If you caught any of yesterday’s Islanders-Rangers game — and especially if you caught the last five minutes or so — you may have noticed that the Islanders debuted a new goal song, and a random one at that: 1985’s “Life Is Life,” by the Austrian band Opus. So how did the song — which Wikipedia tells us reached No. 1 in Canada and cracked the Top 40 in the States — come to be used to celebrate home-team goals?
Turns out, Isles fans have enforcer Zenon Konopka to thank. The team’s been playing the song in the locker room since the training camp, and with Konopka leading the campaign, players signed a petition to use it as their goal song and presented it to the team’s game-operations staff. But why this song? Suggests Isles spokesman Kimber Auerbach: “It could be because everyone’s singing at the same time. I mean, if you listen to the Chicago Blackhawks’ song, it could be one of the most annoying songs you’ve ever heard, but everyone’s kind of doing it together.” For the record, Auerbach says the players “don’t find it annoying at all.” Hear for yourself, below.
How a Random Eighties Tune Became the Islanders’ New Goal Song