Home advantage is huge for sports at all levels, including high school. When you hear the term “home advantage” you probably think of having fans on your side, feeling comfortable on the field or court, and having more confidence in general. One thing that most people overlook is the importance pre-game playlist that the home team gets to choose.
You hear the same songs every home game, getting pumped up and ready for the game, providing an advantage. Your team likes the songs playing, whereas the other team may not and be thrown off from that. Pre-game playlists are important to all teams, and it is crucial to have one that appeals to everyone on the team and gets them hyped up to destroy the other team.
Gabi Mclaughlin, captain of the girls soccer team, stressed the importance of having a good playlist to me. She said that “we all know it by heart” which allows for a tighter bond to form on the team.
I interviewed the Oliver Ames athletic director, Bill Matthews about the topic, and he said that he was actually the one that had to do this. Each season he has to sit down in his office and listen to the playlists for all the sports, listening to every single song on the playlist to make sure it meets his standards.
Mr. Matthews said that “we have a policy for the coaches to make the playlists are in compliance with the list of items we have. We want music that is family friendly”, which means that any kind of violence or inappropriate language, including words that are bleeped out, are not allowed.
This drastically limits the number of songs allowed on the playlists for high schoolers, as much of the popular music includes improper language or violence. Most of the music that I think of as “hype” music involves these things as well, so it leaves me wondering what songs are on these playlists. I have honestly never paid much attention to the warm up songs for sports teams at OA, but I’m definitely interested now that I know how much time goes into the approval of these playlists and will be much more attentive.