A lot has been made around the blogosphere about the Mets "ripping off" the Red Sox "tradition" of having a Sweet Caroline sing-a-long late in the game. Matt Cerrone is embarrassed by it. Mets Grrl created a banner to protest it. Brooklyn Met Fan says it's horrendous.
Personally, I think this is much ado about nothing.
First of all, the Red Sox did not invent this tradition. Yes, it was made a little bit more famous in the movie Fever Pitch, but they only started playing the song at Fenway in 1998, so it's not like this is something Ted Williams used to lead the crowd in between innings or something. In fact, it's only since 2002 that playing the song became a nightly affair. I really think the craze of screaming BUMP BUMP BUM SO GOOD! SO GOOD! became really popular after the 1996 movie Beautiful Girls. That's when wedding DJ's around the country started playing it during parties. My buddy and I used to have a DJ business in the late 90's and we played that song all the time. So maybe the Red Sox ripped off me and Tubby !
Look I wish the Mets would bring back Curly Shuffle too. I'm permanently scarred from any music that reminds me of my wedding DJ days, so I don't care if I ever hear Sweet Caroline ever again, or the Electric Slide or the Macarena or the god-forsaken Chicken Dance for that matter.
But to worry about which team came up with the idea of playing a song from 1969 by Neil Friggin Diamond in a stadium is just silly. And by the way, Neil Diamond is from Brooklyn. So there. Don't fret for a minute about taking the Jackie Robinson Expressway up to Shea and singing Sweet Caroline to your heart's content, OK? But if you want to sing Paradise By The Dashboard Light, I'll catch you in the parking lot.
4 comments:
For the record, half of Faith and Fear in Flushing thinks it's neat precisely because most of Shea Stadium sings along. God forbid people enjoy themselves.
There's an excellent version by Bobby Womack that might make for a nice alternative for the "but the Red Sox did it first!" crowd. But again, I just don't see what's wrong with something that so many people seem to enjoy (as long as it's not, you know, hate speech).
Kudos for mentioning Neil Diamond's borough of birth. Maybe they should play "Brooklyn Roads".
Ummmm. Neil Diamond is from Brooklyn. The Mets are based in Queens. Where is the connection? If I went to McDonald's and asked for a burger and they gave me a fish filet would you say they are the same since both are made in McD's? I think not.
Also, to say Beautiful Girls (a movie I like alot), a certified flop at the box office (10.5mil) is what made the song popular to sing along to is absolutely absurd.
The Mets need to ditch this song. And quick. Sometimes the people need to be saved from themselves.
So there is as much connection between Brooklyn and Queens as there is between cheeseburgers and fish sandwiches? Ah, thanks for the helpful analogy to explain your point!
If you don't want to credit Beautiful Girls, then credit this this Labatt Blue beer commercial from 2001
Post a Comment