series (against the Yanks, perhaps?) to the bat-rattling bass of the White Stripes.
(Definitely e-mail me to let me know if you're friends with any actual Tigers fans; they very much need to know about this, I really don't know any myself.)
Posted by thatkid at September 8, 2006 7:35 AM under
Sports
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