In this new occasional series, we check in with supporters’ groups throughout MLS to learn what their favorite chant is and what makes it so special. We start with Centennial 38 (better known as C38), the Colorado Rapids’ mainstays, who transformed a familiar John Denver song into “Mountain Roads Take Me Home.”
Origins
According to Pat Quinn, who heads up the C38 capos, the chant first appeared in 2010. “One of the supporters first introduced it and it gradually started to catch on. I think a John Denver song was picked because he always had a connection with Colorado,” he says. “Having a good singable melody that everyone knows made it easy for people to adopt.”
How did it catch on?
It didn’t hurt that the chant started the year of the team’s surprising title run, when the Rapids finished fifth in the Western Conference, were slotted into the Eastern Conference bracket, and defeated FC Dallas for the title on a cold Toronto night. C38 leader David Wenger, happily recalls being one of several hundred loyal fans who made the trek for the neutral-site match-up and singing in the stands. “It’s become part of our DNA now,” he says of “Mountain Roads.” “Win, lose or draw, it celebrates the team and where we’re from.”
How has it evolved over time?
In 2013, Denver-based punk band the Pitch Invasion (whose name indicates an affinity for soccer) took up the chant, then just the chorus of “Country Roads Take Me Home” reworked to be Colorado-specific. They then turned it into a full song. “It’s like when the guys who wrote the ‘Friends’ theme song had to turn the show intro into a full song,” says Wenger.
“It’d be awesome if we could sing the full song in the stands,” he adds, “but sometimes it’s herding cats just to get everyone to sing the chorus.”
Is there a specific time during a match that it's used?
C38 launches into “Mountain Roads” at the end of the first half and then the end of the full 90, aiming to end play on a positive, unifying note.
Why is it their favorite chant?
When you start with a songwriter so tied to Colorado that he took Denver as his stage name, and make one of his best-known songs an ode to state pride, it’s unifying for fans all over the state. “We tie our identity to Colorado a lot, and it helps give us inspiration from everything from scarves, to tifo, to membership events,” Quinn says of C38. “Things like that are also behind the reason why we chose to name our group Centennial 38 — Colorado is the “Centennial State” and the 38th state admitted to the Union. Our connection to the community and the State of Colorado is important to us.”
