The Texas Rangers have adopted the music of Creed as their unofficial clubhouse soundtrack/rallying cry. That’s fine. But Creed is still not good.

There’s been a re-examination of Creed since the less hated Texas ballclub started their unironic appreciation of the third wave version of Pearl Jam. The consensus is, “Creed kinda slaps.”

Creed does not slap. Creed is not good. But Creed was and is ubiquitous on certain radio stations since 1999. And this is why nostalgia is toxic.

The average age of the members of the Texas Rangers is 29.7, which means their average date of birth is March 1, 1994. Creed commercially peaked in the latter half of 1999 with the release of Human Clay, featuring the song the team is currently blasting in their locker room, “Higher.”

Pitcher Andrew Heaney is the guy that brought Creed to the locker room. Heaney was born in 1991, which means he was in the ideal demographic to hear Creed in the background of some of the most formative years of his childhood without any critical thinking.

I can not stress enough how Creed was omnipresent in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Current professional athletes that were children in 1999, 2000 and 2001 all heard the same stuff. That is just not happening anymore. This is good the future and bad for people with at least somewhat decent music taste.

Heaney is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, played college ball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater, Oklahoma and made his pro debut with the Miami Marlins. You know what those three markets have? A ‘modern’ rock radio station. You know what those stations have been playing since 1999? “Higher.” Because ‘modern’ rock radio is not exactly modern.

All of the top 10 most played songs on mainstream (not college or community radio) rock radio stations for the entire 2010s are songs released in the 1990s. All of them. It’s Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Soundgarden, etc. The sound of rock radio since Andrew Heaney was born is the stuff that Andrew Heaney heard while growing up. Which means Creed.

I do not think the Rangers players are bad people for listening to Creed. I do not think Rangers fans are bad people for singing Creed songs. I get it. I’m happy they’re happy. But that does not mean the music that was bad in 1999 is good in 2023, it just means radio stations are stuck in a nostalgia trap and it’s bad for everyone. 

Creed should not be the soundtrack for the Rangers. Creed should be the soundtrack for the Marlins BECAUSE THE LEAD SINGER OF CREED WROTE AND PERFORMED A PRO MARLINS SONG!!! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, DUDE ALREADY HAS A TEAM!!!

Once again, I’m happy for the Rangers and their fans that they’re enjoying Creed. But it does not make sense. If they really needed to latch onto a song that peaked in the 90s and never went away, it should be “Possum Kingdom” by Toadies. The song is steeped in Texas lore, has a perfect outro for a baseball team playing in the postseason (“Do you wanna die?” is tailor-made for screaming at the opposing team) and the band is from Fort Worth! Come on! It’s right there! 

But it’s too late. I blame the people controlling the music over the stadium PA. It’s their fault. They encouraged this behavior. Now Rangers fans will have to suffer through 25+ years of Creed because some pitcher played what he liked when he was a child. You screwed up, Major League Baseball. You coulda had Toadies. But you choose Creed. And that’s why you’ve gone from America’s Pastime to the third most popular sport in America.

Recommend If You Like is not owned or funded by a billionaire or even a millionaire. We do have a Patreon. If you can’t afford to become a patron, please sign up to our mailing list. It’s free and we’re asking here instead of a pop-up. Pop-ups are annoying.