Although everyone is aware that Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” is an incredible song, some people are still perplexed as to why this particular song is played during English football (soccer?) matches. Given that Neil is an American musician and the song was originally released in 1969, it seems strange that the song is still played at these games.
Why does England sing “Sweet Caroline” at games?
The story of how “Sweet Caroline” became a victory song in general goes back to the 1997 at Boston’s famed Fenway Park, when a stadium employee named Amy Tobey (who was in charged of the music) played the song in honor of a colleague who’d just given birth to a baby girl named Caroline.
The song would occasionally pop up again at Fenway over the next several years until it became a fixture in 2002, thanks to the new executive VP for public affairs named Dr. Charles Steinburg, who felt the song had “transformative powers,” per the Berkeley Beacon. It would go on to play before the eighth inning in every Red Sox game, ahead of the team stepping up for bat.
Okay, it makes perfect sense, but what does that have to do with England? It seems that the answer isn’t much more than that it’s just a really great, catchy, upbeat music. It’s also a great choice for a tournament anthem because it’s simple to sing along to.
According to the BBC, the song became well-known as an English football anthem after Arsenal performed it after their 2017 FA Cup semi-final win. From then on, it was played at many different English sports, including boxing and rugby. It’s also since become a popular song among Aston Villa fans in particular.
And Neil Diamond is all about the British love of his song. In 2021, when England fans were belting out the song at Wembley during Euro 2020, Neil told The Telegraph that he was “thrilled.”
“Well, I hope you can do it again — here’s to England,” he said.
You’ve gotta admit, “Sweet Caroline” really is the perfect song to get everyone in a cheerful mood. Neil actually wrote the song about his wife, Marcia, but changed the name to Caroline because it sounded better for the song. Apparently his inspiration came from seeing JFK’s daughter Caroline Kennedy on the cover of a magazine. And the rest was history.
By most accounts, it looks like folks are pretty happy to hear the song come on at games. Just try listening to the crowd singing along in the clip below and try not find yourself singing along:
