‘Woah-oh oh-oh! Woah-oh oh-oh!‘ is a euphoric tune to Caps fans, as it’s served for years as Verizon Center’s celebratory cheer after the Caps score a goal.
To Iron Maiden fans, the tune is already well known. It’s the end of The Wicker Man, a song we’ve been listening to for more than 15 years, and the first track of the 2000 album Brave New World.
Maiden, who is best known for being an 80’s heavy metal band rarely heard on the radio and only seen on Headbanger’s Ball, had a resurgence in 2000 when longtime frontman Bruce Dickinson returned to the group. Since then, Maiden has put out masterpiece after masterpiece every few years, including last year’s “The Book of Souls.”
Michael Wurman, the Caps’ director of network production and game content, told sportsnet.ca: “I knew nobody was using it, and we were hoping to separate ourselves kinda like Chicago did with ‘Chelsea Dagger.’ It’s branded — that’s what I want.”
Unlike the goal song the Blackhawks use, by the The Fratellis, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone argue that the Caps have the worst goal song in the league. To fans at United Center, it’s their queue to circle-jerk dance in place and make everyone else sick. Even Troy Brouwer, who played for the Blackhawks, once said, “It’s a pretty catchy song, but if you hear it too many times it can get annoying. I can understand that for sure.”
It’s not unusual to start liking a song, or an entire band, simply from a ubiquitously-played riff. For Caps fans, who themselves are already salivating while celebrating a goal as The Wicker Man blares, should check out more of Iron Maiden’s music if they don’t already know it.
