COTTON EYED JOE CAN BE PLAYED AT THE WRONG TIME

Yes, it’s true. There are moment s when Cotton Eyed Joe by Rednex should not be played. I know this is hard to understand that a sports arena or stadium staple has a time that it should be kept silent. Who made up such a ridiculous rule? Tennis. OK, during a tennis match there is supposed to be silence just like in golf. Once the match is over there can be hooting and hollering even though there is usually just a smattering of applause and some light “whoo-hoo”-ing. But in the match there must be silence other than the occasional gasp at a miraculous play. Not too long ago there was news that during a match people were popping champagne during the match in the well to do suites and they had to be admonished. In this case it was a much louder and surprising noise that stopped the match. Suddenly, the speakers started blaring Cotton Eyed Joe by Rednex which is a techno beat dance song that you will hear played at sports venues all over the world. I’m not sure if it is a staple of tennis matches but the Canadian Open must have felt that the next break needed a tune to get the crowd pumped up. Unfortunately they played it – loudly right in the middle of a match and it threw everyone off. The judge stopped play and said the point would be replayed. I have a feeling that whoever was running the public address speakers was reprimanded. After the crowd booed, the judge took a stab from her chair about it thanking the sound system which got a laugh from the crowd and the players. It just goes to show you can’t ALWAYS just play Cotton Eyed Joe.