I Hate Sweet Caroline

[Sandra15]

Well the song itself, originally, was pretty inoffensive, it was just that, just a song. But then it became a novelty song that people waved their arms about to when drunk and now is associated with football. But why, why, why? It has NOTHING to do with football whatsoever.

I absolutely hate it. It is irritating, annoying, irrelevant and an earworm.

I worked with a woman called Caroline who was horrible, so that makes it even worse.

I hate it. It is an irritating earworm. Give me Three Lions any day or even Vindaloo. At least they make footballing sense.

I never liked the song - karaoke cringe. But I like it now . Every tournament has an unofficial fan’s anthem and this is the Euro 2020 one. It was quite cheering seeing tens of thousands of people singing along last night. Drowned out the dreary droning of Send Her Victooooorious and the odd idiot chanting No Surrender.

I wondered why this has become a thing at football too!

Love it! It reminds me of Barbados where it seemed to be played rather a lot when I was there on holiday.

US baseball team Boston Red Sox play it at the bottom of the eighth innings at their home games. When they played the Yankees in London 2 years ago it was fantastic singing along with 50,000 others in the Olympic stadium - every time I now here it it takes me back to that weekend.

It's achieved anthem status. No idea why.
It was being sung by the crowd at a cricket match I went to two years ago when the home team hit a 6. It was quite fun to sing I guess...

It was the first single I ever bought in 1969. I was 11. .

Then in the 1980s/early 90s I heard it a lot in bars abroad.

Still love it.

@BZoma

Who is this Caroline and why are they singing this?

Also, what is Vindaloo (a op mentioned they were meant to have sung that)?

She's a friend of Alice.

What connection to football? I haven't even heard any radio playing Sweet Caroline in many years. Nor have I ever heard it sung at any sport, let alone football. I must be missing something?

Last time I heard the song anywhere was when my mum played it on her records when I was visiting once, circa 1996. I listen to lots of oldies radio, too. Have never heard it played in 25 years. As if the song disappeared from history or something.

I don’t mind the song but it reminds me of something completely different as I happens.

It’s nothing to do with football, which confuse me, but that happens quite a lot.

Vindaloo is fheEngland song from the World Cup 1998. Intended to show inclusivity before we’d really got much of a handle on that stuff (not sure we have now!)

But can you boogie?

Even the “na na na na” bit of Hey Jude?! Have you no SOUL?!

Oh god I hate Hey Jude!

“Hey Jules, you’re Dads a shit, which you probably know, but I’m going to sing about it at every opportunity including after he’s long dead

I think if it as a cricket song. Not sure when it mutated over to football !

@Hopeislost

I find it really creepy, being as it was 'inspired' by a 7 year old girl ...

Neil Diamond wrote it for his ex wife actually.

A Cricket song ? It gets worse !! 😂

Oh God yes I've always hated it when played at parties etc and didn't know it was associated with football until last night. It's an awful cheesy crap song with terrible lyrics and melody .

And why do the football people keep 'singing' the Seven Nation Army riff?

I’m a Caroline and I love it. My mum and dad chose my name together and it makes me think of them.

@SweatyBetty20

I’m a Caroline. It does get a bit wearing after a while…

Yup.

I'm named after this song as well apparently.

@Hopeislost

I find it really creepy, being as it was 'inspired' by a 7 year old girl ...

Apparently ND wanted to use his wife’s name but wouldn’t work, so seeing a picture of 7 yr old Caroline Kennedy at the time he chose that. Not creepy.

Blame the Red Sox. (I assume it got imported in the Yankees-Red Sox game a couple years ago.)

3 lions doesn’t make footballing sense as they are actually panthers but doesn’t fit very well.

@Iwantacampervan

US baseball team Boston Red Sox play it at the bottom of the eighth innings at their home games. When they played the Yankees in London 2 years ago it was fantastic singing along with 50,000 others in the Olympic stadium - every time I now here it it takes me back to that weekend.

And famously, the Yankees (who are the historic arch rivals of the Red Sox) played and sang it in Yankee Stadium after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 to show solidarity with Boston.

I think its origin as a sports anthem is with the Boston Red Sox.

@Awwlookatmybabyspider

I'm predicting there'll be a swarm of little Caroline's coming along in 9 months.

I’d put money on it. Especially if there’s an England win on Sunday - it is Sunday, isn’t it?