For athletes all over, music is essential for their gamedays. Athletes use warmup music to succeed on the field or the court—the culture of both music and sports clashes together more than people think. Athletes are always using things like speakers and headphones to help boost their warm-up performance. Music platforms like Spotify and Apple Music even curate playlists designed for specific sports like football and basketball.
So why is warmup music essential? Music is known to change people’s moods and have a psychological effect on people. This is also true for athletes as well. Athletes often pick music with specific sounds, melodies, rhythms, or lyrics to get them going. Some people prefer loud music, while others prefer a more chiller sound that can get them dialed. NFL Star QB Patrick Mahomes can agree with this case. He has mentioned before in an interview that his music selections drift from rap to pop to electronic dance music, and his most frequently played song is “No Bystanders” by Travis Scott. The average beats per minute of his favorites is a speedy 137, but his set includes chill vibes such as J. Cole’s “The Climb Back.”
There are so many different genres of music that people can listen to to warm up. But in today’s day and age, the one that stands out the most is rap music. Mr Tatar, a football coach at Pennridge High School, says his players often have loud rap music playing in the locker rooms before games. From Meek Mill to Tee Grizzley, their choice of music is loud rap music, which is very common. Now retired football player Cade Bachman from Pennridge High School also comments on this. When asked about the importance of warmup music in the locker room, he says, “Yes, I think it fires us all up as a team and we can unite right before we get into the game” He also comments how the most prominent genre is rap music, “We play a lot of rap music, just stuff to get us hyped/fired up before we get into the game”.
Nowadays, many rappers and athletes alike are involved together. They are friends, and sports platforms like the NFL and NBA often use rap music in their sports clips. You can see stadiums doing the same thing when visiting games in person. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers have many rap songs that play, like Veeze’s “GOMD” and Babyface Ray’s “Ron Artest.”, both are newer rap songs. Most edits and mixes of athletes are always featuring rap music because it is so hype and matches the vibe of the sport being played.
Whether the song being played on a speaker or through a headphone is fast-paced and loud, or calmer and chill, it still has an effect on the athlete listening to it that benefits them for the game. The music world is undeniably very essential to the sports world as well, and both go hand in hand. It’s all about the idea of the music that gets the athlete going, and it helps athletes put on a performance.
