"When the Saints Go Marching In" is used by a number of teams in various sports. It may be used as the team's theme song or reserved for when they score. It may be used with the standard lyrics, specialized lyrics, or no lyrics at all.
When sung by a crowd, it is often started at a very slow tempo, around 70 beats per minute. The next verse is then dramatically sped up to somewhere around 140 beats per minute.
The following is a partial list of notable uses.
Famous quotes containing the words when the, saints, marching and/or sports:
“Most writers steal a good thing when they can,
And when ‘tis safely got ‘tis worth the winning.
The worst of ‘t is we now and then detect ‘em,
Before they ever dream that we suspect ‘em.”
—Bryan Waller Proctor (1787–1874)
“It is an art apart. Saint Francis of Assisi said—”All saints can do miracles, but few of them can keep hotel.””
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.”
—Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910)
“In the end, I think you really only get as far as you’re allowed to get.”
—Gayle Gardner, U.S. sports reporter. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 87 (June 17, 1991)