New tunes
by
Kevin Brockway
Fans going to Florida’s season-opener Sunday against Stetson at the O’Connell Center will notice a different sound when starting lineups are announced.
Florida has scrapped the traditional U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name” theme, at least, sort of, in favor of different introduction music.
Players approached Florida coach Billy Donovan during the offseason about having different theme songs when they were introduced. Donovan was open to the idea.
“I think anything that can bring some new energy to our fans, to our students, is a positive,” Donovan said. “We’re trying to get back to the ‘House of Horrors’ theme a little bit. We kind of got away from that the last few years. Our arena, when it is full and and it’s energized, is one of the great homecourt advantages in all of college basketball.”
The intro songs for each player include:
Kenny Boynton – Young Jeezy, My Hood
Dan Werner – AC/DC, Thunderstruck
Vernon Macklin – Drake, Forever
Erving Walker – Jay Z and Alicia Keys, Empire State of Mind
Alex Tyus – Young Jeezy, I Put On
Werner said he chose Thunderstuck because of his nickname “Thunder Dan” Werner. Boynton said he had someone from the marketing department pick his song for him.
Donovan, meanwhile, kept “Where The Streets Have No Name” for his introduction.
“I’m a U2 guy,” Donovan said.
I always was a big fan of the U2 introduction, but like Donovan, I’m a child of the 80s. Perhaps to some college students, it was getting too stale.
