3…2…1… lift off!

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/07/2011 (5259 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We’re debuting our new Winnipeg Jets-themed hockey blog today that yours truly and Tim Campbell will contribute to — we hope — fairly regularly, especially when NHL camps open in September.

This won’t be the place for the breaking news — that can always be found on the main page of our website — but more a spot for us to tee-off on issues, provide links to cool stories/websites and, once the season begins, offer takes of life on the road following our NHL squad.

And so, here we go..

FIRST THINGS FIRST…

Busted open my summer double issue of Sports Illustrated last week and came across a cool feature titled The Ultimate Play List of the best sports songs of all time.

Just FYI, Bob Dylan’s Who Killed Davey Moore? was No. 1 followed by Surfin’ USA by The Beach Boys at No. 2 and All Kinds of Time by Fountains of Wayne rounding out the Top 3. (Of note: The Tragically Hip’s Fifty Mission Cap the story of Maple Leafs defenceman Bill Barilko and his disappearance was No. 6 and Winnipeg’s own The Weakerthans came in at 19 with Tournament of Hearts. And Tom Connors’ The Hockey Song was nowhere to be found.)

Debate the list among yourselves, but the topic of the mix of sports and music has been all over the chat rooms since the announcement of hockey’s return to Winnipeg on May 31st.

Case in point: there are seven pages on the topic of the ‘Jets Intro Music’ on Jetsowner.com

And two pages discussing the sound of the horn/song that should be used after a Jets goal is scored.

Laugh all you want, but remember that NHL teams — just like their counterparts in the NBA, NFL, CFL and sports leagues everywhere — all use music, fireworks, gimmicks and the like to crank up their home crowd before the puck is even dropped. And no team wants to skate out onto the ice for the pre-game warm-up to some lame-o tune that kills a vibe.

Nobody asked me, but I liked these two suggestions by fans: AC/DC’s Are You Ready:

Saliva’s Ladies and Gentlemen:

I can also remember seeing the Chicago Wolves enter the ice for a playoff game against the Moose in the late 90s to Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir. The song isn’t a head banger, but it sure worked:

Here’s a sample of what the Buffalo Sabres use:

All that said, as one poster pointed out: ‘They could play My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion and the place would still erupt.’

Submit your suggestions in our comments section.

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Another link to another Jets’ logo design competition (for what it’s worth, we’re still hearing the logo and uniform won’t be unveiled until later this summer).

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And, finally, one word to describe this (and thanks to Jeff P for forwarding the link): Incredible.

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ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
 Twitter: @WFPEdTait