The wide world of sports is home to many less than desireable sounds. One example of an annoying sound in sports that has come under fire recently is the “Yankee Strikeout Whistle”. Unfamiliar? It is a very cartoon-ish sounding whistle that accompanies an opposing player striking out in Yankees Stadium. IF you haven’t heard it – check out the whistle in the video below:
It’s an annoying sound to be sure, but it’s over relatively quickly. I think we can find much worse sounds in the world of sports. Let’s get down to the bottom of it.
Vuvuzelas
The 2010 World Cup was a fantastic event. It brought us magical moments on the pitch and introduced a lot of the world to the nation of South Africa. Unfortunately, it also introduced vuvuzelas. The vuvuzelas quickly swept over the world and for awhile, the craze was near unavoidable. I’d rather listen to the 10-hour loop of the Yankee Strikeout Whistle Above than be subjected to an entire stadium blowing horns that sound like an angry swarm of bees.
Mississippi State Cowbells
On one hand – I am a lover of college football traditions and have a bit of respect for Mississippi State’s practice of taking cowbells into Davis Wade Stadium and making it an incredibly hostile environment. On the other hand, those cowbells are what I would imagine hell sounds like and result in an instant mute of any football game played in Starkville, MS. I have a bit of personal bias here from my playing days having suffered a concussion and then been subjected to the bells but I don’t believe any sports fan can tell me with a straight face that the quick whistle in Yankee Stadium is worse than Davis Wade’s cowbells.
The Ric Flair Woo (When Not Done by Ric Flair)
You may be thinking to yourself that professional wrestling isn’t a sport and thus this isn’t a valid entry on the list. If the Nature Boy’s calling card had stuck to WWE, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion but unfortunately it has broken contain and made it’s way to other sports. Perhaps the most egregious example is the woos that are often heard at UFC events when there is a break in the action. When Ric Flair does it – it’s electric. When a whole bunch of drunk mixed martial arts fans decide to hi-jack a show with woos it is decidedly less so.
The Vanderbilt Whistler
Still believe the Yankee Strikeout Whistle is the worst sound in sports? It’s not even the worst whistle in sports. That honor belongs to the Vanderbilt fans who have elected to make themselves into the biggest nuisance in all of collegiate baseball. The Yankee Strikeout Whistle is shrill and annoying. The Vandy whistlers double down on shrillness and annoyance while also producing the hellish sound more often. Ask any SEC baseball fan about the Vandy Whistler and simply listen to their response. That will tell you all you need to know.
What terrible sports sounds did we miss that put the Yankee Strikeout Whistle to shame? Let us know on twitter!