2026: Country and Southern rock became the soundtrack of American sports worldwide | Music City Minute
2026 has been the year country and Southern rock became the soundtrack of American sports on the global stage, and we need to talk about it. First, let's rewind to February, when Team USA used Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" as their goal song at the Winter Olympics in Milan. Every time the U.S. scored, that iconic guitar riff echoed through the arena, and it became one of the defining sounds of the Games. By the time it was over, both the men's and women's hockey teams had won gold, with the men capturing their first Olympic hockey gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. "Free Bird" played a lot in Milan.
Now fast forward to this weekend. John Denver's 1971 classic "Take Me Home, Country Roads" has unofficially become the anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. After the U.S. Men's National Team beat Australia 2-0 on Friday night in Seattle to clinch their group, nearly 67,000 fans didn't head for the exits. Instead, the stadium speakers kicked on "Country Roads" and the entire crowd, American and Australian fans alike, belted it out together as the players did a victory lap. The clip went viral instantly, and it's happened at every U.S. match so far. The Guardian even wrote a whole piece about why the song has struck such a chord, calling it a story about "a united America." From "Free Bird" in Milan to "Country Roads" in Seattle, country music is proving what we've always known: nothing brings people together quite like it.
