Since beginning my Dartmouth career, radio stations back home have not intrigued me at all. The same songs are overplayed, and questionable artists get a ton of air time. Do I want to listen to Pitbull and Katy Perry's biggest hits? Yes, every once in a while. Do I want to listen to their songs five times in an hour? Absolutely not. Nevertheless, this is what you find when you go home and listen to the radio stations you once thought were the best when you were in high school.
Recently, however I had an epiphany these songs are not just constantly played on the airwaves. Where else can you listen to these hits? At your favorite fraternity. Boom twist in the plot. You can indeed dance to these jams at any given fraternity dance party. You'll notice that girls go absolutely bonkers when their favorite summer jam blasts through the speakers. Cheers and intense dancing are side effects of playing any remix of a Lady Gaga song.
I know I'm probably the last person to notice this correlation many of you may listen to these songs so that you're able to sing along on a Friday night. Therefore, I am going to assign an 11X jam to a few Dartmouth sports teams, and tell you why those teams should use the song I list as their anthem.
Women's Sailing "Where Them Girls At," by David Guetta (2011)
I've always had a great amount of respect for the women's sailing team much of it is due to me covering the sailing teams for nearly two years. But that is neither here nor there. The Big Green now finds itself the sixth-ranked team in the nation, up from the 11th spot. The women's team jumped that far in the standings by crushing the Women's Regis Bowl they placed first in both the A and B Divisions and now holds a slim one-point lead over Georgetown University in the standings.
Guetta's hit, "Where Them Girls At" features other artists on the track, including Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida. Much like the aforementioned single, the women's sailing team is led by a group of girls who are establishing themselves as leaders in a very young squad. Molly Wilson '13, Chandler Salisbury '13 and Madilyn Gamble '13 are team veterans, and have propelled Dartmouth to several key finishes throughout the season.
Football "Pumped Up Kicks," by Foster the People (2010)
You don't have to blitz me and tell me that this song is indeed about guns and such because I already know that. It's pretty clear and I'm about to tell you something else that's obvious: Everyone is pumped up about this Dartmouth football team. Is it such a stretch to assign this Foster the People gem to the Big Green? Perhaps, but I also wouldn't mind seeing some Dartmouth football highlights with this song playing in the background.
Nick Schwieger '12 has made himself a clear front-runner for the Ivy League Player of the Year award. By collecting his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game on Saturday night, he now has over 500 rushing yards this season, and is certainly looking like a player who is going to eclipse the 1,133 yards he ran last year, when he won a share of the Player of the Year award. Look out, Ivy League! No one will be sharing the MVP award this year if Schwieger keeps playing at this high caliber.
Field Hockey "Party Rock Anthem," by LMFAO (2010)
These girls are making themselves a staple in my weekly column, and with good reason. They are having a blast out on the field, and have won five out of their last six games despite losing to the University of Vermont last week. Because of the team's winning ways and fantastic play on the field, I truly believe LMFAO'S yearly summer classic jam is the anthem for this squad.
LMFAO tells us to "Get up, get up, get up" as we put our hands up to the sound, but this field hockey team gets up and down the field with quite some speed and an offense that has been overpowering opponents all season. Co-captains Kerry Bracco '11 and Kelly Hood '12 have set the tone, and freshman sensation Ali Savage '15 the Ivy League's Rookie of the Week for two consecutive weeks earlier in the season has been an offensive threat on a team that already features many weapons.
I personally make few cameo appearances at dance parties throughout the year, but by no means should that dissuade you from attending these great events. Next time one of these songs I mentioned comes on, be sure to think of these hard-working Dartmouth teams and the effort they are displaying this Fall.
