You can have your SportsCenter, your FOX NFL Sunday, and Monday Night Football. The single most iconic theme in the history of sports television is “Roundball Rock,” best remembered for its use during The NBA on NBC. Just the first few notes instantly conjure mental images of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ dominant run through the league in the 90s.
In recent years, FOX has adopted the song for use in the network’s coverage of Big East college basketball. Thanks to the Olympics though, “Roundball Rock” is back where it belongs. NBC announced on Friday that the music will be used in coverage of all basketball action in Tokyo.
Fans will have plenty of opportunity to hear the theme too. With the addition of Peacock, NBC is presenting more coverage of more sports than in past Olympics. Also, there is more basketball in Tokyo than in previous Olympic Games. In addition to the traditional men’s and women’s competitions, there are 3-on-3 tournaments in this year’s event.
“Roundball Rock” was composed by broadcaster/smooth jazzman John Tesh. He has told the story of its composition many times. When the beat came to him, Tesh did not have a piano or a recorder handy. Instead, he called his home answering machine and sung the bars into his phone so that he had something to work from later.
Unfortunately, the anthem has not done much to inspire Team USA thus far. The men’s national team dropped its first game to France on Sunday morning. That certainly didn’t do anything to quell whatever doubts fans may have had about just how much this event means to NBA stars.
