At their second of two shows at the American Airlines on Friday, Queen and Adam Lambert paid tribute to the newly crowned victors with an encore of “We Are the Champions,” arguably the greatest jock jam ever written.
Guitarist Brian May sported a Rangers jersey just for this encore, and as confetti swirled through the arena, the ubiquitous song morphed into something more personal. The lyrics took on a whole new meaning for North Texas fans, whose home team really were the champions of the world.
@misdisney Its a good day to live in DFW! #texasrangers #worldserieschamps #workdseries2023 #brianmayqueen #sirbrianmay #queen #queenlive #wearethechampions #livemusic #musicfeedsmysoul #concertgoer #baseballjersey #arlingtontexas #dallastx #dfw #texasgirl #dfwsports #adamlambert #freddiemercury ♬ original sound - MisDisney 🏰
At the risk of putting a damper on a moment that local Queen fans will remember forever, we think it’s relevant to mention that May has pulled similar stunts in other cities. Queen and Adam Lambert’s recent show in Philadelphia had the guitarist decked out in a Phillies jersey during the encore.
This creative choice does not support their claim that they have “no time for losers,” but we digress.
The more personal and unexpected anthem for this Rangers season was “Higher” by Creed. The long-maligned Christian butt rockers were blessed with some newfound appreciation after the Rangers dubbed them their unofficial hype music.
After a rocky start to the season, pitcher Andrew Heaney revealed that the team turned it around by jamming out to Creed in the clubhouse and on the bus on the way to games. Teammates apparently even have secret handshakes based on Creed’s music.
Creed was very quickly made aware of this, most likely when the Google alert they set up for themselves went off for the first time in years. They have embraced their status as the Rangers’ favorite band, going so far as to show up and cheer them on at Game 3 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros.
The Rangers lost that game, prompting wild speculation that maybe the musical stylings of Creed aren’t some magical lucky charm and that the team’s success is based on talent and hard work.
Rounding out the eccentric soundtrack of this roller coaster of a season is Taylor Swift, whose music made the World Series an unwitting backdrop for the ongoing media frenzy surrounding her and Travis Kelce’s relationship.
Kelce was in attendance at Game 1 of the World Series in Arlington, and the DJ heralded the pass receiver's presence with one of his girlfriend’s biggest hits, “Shake it Off.” Kelce took the reference in stride, shaking along in his private suite.
If anyone is interested in making a movie about the Rangers, fate has already curated most of the soundtrack for them. Our recommendation to prospective writers and producers would be to strike while the iron is hot. People aren’t going to tolerate Creed for much longer. (We’ll see if the hype even carries them through their Dallas concert next year.)
