Yesterday we pointed out that the Dallas Stars of the NHL now play Street Fighter themes whenever things get a little rough on the ice. Turns out there's more of a video game connection here than meets the eye.
First off, the guy in charge of this is Michael Gruber, the first-year music director/DJ for the Stars. He'd been playing the training cutscene music from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! this season but, recently, he dropped in Guile's Theme from Street Fighter II (on Jan. 2, against Montréal). And that was on a suggestion from a guy at Gearbox Software—makers of the Borderlands series—a half-hour up the road in Plano, Texas.
"I brought in Guile's Theme at the request of Adam Fletcher," Gruber told me via email. "He requested it, and I thought it was a great idea. I'm 28 and grew up playing a lot of video games, so this was right up my alley."
Fletcher is a PR and marketing guy at Gearbox, who confirmed to me on Twitter last night that he'd requested the theme.
"When I tried it [Guile's Theme] I got a lot of positive response, so I'm looking for more stuff to add," Gruber said. "I'll try to slip in some other Easter eggs throughout the season."
By that, Gruber means chiptunes or video game themes, and yes, he's taking suggestions. I mentioned that the desperate-sounding injury music from Tecmo Super Bowl might be a good fit as some non-Star is being escorted to the penalty box after an ass-kicking.
Got any other ideas? He's reading, so put them in the comments below. Also, it will help a lot if you can find a YouTube link to the theme you're describing. Please include that if possible.