Soundtracks, sports memories

THIS past Sunday morning, the first record I spun was an old one I had—chuck Mangione’s “Fun and Games” album from way back 1980.

Mangione, a native New Yorker, is this flugelhorn jazz artist who first scored big with “Feels So Good” in 1977. That song was first famously used in a commercial with the great Ella Fitzgerald... “is it live or is it Memorex?”

I used to see that in the old Far East Network broadcasts.

That song too was used in the Steven Seagal film, “Hard to Kill,” an episode of “Friends,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “South Park” and the film, “Dr. Strange.” Back to “Fun and Games.”

I play that record because of the song “Give It All You Got” that was commissioned by American Broadcasting Company (ABC) for their coverage of the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York.

Do you remember ABC’S Wide World of Sports and its famous intro with Jim Mckay narrating, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” that has become a staple of sports jargon?

The line “agony of defeat” was cued to then Yugoslavian ski jumper Vinko Bogataj getting wiped out.

Just to be clear, that wasn’t at the 1980 Winter Olympics. That occurred during the 1970 World Ski Flying Championships in then West Germany.

While most people will not know Bogataj or even what happened to him, suffice to say, that he gave it all he got because since then, he—now at 72 years old—has become an award-winning artist with his works exhibited all over Europe and in North America.

That 1980 Olympics is famously known for the American men’s ice hockey team’s run to the gold medal and where they defeated the Soviet Union in the semifinals.

As stirring as that was, I also remember that being the first Olympics where China joined and successfully requested the International Olympic Committee for them to be known as “The People’s Republic of China” while Taiwan, then designated as “Republic of China” to be known as “Chinese Taipei.”

How on Earth that happened, I will not understand.

However, imagine all those thoughts rushing to my head while listening to Mangione’s “Give It All You Got.”

Music is, as they say, like a time machine that takes you back to memories you had either suppressed or forgotten. And the music associated with sports—like composer Bill Conti’s majestic “Theme from Rocky” or Vangelis’ pulse-pounding “Chariots of Fire” evoke a lot of sports memories.

Here in my opinion are the 20 best songs used or associated with sports (and in no particular order okay).

“We Will Rock You” by Queen who will also have the distinct honor of having three songs with the other being, We Are the Champions” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”

“Jump Around” by House of Pain.

“Song No. 2” by Blur.

“Sirius” by the Alan Parson Project. You have to thank the Chicago Bulls for popularizing this. “Whoomp (There It Is)” by Tag Team “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang “Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti “Chariots of Fire” by Vangelis

“Give It All You Got” by Chuck Mangione “Rock and Roll Part 2” by Gary Glitter

“Eye of The Tiger” by Survivor

“One More Time” by Daft Punk

“What I Like About You” by the Romantics “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas “Right Here, Right Now” by Fatboy Slim “Pump Up the Jam” by Technotronic “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey

“I Gotta Feelin’” by Black Eyed Peas

How’s that for a sports soundtrack? If you aren’t pumped up after that—if you don’t have a cavalcade of memories rushing in—you must be dead.