[NU Fight Song]
If you’ve ever been to a Northwestern home football game, you’ve heard some type of music playing: Whether that be “Mo Bamba” blasting from the speakers…
[Clip of “Mo Bamba” playing: 0:27-0:32]
…Or the band coming together to play the same song for the hundredth time…
[Clip of the band playing: 1:00-1:05]
there’s always something in the background in between plays.
If you’re singing along and nodding to whatever’s playing or shaking your head in disapproval, there’s no doubt that music is a vital part of every college sports event.
What was that?
No, it can’t be…
[WE MAKE IT LOOK EASY: 0:11-0:13]
It’s…
DJ COMMANDO!d
DJ Commando is the one behind the disc jockey station, providing Northwestern Athletics with all of their musical needs at live games!
If you’ve ever looked around when the music was playing and spotted a bald guy under a little white tent at a football game, that’s him!
Despite his important role, does anybody know who he is?
Weinberg freshman Ibraheem Gomaa and McCormick freshman Nick Burkamper certainly didn’t, but they loved his name as soon as they heard it.
Ibraheem Gomaa: “It’s a funny name, you know? It’s chill it’s a vibe, you know it doesn’t need to be serious, it’s like a DJ name.”
Nick Burkamper: “DJ Commando. I think it’s pretty funny.
Despite his seemingly unserious reputation, there seems to be a lot of respect for DJ Commando. People love him! How could you not? Even though he looks a little angry every time you glance at him under that tent, he’s the one who provides us with the music that we need.
Also, there appears to be an overall sentiment among Northwestern students that he’s doing a great job in that little area in the stands:
N.B.: “Do I love him? I’d say I have a lot of respect for him. Going to all those games early in the morning and blasting your music and stuff.”
I.G.: “I think he’s great, I think he just keeps the vibe up in the football game. Even if the score isn’t going too well, you can rely on him just getting it right.”
Everyone I interviewed agreed that the significance of music at a sporting event could not be understated. That’s exactly why people like DJ Commando are absolutely essential for the success of our university’s games.
This is how Weinberg freshman Cole Defeo responded when asked about how important music is at a college game:
C.D.: “Very important, it doesn’t depend on anything but it makes the crowd hype.”
Gomaa agreed with Defeo in terms of how music impacts sports at Northwestern:
I.G. Pt. 2 “The DJ and the music in general is really important because, like I said before, it gets the crowd going, it gets a vibe with everyone, and it gets more people who attend the games in the future… I think that will hopefully improve our Northwestern team’s seasons.”
There’s no doubt that the energy of a crowd during a game, especially a home game, can boost the players’ and spectators’ morale, and it might even improve their performance.
In the same way that there’s always room for our hard-working athletes to improve, the same can be said about DJ Commando’s playlist. Defeo spoke on one major way that he believes DJ Commando could improve:
Cole Defeo : “I think the selection is bad and he needs more variety.”
Burkamper and Gomaa also touched on the lack of musical variety, which according to them, is evident at football games:
N.B. : “A lot of it is the same.”
I.G. Pt. 2: “Sometimes I do feel like some of the songs are played too much… If you play it one game, don’t play it the very next game.
Despite everyone explicitly stating they would like to see different songs in upcoming games, there was one track that definitely stood out as an exception– the hit rap song, “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t love “Mo Bamba?”
I.G. Pt. 2 : “Mo Bamba always gets you up. It always gets the crowd going. They should keep on playing that, for sure.”
N.B.: “Mo Bamba. Everyone gets going. yea”
Speaking of “Mo Bamba,” It seems like rap is the genre that is able to engage almost everybody at a football game. Burkamper also had this to say when asked about which types of music build the energy of the crowd.
N.B.: “Specifically ones with loud bass.
Francesco Thorik-Saboia: So you think it’s mostly like rap that gets people hype.
N.B.: rap, definitely.
Which makes sense, since according to USA today, rap has surpassed rock in terms of popularity for over 6 years now, making it one of the most consumed genres of music along with pop and R&B.
Overall it seems as though DJ Commando gets a lot more love than the Northwestern Band. It’s clear that our band puts in their best effort every game, but some students simply prefer the speakers. It might have to do with a lack of school spirit, according to Burkamper, but our beloved DJ’s songs may just be more accessible.
I.G. Pt. 2: “The band… they’re alright. I appreciate the talent obviously, but for me, I just like the DJ. I just prefer it more.”
C.D.: “I prefer the DJ. I don’t like the band; I don’t like the music the band plays.”
If there’s anything we’ve learned today, it’s that music has its place in every sporting event: even though I focused on football, the same goes for volleyball, basketball, and even chess! Well, maybe not chess… but you get the point!
Sure, some tracks might get a little overplayed every once in a while, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t love and appreciate everyone who puts on these games, which includes not only the players and faculty, but our very own band and DJ!
So shoutout to NU’s band, and of course, DJ Commando!
That’s gonna wrap it up for oddities today! For WNUR News I’m Francesco Thorik-Saboia.
[NU Fight Song]
