Tuesday 20 September 2016

Your Team For A Song?

Music is a common bond among people everywhere. While tastes and genres may vary between those people, music is played in every part of the land across this marble in space. In saying that, it seems that musicians are putting together a very nice wardrobe of hockey jerseys as they tour the world and play in rinks in every city, town, and burgh. The Pittsburgh fan to the left, for example, is a big fan of Snoop Dogg based on his jersey. That being said, we're back for another installment of musicians who wear hockey jerseys, and we have some repeat offenders once again. Let's break into some more closets and find out who sang where on this installment of musicians in jerseys!

Before we get started, the full database of images is linked here. Feel free to click through to find your favorite team and find out who has worn those colours. Of course, if you have additional images of musicians in hockey jerseys from a concert, feel free to send them here and I'll credit you on the main page! Without further adieu, though, let's start the show!

We'll start with a band that was huge in the 1980s. They've sung a James Bond theme song, they've sold some 70 million records, they've won Grammy Awards, and they have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Needless to say, Duran Duran are recognized worldwide wherever they go and their concerts are still popular today. Duran Duran was recently in Calgary, Alberta where they played a concert, and the Flames did their thing by giving the band jerseys from the team!

Members of the band have been seen individually or in pairs in jerseys, but it's rare that all four members of KISS are in the same photo with hockey jerseys! Obviously, Gene Simmons is the most prolific member of KISS in terms of being in the public eye, but it's nice to see KISS being recognized by the ECHL's Missouri Mavericks as KISS passed through Independence, Missouri!

I'm not a fan of his music, but Armando Christian Pérez was born in Miami, Florida before assuming the name Pitbull as his music career exploded. He's hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and he's been a part of FIFA lore when he, Jennifer Lopez, and Claudia Leitte wrote and performed "We Are One (Ole Ola)" as the main theme for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Clearly, the man has talent, and Pitbull is also the owner of a new Florida Panthers jersey after stopping in Sunrise!

Speaking of rappers, Drake has certainly been a sports fan for his entire life. He's a major part of the Toronto Raptors and the NBA scenes, but he's not afraid to show off his Canadian roots by throwing on a hockey jersey as well! Drake toured through Tampa Bay where the Lightning gave him a BOLTS jersey and Stamkos' captaincy for one night, and he was recently in Vancouver where he was also given the captaincy of the Canucks. How does Drake keep being named captains in these cities?

When you're the first concert in a band-new stadium or arena, there's a good chance you'll want to endear yourself to the crowd that turns out to see you perform. That's exactly what country music superstar Luke Bryan did when he took the stage in Minneapolis' new US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings. Except Bryan didn't wear Vikings purple. He instead took to the stage in an Erik Haula Minnesota Wild jersey! Minnesota is a bit of a hockey state, and it appears that Bryan is a hockey fan! Haula, of course, played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and is a current member of the Wild, so he pretty much hit the Minnesota hockey nail on the head with that jersey!

Another country singer whose wardrobe seems to be filling up with hockey jerseys is Garth Brooks. Garth recently showed off his hockey knowledge by wearing a Gordie Howe jersey in Saskatchewan and played a show in St. Louis while wearing a Blues jersey. Today, we hop into the way-back machine where he made an appearance in Anaheim and received a Mighty Ducks jersey! However, Garth and Trisha Yearwood are touring North America as you read this, and he made a recent stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he was given a Grand Rapids Griffins jersey! For a guy who disappeared for a number of years, it seems he's catching up on his contemporaries when it comes to collecting jerseys!

The Zac Brown Band sang the American national anthem at the recent Winter Classic. They wore jerseys as they belted out the Star-Spangled Banner, and they looked fairly good doing so!

Not to be outdone, The Tenors sang O Canada at the Winter Classic as Canadian music representatives. They too wore jerseys, although they wore Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys. You have to wonder if they would had chosen other Canadian teams had they been given the option.

I have never heard any music by Lucy Hale, but I imagine she may be better known for appearances on How I Met Your Mother and on Pretty Little Liars. She does sing, though, and describes music as her "first love". I'll go with that since she's released an album and has a music video for her single "You Sound Good To Me". She seems to have some decent pipes, and she got a chance to perform in Springfield, Massachusetts in January of 2014 following a Falcons-Phantoms AHL game. And, of course, Lucy was given her very own jersey! Miss Hale may want to hold onto that jersey now - it's a collector's item after the Falcons moved to Tucson!

Justin Bieber's reputation has made for fans to wish that he'll never appear in their team's jersey, but the kid is a hockey fan. He certainly has one of the most decorated closets when it comes to hockey jerseys if he's kept all of the ones he's already appeared in, so let's add a couple more to the list. Biebs played some pickup hockey while wearing a Los Angeles Kings jersey. He was recently in Germany doing a concert tour, and he suited up with eishockeyclub Red Bull München in Munich, Germany of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga on an off day! Biebs' collection is growing!

Another guy I have never heard of? Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, better known as the rapper Future. He was also on Drake's tour after doing a full-length collaboration with Drake entitled What a Time to Be Alive. That album debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200, so having him accompany Drake on his tour makes sense. And just like Drake, Future donned the Vancouver Canucks colours while in Vancouver! That'll get you some attention!

Finally, we'll end this review with one of the greats who was known globally for his talents. He got his start in Italy in 1961, and his popularity grew steadily until he was sadly taken from us after succumbing to pancreatic cancer on September 6, 2007. Luciano Pavarotti was immensely popular for his tenor voice, his success as one of the Three Tenors, and for his ability to cross over into mainstream music with artists such as U2. He remains as the only operatic singer to appear on Saturday Night Live - a feat I'm not sure will ever be matched. He wasn't known for any sort of love of hockey, but he was given jersey by various owners who had Pavarotti appear at their arenas. One man who gave Pavarotti a jersey? Phildelphia's Ed Snider. It truly looks like Pavarotti was honoured by the gesture!

So there are a handful of artists who have worn the colours of hockey across the planet. Again, if you have additional images of musicians in hockey jerseys from a concert, feel free to send them here and I'll credit you on the main page. The number of images grows as more and more musicians tour the world, so this piece will continue to grow!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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