Even though NFL fans in the South are not the target demographic for pop icon Chappell Roan, her global impact was on full display at the Tennessee Titans game. She led Gen-Z and Millennials to a massive win over the Boomers in Nashville on Sunday.
I genuinely could not believe the takeover I witnessed at Nissan Stadium.
Before we continue, let me set the scene. It was a scorching hot day in the Volunteer State with temperatures reaching into the 90s. A large majority of the crowd was left to melt in the sun. Packers fans traveled extremely well to create a 65/35 split between locals and visitors.
Green Bay took a 20-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. Tennessee managed just one more touchdown during the third quarter and ultimately lost by 16 to drop to 0-3.
All of this goes to say that it was not the day that Titans fans had hoped.
But what does this have to do with music? Well, she played a role in the Boomers’ frustration.
Chappell Roan is everywhere!!
At some point around the second quarter, the Nissan Stadium P.A. announcer directed attention to the videoboard. It asked fans to take out their phones, scan a QR code and vote on the ‘Song of the Game.’
Two options were listed:
- Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey
- Hot To Go by Chappell Roan
I chose to abstain from the vote because I was greatly invested in the result. From my vantage point, there was no way that a Chappell Roan song would defeat one of the most classic sing-a-longs of all-time. Especially at a sporting event. Especially at an NFL game in Tennessee.
The demographics of the crowd led me to verbally predict a runaway vote in favor of Journey.
That hypothesis was wrong. Hot To Go actually received 56% of the vote over Don’t Stop Believin’ in what I would consider a massive upset.
As soon as the result was announced, Chappel Roan’s famous lead-in started to play… “Five, six… Five, six, seven, eight!” A few people in the mostly 35-year-old+ crowd around me expressed their disappointment that Journey did not win. Many of them did not even know the Song of the Game!
As soon as Chappell Roan got to the course, no less than 30% of the stadium stood up out of their seats to do the dance together. Myself included! “H-O-T-T-O-G-O” and so on and so forth.
Right after I sat back down, a kind man (maybe 60?) sitting in the row behind me tapped me on the shoulder. He asked a very simple question: “Who is this?”
Gen-Z & Millennials 1 — Boomers 0