Create Your Own "GET HYPE" Soundtrack: Sports Songs from My MP3

Sports and music go together like whip cream and a cherry. Whether you play sports or just watch them, you know that music makes that magic happen on the field, court, or course. During a football game, the pounding base of a hard hitting tune gets the crowd right for some bone crushing action. During a marathon, 10K,or 5K, the speakers are blaring some ditty that keeps the crowd humming and the runners' minds off the pain. And there's nothing better than some jammin' music after an ugly slam dunk.

Sports songs make the game better, more excited and more fun. As the athlete, we need music to lift us to the zone. We use music before the game, race, or match to put our minds on the goal and give us the positive affirmations that we need to make us perform our best. The right music can make use feel like the Incredible Hulk. The wrong music can allow us to lose focus on the competition at hand.

When choosing your personal sports songs for your personal athletic soundtrack, think about songs that make you feel like moving and singing (or rapping along). You want songs that clear your mind. Most people prefer fast tempo (that would be me) rap or rock with hard hitting beat, but there are those that like to calm their nervous energy with the smooth, easy melody of a slow tune. I like to have the lyrics lift my confidence, almost as if the song is talking to or about me. Because I am a runner, it's all about me and my strength, I like my hype music to put my head in that zone so that I have a great start and strong finish.

Here are my top ten pre-event sports songs that get me in the mood to sprint to the finish line:

10. Gonna Make You Sweat by: C & C Music Factory

9. Good Vibrations by: Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch

8. Beat It by: Michael Jackson

7. Gasoline by: Audioslave

6. P.I.M.P by 50 Cent

5. Just a Girl by No Doubt

4. She Wants to Move by: N.E.R.D.

3. Damn Girl by: Justin Timberlake

2. Stronger by: Kanye West

1. Ladylike by: Storm Large

I've provided links to downloand my sports song picks and add to your "GET HYPE" soundtrack. I would love here some of yours so that I can add to mine.