December 2nd, 2022

The locker room is one of the most unique and sacred places in all of sports. Being surrounded by fifteen to twenty of some of your closest friends with music, and the excitement of an upcoming game, or the pure joy of victory after one is one of the best places you could be. Though naturally with music, there are subjective tastes, and opinions that people form surrounding what music plays in the dressing room. The person who controls the music has a massive amount of power, shall I make everyone listen to rap? What if they played rock instead? What about EDM? In my fourteen years of lacrosse I have been able to get a sense for what the definitive best locker room songs are. Should you need these songs for yourself, or are just curious about what the hell happens in a lacrosse locker room, here are the essential songs. 

 

(Disclaimer: Some of these songs contain explicit lyrics, discretion is advised).

 

  1. Riot (Three Days Grace)

Possibly the best song choice to get the entire team going right before going out the tunnel. From my experience with the song, the entire team gathers in the middle of the room, and just collectively sings (or yells) along to the opening verse. With everyone jumping “LET’S START A RIOT” before running out the room and onto the floor. Bonus points are added on if you’re an underdog for the game. 

 

  1. September (Earth, Wind, and Fire)

An excellent choice for a victory song. The sheer happy and upbeat energy of the song puts it here alone. There’s not really any standout lyrics, or anything that the team gets together to sing, but the song is a classic for a good reason. It was the song that was played in the room immediately after my first Jr. A win. This moment single handedly put the song on this list for me. 

 

  1. Hotel Room Service (Pitbull)

If you don’t like September, this is your go-to victory song. This was the victory song for the 2022 Windsor Clippers Jr. B team (they played the song after every win on their MacDonald Trophy Finals run), and one of their players brought the song with them to Team Ontario for the 2022 Canada Summer Games. This was the first time I had the song be played in a post-game setting and I loved it immediately. After a win, the entire team’s mood is at sky-high levels. Everyone is happy, smiling, and joking around with each other. When you hear the drums, and Pitbull belt out “DJ! I want everyone to stop what they’re doin’!”, everyone gets on their feet, and collectively yells out the next line, which while cliche, is perfect in this setting; “Make. Some. Nooooiiisse!”. The collective volume that is reached during that one line is unmatched by any other song. The only thing holding the song back is that it peaks early. It never comes close to reaching the heights of the start again. Though the start of the song itself is pretty special.

 

  1. Many Men (50 Cent)

For this one I decided to get some expert opinion. On Saturdays, I practice with about ten to twelve members of the NLL’s New York Riptide. These guys are all teammates together at a professional level, so they all listen to the same music together pre-game. Three Saturdays ago when I was initially coming up with this article and compiling the songs for the list, I asked them all collectively “Hey, what song do you guys use in the room before you go out for a game?” The response immediately was Many Men by 50 Cent, and at a glance I can see why. Quite simply, it works well in a pre-game setting. The Riptide so far have been underdogs for their entire existence as a franchise, and this song reflects the place the team is at as a whole; building up for a championship push.

 

The best one, completely unequaled, #1: Party in the USA (Miley Cyrus)

There was absolutely nothing that came even close to matching this song. The excitement of a group of high school/college boys screaming Miley Cyrus at the top of their lungs is higher than a kindergarten class when there’s a pizza day. It’s also the one time for us where it’s socially acceptable to listen+sing to Miley Cyrus. You have several types of people for the song, there are:

  1. The people who just shout it normally. Nothing too crazy here.
  2. The people who do very very bad Miley Cyrus impressions.
  3. The people who are just laughing the entire time.
  4. The people who record the whole thing on their phone.
  5. The people who don’t sing along (they do not exist!).

In the end, there is no song that comes close to Party in the USA, it brings teams together. The locker room is one of the most unique places and social atmospheres in the world. The music that fits best in the setting are the songs that reflect the team, and overall vibe the best. 

 

By Markus Madill

Categories: Sports