Super Bowl halftime show.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were on their way to winning their first Stanley Cup in Bloomington, MN on the night of May 25, 1991.  At the same time, 872 miles away at the Coca Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre in Burgettstown, PA, AC DC’s lead vocalist Brian Johnson stopped mid-song to announce that the Penguins had a 6-0 lead in a clinching Game 6 to an already excited crowd of Pittsburgh sports fans.  On Saturday night, January 16, 2016 at CONSOL Energy Center (also in Pittsburgh, PA), the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show was “delayed” 25 minutes until the completion of the New England Patriots vs Kansas City Chiefs AFC Divisional Playoff Game.  Sometimes, the world of sports and music intersect each other without trying.

I know that there is typically a lot of anticipation for the artists/bands asked to perform at the Super Bowl or when athletes join bands.  Who can forget the late Wayman Tisdale, one-time professional basketball player in the NBA who turned into a smooth jazz bass guitarist?  Also in the world of jazz, former baseball player Bernie Williams is a classically trained guitarist who has released two jazz albums and nominated for a Latin Grammy.  Not leaving the diamond, pitchers Jack McDowell and Bronson Arroyo, both past and current Major Leaguers, book shows and play guitar both as solo performers and with bands.  I would also be remiss if I did not mention the music career of Shaquille O’Neal.  In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums with his first ‘Shaq Diesel’ going platinum and gifting us with the lyrics, “In other words you better make a funky decision/Because I'm a be a Shaq knife and cut you with precision”.

On the flip side, Boyd Tinsley who is certainly most known for being the violinist of the Dave Matthews Band plays tennis. He has his own tournament, the Women's Clay Court Classic held annually in Charlottesville, VA and once played doubles with John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.     There was also Percy “Master P” Miller’s short lived career as a professional basketball player for both the Charlotte Hornets during the 1998 pre-season, and the Toronto Raptors in 1999 pre-season.  Jack Johnson meanwhile is known for being a singer-songwriter, but before giving the world “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing” he was sponsored by Quicksilver and entering prestigious competitions for surfers.

I am happy that there is synergy between music and sports.  I am always wondering what players are listening to on their headphones pre-game when the cameras show them entering an unnamed arena.  And it has been a lot of fun to play in pick-up basketball games with band members on the hoops sometimes set-up outside of live music venues.  As people, we need more than basic knowledge to be successful in the paths that we have chosen. And according to the University of Rochester (NY) Medical Center, “a full and productive life also requires social skills, discipline, cooperation, and creative thinking. These are all learned from the training involved with sports and music. . .”.

Thanks for reading.