The Sports Teams of Musicians

The Sports Teams of Musicians 3

There has long been a crossover of music and sports. Just as sports stars can’t get enough of music, musicians love their sports teams too. Here are five music/sports connections

Five Musicians and the Sports Teams They Love

The Sports Teams of Musicians
Figure 1 Musicians regularly take to sports after spending hours in a recording studio

As two of the biggest forms of entertainment, sports and music just about go hand in hand. There have been plenty of examples of sports stars that have swapped their uniform for a recording studio – just take a second to think back to Shaq’s career behind the mic.

But the connection is much deeper than giving music a go as a sideline hobby. Some musicians love their hometown teams and take every chance their busy schedules allow to show up and show their support. They might not be continually checking out the best sports betting Ontario has to offer like some fans – but they do make their presence felt at the game.

Here are five world-renowned musicians and the sports teams they support.

Drake – Toronto Raptors

Let’s start off with one of the most well known music/sport crossovers – Drake. The Toronto native is regularly seen cheering on his beloved Raptors and took centre stage when the team won the NBA finals back in 2019. He is also officially a Global Ambassador of the organization.

Drake is also just about a season ticket holder for the NBA All-Star games where he hangs out with all the top players – and was even used as a prop in one of dunk competitions a few years back. Drake will rep anything to do with his hometown though – and has also been a vocal supporter of Toronto FC, the city’s MLS team.

Fatboy Slim, Brighton and Hove Albion

Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) fell in love with Brighton and Hove Albion when he moved to the English south coast city as a student. After time away as part of chart-topping group The Housemartins, Cook returned to Brighton and reignited his love affair with the Seagulls.

His connection to the city and its football team is so strong that Skint, his record label at the time, used to sponsor the club and had its name emblazoned on its shirts for a while. Cook lives in Hove and can still be spotted around town, 20 years on from famously attracting 250,000 to an event on the beach.

Jay-Z, Brooklyn Nets

Jay-Z loved the Nets so much he bought the company. OK, that’s not entirely true, but he did become a major shareholder around the time he persuaded the organization to move from New Jersey to his home borough of Brooklyn. He has since relinquished his control in the Nets but is still a big fan.

The rapper has long been known as a huge sports fan and has also shown his love for the New York Yankees baseball team as well. In recent years he has demonstrated just how much of a businessman he is though, by setting up Roc Nations Sports to represent elite sports stars.

sports
Figure 2 Many a musician can be found cheering their team on when they have a day off

Robert Plant, Wolverhampton Wanderers

The singer-songwriter is best known for being the lead of hugely influential band Led Zeppelin, of course. But from the age of five, when his dad first took him to a match, he has also been a massive Wolverhampton Wanderers fan. He claims that club legend Billy Wright waved at him on that first visit and he has been hooked ever since.

His contribution to the area – and the club – was recognized in 2009 when Wolves announced that he was to become their third vice-president. He received the honour on the pitch on the opening day of the season in front of the Molineux fans. He was also recently pictured watching a FA Cup game featuring local team Kidderminster Harriers.

Snoop Dogg, Every Team (but mainly the Steelers)

We round off this profile of sports-loving music stars with an artist that gains the love of his fans on every tour date by appearing in a shirt of the local club. Snoop Dogg has worn more official sports merchandise than just about any other rapper or singer.

He does genuinely have a deep love for sports though and has coached his son’s American football team in the past. For the record, he is actually a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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