Music plays a vital role in sports. Baseball players have walkup songs. Fan bases rally around smash hits with timely titles, like “We are Family” and “Don’t Stop Believin.’ ” And sometimes, the strangest notes can galvanize a wounded football team.
Here’s the unlikely story of how “Whip Somebody’s Ass” — a song with five lines, no music and lyrics that could fit on a bar napkin — became a rallying cry for the 2014 Cardinals and beyond.
The tale begins with former Virginia Tech coach Jimmy Sharpe, who is Bruce Arians’ primary mentor, the man responsible for spawning a coaching career unlike any other.