Ten best college fight songs. Ever.

I've noticed that a new style of contemporary punctuated emphatic writing has now. become. mainstream.

Plus, when one renders an opinion about something and wants to be dogmatic about it, one ends the particular phrase with a single word: Ever.

As in: Worst. Movie. Ever.

Or as in: Best. Kisser. Ever. (you know who you are..)

Or as in Hottest. Summer. Ever. (Like the one we've endured to date here, for instance)

I happen to have been analyzing college fight songs and ranking them (with an entirely arbitrary scale which I developed). And in the spirit of the new style of emphatic pronouncement, I present the results of my research: this list of the Best. College. Fight. Songs. Ever.

Sure to offend someone. Or... everyone.

What makes for a good fight song? Well, IMHO (jeepers, I'm doing it again..), it needs to have:

> a really memorable melody, or at least phrasing that flows well with the school's name
> something interesting for the trombones to do (like counterpoint against the trumpets, or a key change so trombones can take the melody on the second chorus)
> a driving drum cadence, punctuating the brass in a way that makes you want to say U-rah-rah!
> use of the relative minor, the diminished, and the major seventh chords (just to tug on the emotions)
> an alternative melody section, or at least a good bridge to the repeat (you know, "one...., and two...., and three-and-four-and-five, hey!" - like that.)
> a slam-bang finish, so everyone knows when to cheer. :)
> and it doesn't hurt to have been written prior to 1920. There really was a golden age to these things.

After surveying nearly 100 examples, these are my top ten:

1. Notre Dame "Victory March"
2. Penn State "Fight On, State"
3. Syracuse "Down, Down The Field"

(tough to decide among those first three, they're nearly perfect)

4. Michigan "The Victors"
5. "On, Wisconsin!"
6. "Hail, West Virginia!"

(again, almost equal, but not in the top tier)

7. "Yea, Alabama!"
8. Ohio State "Across The Field"
9. "Go U Northwestern!"
10. USC "Fight On!"

Honorable mention also goes to:

> "Bow Down to Washington" - very close, but... not. quite. there. (oops, sorry..)
> Iowa - any song where the band stops so you can shout out the school's name needs to be on the list somewhere.
> Marquette - ditto for any song where the lyrics make no sense to anyone but the loyal insiders. I mean, "Ring Out Ahoya" ?? what the heck does that mean?
> Minnesota Vikings - "Skol, Vikings, Let's Go!" (I know, it's a pro team, but it's sung in a Norwegian accent, and it's just so darn cute!)
> Navy "Anchors Aweigh" - I'm not really sure if you'd consider it a fight song, or an Alma Mater, or a military parade drill march, so... it can't be on the list proper, but it's really a heck of a song.

In the Alma Mater category, there really is only one. "Varsity" (WI) makes me choke up every time I hear it, and I didn't even go there.

So there you go. Argue with me if you will. U-rah.