Hyped to be the champ
If the basketball gods had their way, the Golden State Warriors would be hoisting that NBA championship trophy around noon time today. If the Cleveland Cavaliers survive today by some miracle (or #MiraCLE as their fans like to say), then the Warriors better brace themselves for an epic Game 7 showdown.
Anyway, if the NBA Finals were a Hollywood film, we’d expect the perfect soundtrack to accompany the victorious moment the winner comes up on top. Anybody who’s seen Rocky knows the power of a good score to lift the moment to new cinematic heights. I remember one of my earlier childhood feel-good victory films, Mighty Ducks 2, where the Ducks gathered ‘round the bonfire days after winning against Iceland, singing the best championship song ever written late into the night (and end credits).
This list is about some of history’s best hype up, championship tracks that go well with winning. Turn the mute button on if you’re on the losing side.
Lose Yourself by Eminem. I don’t know much about rap and hiphop but what I hear from Eminem, from a musicality standpoint, I like. What is it about this track that gets adrenaline flowing as soon as the song kicks in with a palmmuted, slightly overdriven riff before the bass and vocals kick in? The pure killer instinct, captured in audio, to grab every opportunity to win in life.
We Will Rock You by Queen. If there’s only one thing that kind of sucks about this track, it is that it is never played until the end. It ends abruptly after we hear Brian May take over a jam session. But maybe that’s how the song started out; a feel-good jam session. There’s not a more iconic drum beat in the world than the one featured in this song by Roger Taylor. Once the beat kicks in, people are ready to fight.
It’s My Life by Bon Jovi. This song sort of starts slow. But with good timing under the right circumstances, a good middle-of-the-road arena rock chorus will get blood flowing in your veins. Maybe you can add Aerosmith to this list too. All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled feat. Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain and Snoop Dogg. The song wastes no time and starts with the chorus hook: “All I Do Is Win.” The melody and beat provide a temporary rush of bravado and get you battleready. It loses a bit of steam by the second verse though, but you’ve already probably won by that time anyway. We Are The Champions by
Queen. Freddie Mercury is a genius. His voice, a gift. This song is pound-for-pound, the best “victory” song in the world today or even ever. The only problem is that because it’s so effective, it’s been played and done to death most especially in films. That’s why I had to pick four other songs in this list. But in a perfect world? No other song beats this classic at what it does.