As resident wind-up merchant and Anderson admirer, I was delighted when I stumbled upon this creative new chant recently "developed" by United supporters.
But in all seriousness, it's that actual development of chants that truly fascinates me. Hooliganism may be the the most immediately intriguing aspect of terrace culture with its violence and gang mentality, but the creation of songs that ring from the stands is quite literally an art form.
It's a cheeky craft that lies somewhere between the traditional poem and the remix. Between the limerick and the mash-up. Between the pun, parody and the campfire sing-along. It's vocal interpolation at its finest. It's remotely possible that football chants inspired Weird Al Yankovic, and vice versa.
Someone, somewhere, concocted this mad ode to Anderson. All we can really glean from the chant is that the composer has been impressed with young Brazilian's displays thus far and that they love the track "Agadoo" by Black Lace, essentially a British "Macarena" that stormed the UK charts in 1984. I have a feeling alcohol may have been involved as well.
The next step is even more incredible. Somehow it travels from the mind of one zany fan to the mouths of many, who emphatically chant the song in unison. Is it simply a matter of teaching it to a few of your mates and belting it out at a match, hoping that it will infect others in your section, and spread from there? What makes a "successful" chant? How long does it typically take for one to take hold? Anyone remember the South Korean fans when they played France in the last World Cup? They were so organized it was simultaneously frightening and awe-inspiring.
If anyone out there has any insight or suggested reading on the subject, I'd be really interested. I didn't look around too much, but I did come across this piece from BBC News on England's first Chant Laureate.
The ultimate moral of the story? American sports fans are incredibly lame.
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2 deflections:
I still recall, quite vividly, a chant that a college hockey fan started in approximately 1990. The crowd had just quieted back down after the visiting goalie (Surname Cooper) let in a goal. A fan of the home team who was seated near me sang in the loudest singing voice I've ever heard:
"Nice one, Cooper.
Nice one, son.
Nice one, Cooper, let's have another one."
Cooper seemed to visibly shrink upon the final verse. Americans can, rarely, bring some atmosphere to a sporting event.
American sports fans, in groups, are lame, except maybe Duke University basketball fans - they seem pretty well organized, and energetic.
A stadium packed with singing football supporters is fantastic. United and Liverpool both have great singing crowds, while Arsenal is famous for the Highbury library.
Still, there are some great Arsenal standards.
A couple of amusing Football songs I've heard of:
To the tune of "That's Amore" - When the ball hits your head and you sit in row zed, that's Zamora.
Chim, chimney, chim chimney, chim chim cheroo, who needs Sol Campbell when we've got Djourou.
Another catchy, but perhaps over-elaborate one, about Steven Gerrard, who Reds never wanted to see switch to Chelsea: You're just too good to be Blue, can't take the ball off of you, you've got a beautiful touch, you pass like Souness to Rush, and when we're drunk in the bars, we thank the lord that you ours, you're just too good to be Blue, can't take the ball off of you.
I should try to pen one of my own, and see if it can't make it's way to Ashburton Grove.
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