University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: The Boshamer Soundtrack
March 17, 2006 | Baseball
March 17, 2006
This year's expanded Carolina baseball game day program includes more information than ever. There's a new program for each weekend and weekday series, and each edition includes a new column on the Diamond Heels plus up-to-date stats for both teams. The following story ran in the Gardner-Webb game program--check out the latest edition this weekend at the Bosh against Maryland for a new column.
By Adam Lucas
Josh Horton had plenty of memorable moments during his freshman campaign. There was the game-tying triple in the 8th inning at NC State, the six-RBI performance at East Carolina, and a four-RBI day at Maryland.
But for anyone who attended even a handful of Carolina's home games during the 2005 season, one thing immediately comes to mind about Horton:
"La-da-dee-la-da-da-da."
Thanks to Carolina's hard-working gameday staff, Tar Heel baseball players have the chance to pick the song they want to hear when they come to the plate or take the mound. Most pick a thumping, uptempo song or a tune with personal meaning to them.
The irrepressible Horton picked "Be My Lover" by La Bouche.
"Everybody tries to be all tough with the songs they pick," he said at the time. "I just wanted to do something different."
It wasn't just different. It was disturbingly catchy. It wasn't unusual to pull out of the Boshamer parking lot, drive down the road, and suddenly realize that the voice of La Bouche was still bouncing around your head.
This year, Horton went even more off the beaten path: he chose a song from the movie Ocean's Twelve. But not just any song from the hit movie. No, his choice--"The A La Menthe" by French artist Nikkfurie, which is played while the character Night Fox is slithering through laser beams--isn't even on the 16-song soundtrack.
Thankfully, the choices of his teammates usually aren't as obscure. Some are obvious: Matt Danford spent last year in the closer's role, so "The Fireman" by George Strait makes sense.
Danford also had a hand in another selection: for unknown reasons, he has dubbed Reid Fronk "Squanto." Fronk, naturally, selected Tim McGraw's "Indian Outlaw" for his at-bat song.
Benji Johnson picked a song by a high school buddy-turned-rapper. Chad Flack and Jay Cox paid homage to their roots with country songs by Little Big Town and Tim McGraw.
Most players change their songs every season. But closer Jonathan Hovis gave only a brief moment of consideration to changing his entrance song--Jay Z's "Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself," which begins with the fitting line, "My name is Hov..."
"I thought about changing it," Hovis said. "There was another song that had the line, `I'm not the relief pitcher, I'm the closer.' I thought about that one. But I had to stick with the old one. It was too good to give up."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and provides color analysis on Tar Heel baseball radio broadcasts. He can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is also the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
