The Texas Rangers Have Embraced Creed with Arms Wide Open

During the MLB postseason, teams will take any advantage they can get. A seemingly innocuous thing can become a powerful motivating factor. Like, say, the squirrel that dashed across the field during a 2011 Cardinals playoff series, powering St. Louis all the way to the World Series and earning its own Wikipedia page. For the last two years, the himbo Phillies have used the club anthem “Dancing On My Own” (though, sadly, not the original Robyn version) to soundtrack their champagne celebrations. This year, the Texas Rangers have adopted their very own, very specific tunes. They are being taken higher, to a place with golden streets. That’s right: they’re getting pumped up by listening to Creed.

Creed, for the uninformed, is a band of Florida men who made extremely popular music in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. And facts are facts: the 2023 Rangers, who are on the cusp of a World Series appearance, possibly would not be in this position if not for Creed. But, to put it as bluntly as possible, Creed is not exactly relevant anymore—and they’ve long been the butt of jokes in the music world. While their turn-of-the-century banger “With Arms Wide Open” won them a Grammy for Best Rock Song, it is also older than Rangers’ left fielder Evan Carter, who was born in 2002—and revealed that the Rangers now have Creed-related handshakes. So, how did the Rangers end up appreciating the lyricism of lead singer Scott Stapp? Let shortstop Corey Seager explain.

“It’s something to bond over,” Seager told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “That’s the hard thing about teams, right? You have people coming in and out. How do you gel? How do you come together? How do you fight for each other? You find little ways on different teams, and that’s one of our ways.” Sure! The entire Rangers’ universe seems to be on board with this. Earlier in the postseason, as the Rangers were sweeping aside the overmatched Baltimore Orioles, their entire stadium took part in some Creed karaoke.

Fast forward to last night—unfortunately for the Creed appreciators, the Rangers’ first loss of the playoffs—and the boys themselves were in the building! All four members of Creed were in attendance to cheer on their devotees.

“It’s kind of just a random thing that everybody started singing to one day, and it’s kind of built on itself,” Seager told MLB.com.

But! It makes a little more sense than that. Creed is kind of a sports band. Years ago, lead singer Scott Stapp made a theme song for the 2010 Florida Marlins—a team that finished under .500 and did not come anywhere close to the playoffs, sadly—called “Marlins Will Soar.” It features lyrics like, “Let’s play ball, it’s game day. We want strikeouts, base hits, double plays,” all delivered in Stapp’s unmistakable growl. There was also, of course, Creed’s unforgettable halftime show at a Dallas Cowboys game in 2001, which featured a shredded, hairless man literally soaring through the air.

Reports have indicated that Creed’s Spotify streams have skyrocketed thanks to the Rangers, and we’ve gotta think that if Texas nabs two more wins and reaches their first World Series in 12 years, we’ll get the Scott Stapp first pitch this nation so deserves. Across the country, Rangers fans are surely asking the band: can you take us higher?