Is it time for the Riders to ditch Bring 'em Out?

Springsteen was right. You can't start a fire without a spark.

Sometimes all it takes is one person, one voice or one action to cause a significant shift in a societal norm.

Imagine a world where a drunk concertgoer in Atlanta, Georgia in 1976 had never yelled out, "Play Freebird!" Or, for the sake of this piece, imagine a rabid Rider fan hadn't decided to forego a nutritious snack and carve that delicious watermelon into a helmet.

Stirring the pot

Since the inception of social media, there seems to be sparks lighting fires daily.  Everyone has a voice and when your voice becomes popular it gets louder and louder every single time you use.  

Enter Duron Carter. The Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver calls himself a "shameless expert level troll' in his Twitter bio. He lived up to the billing on April 29 when he stirred the pot with a tweet calling out the Riders' entrance song Bring 'em Out.

Even though he may have just been trying to ruffle the feathers of Rider die-hards, many of whom unconsciously still whistle Green is the Colour while they work, he really does have a valid point. After years and years of heavy rotation, it actually is played out.

Now before you search out my Twitter profile and let the rage flow through you, take a step back and think about this for a second. If this song is no good, then what is? What exactly gives a stadium anthem (like Green is the Colour) longevity and relevance decades later?

Something you can shout along to

First and foremost, what makes a good anthem is recognizability and crowd participation. If you know it and love it, it fires you up. If the lyrics are simple and you can shout them out loud in unison, it makes you feel good inside because you're now part of the experience.

At some point you need to take a break and move on.- Taron Cochrane

In the hockey world, for example, the Ramones mastered this with Blitzkrieg Bop and Garry Glitter absolutely perfected this with Rock and Roll, Part 2. You heard them at every game and yelling "Hey ho, let's go!" or simply "Hey!" was simple enough for even the youngest fan.

So then what's so wrong with Rider Nation chanting "Bring em out, bring em out" as the team takes the field before every game? 

The problem is variety. Imagine listening to the same song every day for the next few years? At some point you need to take a break and move on. Sure, you can come back to it eventually, like we have with many of our anthems, but the best thing we can do right now is just let it rest for a while.

Use the talent we have

Given this opportunity, why don't we consider more local music? We have the talent, we have the recordings and by gum we certainly have the pride. As a case in point, we won't stop chanting that Arrogant Worms hit The Last Saskatchewan Pirate because it's full of so many Saskatchewan references.

Saskatoon's One Bad Son has shown a good anthem requires high energy. Regina's Def3 has continuously proven great lyrics ("Ain't nobody safe tonight/ I heard a beast is on the loose!") can also make for an anthem with bite. 

We all know that every music fan has different tastes, so why don't we try to work on a compromise? If we were able to find the money to have actual players record a cheesy 800 Lbs. of West Country Rock album in the 1971, then why not do the same today but use actual incredibly talented local musicians? 

Give Saskatchewan artists the resources and the money and I'm confident they'll collectively produce an anthem so timeless our ancestors will use it to cheer our team on through the sun and rain for decades to come.