Soccer anthems

John Carroll, who writes a column for the SF Chronicle, likes to write about his cats, so much so that he prefaces any column about them with a warning, similar to spoiler warnings you might see on TV show websites. I have a suspicion that over the next month, I'll be writing a column or two more about soccer, so I'll follow Mr. Carroll's lead and warn you ahead of time that this is another soccer blog entry. Of course, you probably guessed that from the title. (For what it's worth, this one's also about music, so you might want to read on anyway. You probably guessed that part from the title, too.) Apologies to those who aren't in the grips of World Cup fever -- and let's not deny that it's a sickness -- and I promise that if you come back in a couple days, you'll be treated to something non-soccer related. Until then ...

First, a quick comment about the US's early exit from the World Cup: It sucked, but we probably deserved it. There's always four years from now. Just hope Landon Donovan decides to show up by then. At least my other three teams are still alive (Brazil, England, and Mexico), although I don't think Mexico is long for this tournament.

Now, on to something a little happier. It should come as no surprise to anyone that many Americans don't get soccer. Although I talk to a lot of people who are following the Cup, there are a whole lot of other people (I think they live somewhere in flyover country) who have no idea what the World Cup is, much less that it's going on right now. We were in England during the last one, and we got to see up-close the cultural phenomenon that is the World Cup. This may go without saying, but over there, it's far more than just another sports tournament. And one of my favorite Cup epiphenomena is the soccer anthem.

Every two years, England goes to a major international tournament, alternating between the World Cup and the European Cup, and each tournament gets its own theme song. I'm not sure how these songs are chosen, or why certain bands choose to write them, but during these tournaments, they and their predecessors from previous competitions are inescapable, kind of like Daddy Yankee was in the Mission last year. One of my surprising favorites is World in Motion by New Order. I say "surprising" because it's from the phase in their career when they had put any hints of their origins in Joy Division behind them and were a full-blown synth pop band. But I can't get enough of the chorus of England football players shouting "Enger-land." There's even a dated (almost comically so) rap by one of the players.

Another memorable one is Three Lions by the Lightning Seeds. It's full of obscure references to English soccer history that I don't get, but I think it brilliantly encapsulates both the pride and the fatalism the English feel about their team. (I think the closest American analogy would be the Chicago Cubs, if they had an entire nation supporting them.) Be sure to check out the names on the jerseys of the Germany supporters toward the end of the song.

Hands down, the best soccer anthem has to be Vindaloo by Fat Les. This one was never an official anthem, but we still heard it a lot when we were over there. And for good reason because after one listen, you'll be humming it all day. You'll probably want to run out and buy a Joe Cole jersey after a couple listens more. Or at least an order of chicken vindaloo.

It'll probably be a long while before the US gets on the soccer anthem bandwagon. In part, I think it's because the songs have to have a certain level of nationalistic pride without going overboard with jingoism. Unfortunately, the only American musicians who seem to like writing patriotic songs are country musicians, who aren't known for their subtlety. Also, I don't see a lot of overlap between country fans and soccer fans. Hope you enjoy these, and let's go Enger-land!