Singing Lions: A Club Tradition?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Chris Mueller and Scott Sutter’s fun social media antics. Follow any OCSC player and I don’t think you’ll be upset with the content they deliver, but Dom Dwyer’s behind the scenes posts of Orlando City Soccer Club never disappoint. Many teams likely have little traditions to help welcome new players to the club. Orlando City’s seems to involve standing on a chair at dinner while serenading the team.

I don’t know how the tradition started, who spearheaded it, and why it brings me so much joy, but we saw it last year, and thanks to Dom Dwyer’s Instagram stories, we get a chance to see this year’s…um…performances. Enjoy the first night’s performances and, at the time of publishing you’ll have about 10 hours to catch the next round, featuring Mario’s “Let me Love You,” Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” (sort of), Vance Joy’s “Riptide,” and more before they disappear from Dwyer’s story.

Crowd Pleaser

David Loera wins crowd pleaser because, as you’ll see, he had the most participation when his solo turned into a sing-along. His rendition of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” was the perfect choice to get the party started.

Most Talented

All the players should get credit for their performances, but Daryl Dike’s “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus had to be my favorite for many reasons. I love that he knew (for the most part) all the words, seemed excited to be singing it, and held the tune better than any of his teammates. Sorry, guys. It’s true.

Most Embarrassed

Andrés Perea chose to sing “Ibiza” by Ozuna. Thanks to my friend, Rossana, for helping to identify this one for me! Perea starts off excited and pretty engaged in the song but can’t wait to be done as he jumps down from the chair. Unfortunately for him, his teammates hadn’t had enough. The team yelled as he jumped down to make him get back up and finish the performance.

Most Animated

Júnior Urso was definitely the most confident and animated of the bunch as he belted out a ballad. I tried to identify the song but no one on my socials could tell what it was he was singing, just that it sounded like, “an old-timey ballad of some sort.” If you know, be sure to share in the comments!

Most Supported

Rodrigo Schlegel chose the never-dying popularity of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito.” He handled the build-ups and drops with an interesting little dance move, I mean you can really only do so much while standing on a chair. The Argentine needed the lyrics though, as he was barely able to look from his phone during the performance, but his teammates were right there with him in the chorus to build him back up.

Mellowest

Joey DeZart gave the players Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.” He was a very close second for Crowd Pleaser, but with Dom singing over most of it as he recorded it was hard to determine if there was more or the same level on engagement from his teammates than with “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

Do I spend too much time on social media platforms? Perhaps, and my iPhone weekly report agrees, but how else would I get this content? It’s fun and exciting to see the players getting along and learning a little bit of their personality. I’m just grateful no one did Journey. I said it.