The Vancouver Canucks were one of the best teams in the NHL between 2009 and 2012. Between those four years, three songs became incredibly hard to hear due to the horrible memories associated with them. While two of the songs exemplify the effectiveness of goal songs, one track highlights how even pop hits can become insufferable for sports fans. From goal songs to a Billboard chart-topping pop hit, these are three songs Canucks fans REALLY don’t like.
Chelsea Dagger – The Fratellis
The Chicago Blackhawks‘ famous goal song is a pain for most Canucks fans’ ears. Chelsea Dagger, by The Fratellis, is one of the best goal songs in the NHL. It’s catchy, upbeat, and gets more annoying each time the visiting team has to hear it. In short, it’s perfect. The portion of the song played is an irritatingly fun bit, so catchy you need to sing along. It goes a little something like this.
"Do-do-do, do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do-do-do Do-do-do, do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do"
The Canucks played the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for three consecutive years. The Canucks lost to them in the 2009 and 2010 Playoffs and finally ‘slayed the dragon’ in the first round of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs en route to their first berth in the Stanley Cup Final since 1994. Over three playoff series, including two losses and nearly blowing a 3-0 series lead in 2011, it’s safe to say Canucks fans are sick of hearing Chelsea Dagger.
KernKraft 400 – Zombie Nation
Just as Chelsea Dagger’s painful hold on Canucks fans began to lose strength during the 2011 NHL Playoffs, KernKraft 400 by Zombie Nation created new nightmares. Despite playing three games in Boston during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, the Boston Bruins snuck 19 goals past Roberto Luongo, meaning 19 separate times the song blared through TD Garden. The Bruins dominated the Canucks at home, crushing any hopes of them finally getting past that last hurdle and hoisting Lord Stanley.
It was a brief, short-lived, and horrendous session for fans to live through, but the lasting damage undoubtedly remains. For the past few seasons, the Bruins have remained relatively successful, while the Canucks have been one of the most dysfunctional organizations in the league. Regardless, the 2011 Stanley Cup Final makes KernKraft 400 a hard song for fans to hear, even if the memories are over a decade old.
Rolling in the Deep – Adele
I love Adele. You love Adele. Who doesn’t love Adele? A generational singer-songwriter, multi-Grammy award winner, and arguably perfect vocalist, there’s no reason to dislike a song of hers, right? Wrong. For three weeks starting on May 28, 2011, Rolling in the Deep was the number-one song in Canada. It was also number one on the Billboard Top-100 charts for seven weeks in the United States, hitting its peak at the tail-end of May 2011. It’s safe to say the song was everywhere. The 2011 Stanley Cup Final spanned from June 1, 2011, to June 15, 2011, perfectly coinciding with the song’s superstar status.
The song’s chorus makes Rolling in the Deep hard to hear for Canucks fans. Hearing the lines, “They keep me thinking that we almost had it all,” and later on, “We could’ve had it all,” on repeat immediately following the Canucks heartbreaking, Game 7 Stanley Cup Final loss made it impossible for any hockey fan in Vancouver to enjoy this song without having flashbacks to the Canucks collapse.
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For the damage Chelsea Dagger and KernKraft 400 did leading into the summer of 2011, Rolling In The Deep was the salt in the wound fans couldn’t bear to hear. Unlike the other songs that are niche, hockey goal songs that are easily avoided outside of the world of hockey, Rolling in the Deep was a multi-week number-one hit single from one of the biggest pop artists in the world. Turn on the radio, and there it is. Go to a non-hockey friend’s house, and there it is. Turn on the TV, and it’s in every ad imaginable. It was inescapable, making the Canucks loss inescapable as well.
Each of these three songs represents a dark time in Canucks history. Chelsea Dagger and KernKraft 400 represent the good-natured yet annoying energy goal songs bring, showcasing how much they add to the sport. On the other hand, Rolling in the Deep was a painfully ironic number-one hit single that reminded Canucks fans every day of how close they were to Lord Stanley following their Game 7 defeat to the Bruins.
