So, that was fun!
Round 1 of our bracket for the sport's greatest theme song had it all - walkovers, shocks, nail-biters, and some controversy.
Firstly, the controversy. Yes, we left out a couple of tunes on the bracket. The most notable of which was this unbelievable effort:
the lack of Sportsnight is enough to render the process void.......
— Steve Daunt (@steveddaunt) January 16, 2018
Fair enough, we missed that one.
Anyway, one can't grieve forever. We move on.
The tie of the first round was undoubtedly the clash between 14th seed BBC Snooker and 19th seed RTE Rugby. This one was rugby all the way, so much so we called it.
Some classics like Test Match Special and BBC Snooker heading for shocking first round exits. Few more hours to vote on Round 1. https://t.co/bSIOaU4w8a
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) January 16, 2018
From there, an incredible rally from the Snookerati squeezed it and sent RTE Rugby and Hans Zimmer packing.
There were comfortable wins for the Top 4 seeds who all went into the second round with close to 90% of the vote. The first shock (though it was predicted) came as the 5th seed Sports Stadium lost out to the double whammy of the NFL's Monday Night Football and Superstars.
A bad draw for The Final Countdown, but a very poor performance by one of the big Irish hopes of the competition. In fact, the only Irish representation to advance to Round 2 is The Sunday Game.
Other shocks included the egregious defeats of BBC Cricket/Test Match Special and Ski Sunday, which brings to mind Eamonn De Valera's famous decry of democracy; "The majority has no right to do wrong."
Either way, we are left now with the Sweet Last 16, which has left us with some interesting match ups.
So here we go, get voting. We'll have the results and the match-ups for the quarter finals on Wednesday night.
If you need a refresher, you can listen to all of the theme songs in our Round 1 article.
Round 2
Match 1:
Match of the Day (1) vs. Channel 4 Racing (17)
Match 2:
The Sunday Game (2) vs. Wimbledon (18)
Wimbledon was one of the stronger performers of Round 1, getting 60% of the vote despite being ranked lower than its opponent (The criminally underrated Big Match theme from the '60s). Still, The Sunday Game, being the only Irish song left needs the patriotic vote here.
Match 3:
Grandstand (3) vs. BBC Snooker (14)
Can BBC Snooker use its first round miracle as momentum in round 2? Unlikely given Grandstand won its first round tie with 90% of the vote. Granted, BBC Snooker is a tougher prospect than BBC Darts, but that's a lot of votes!
Match 4:
Champions League (4) vs. Sky Darts (20)
The Sky Darts song already broke some hearts with its win over Ski Sunday, securing a huge 59% of the vote. Will the Champions League theme be the first of the Top 4 to crash out?
Match 5:
BBC Golf (9) vs. A Question of Sport (25)
A Question of Sport already conquered the cricket, which makes it a very dangerous prospect for the less heralded BBC Golf theme.
Match 6:
The Rugby World Cup (7) vs. BBC Formula 1 (10)
The voting in the first round would suggest BBC's Formula 1 theme is not just a favourite for this round, but a danger for the whole competition.
Match 7:
Gazzetta Football Italia (6) vs. CBS Masters Theme (22)
Match 8:
Super Sunday, 2009-11 (21) vs. NFL Monday Night Football / Superstars (28)
Two of the lowest seeded songs still in the bracket, and one of them is going into the last 8. The magic of the Ball-O-Vision!
Happy voting! Check back tomorrow evening for the quarter finals.
