I’m a fan of many sports, in particular hockey, soccer and table tennis to name a few. I’m also a big fan of music. What do you get when you mix sports and music and how can the combination affect your career as a musician?

As a citizen or visitor of Montreal you cannot overlook the fact that hockey is a big part of this city. For starters, the National Hockey League (NHL) was founded here. Needless to say, the Montreal Canadiens are a significant component of the Montreal culture, and people are passionate about their Habs. Another thing Montrealers are passionate about is their music. The following is an example of how one artist took two existing passions of his city and combined them to create a lot of excitement and attention.

Montreal hip-hop artist Annakin Slayd recently re-released a new version of his track entitled, “25 (Feels Like ‘93)” featuring Rachelle Houde of eleveneighty in honor of the Canadiens’ playoff series win against the Washington Capitals. The song title refers to the Canadiens’ effort to win their 25th Stanley Cup championship. Over the past few weeks with the Montreal and Pittsburgh playoff conference semifinals heating up, this track has been getting a lot of attention. Now, with the Canadiens’ victory over the Penguins on Wednesday night, the fans and the media still can’t get enough of it. The video already has 60,000+ views and is propagating virally online more and more each day, while the song is being played on radio stations across the country. In fact, it was the first song I heard in the car while driving into downtown Montreal right after the end of Wednesday’s game. Have a look at the video and see for yourself.

I really appreciate the energy and enthusiasm of this song and the sentiments that the video evokes. Each time I see the old footage of the 1993 Montreal Stanley Cup championship win I get goosebumps, remembering how I felt to witness that memorable moment. Emotions aside, I must admit that Annakin Slayd has done a wonderful job of bringing sport and music together in a way that will surely bring him more fans and success.

What’s your take on this video? Was Annakin successful in combining music and sport? What other artists have successfully combined the two? Let us know by leaving a comment.