Gloria

Superstitions and sports have gone hand-in-hand long before the term “competitive advantage” was even coined. Gladiators prayed to Fortuna, the goddess of luck; while former LSU Tigers coach, Les Miles, bit a chunk of turf before each game to become one with the field.

"Gloria" stayed on Billboard’s Hot 100 for 36 weeks

Seeing that it is NHL All Star Weekend, I’m sharing one heartwarming example, courtesy of a recent episode of Mo Rocca’s podcast, “Mobituaries.” It recounts an evening in January, 2019 when members of the St. Louis Blues hockey team (then dead last) took their minds off the game by hitting a local bar—where one regular had the DJ playing Laura Branigan’s hit, “Gloria” over and over and over again. The next day, the team won 3-0—a shut-out! And they made “Gloria” their official win song—playing it in the locker room after every one of their next ten consecutive wins.

By the time fans were sporting “Gloria” tattoos, and local DJs were playing the song 24-hours straight, Branigan’s recording had moved into the stadium… her 4-octave vocals accompanying the team all the way to their Stanley Cup win—a first in the franchise’s history.

In the days leading up to that win, fans and players alike started rallying to have the singer come and perform the song live-and-in-person. Only problem was, Laura Branigan had passed away 15 years earlier.

Rocca’s podcast is an ode to those underappreciated people (or institutions) that are no longer with us. And while bittersweet, I found this episode equally rousing. In it, award-winning songwriter Diane Warren says Branigan’s voice was “Ballsy and it had power and passion.” Who among us—athlete or not—doesn’t wish for more of the same.

Branigan’s 1982 hit accompanied the St. Louis Blues all the way to their first-ever Stanley Cup win