Boro's Steel River anthem dilemma ahead of final home game of the season
Kim Hellberg has called for Boro fans to bring the energy for what he feels is an important match, as they look to keep top-two hopes alive. The Boro boss showed his thanks to supporters in midweek after the victory over Sheffield Wednesday.
But as far as improving the atmosphere at the Riverside is concerned, one thing that continues to divide opinion is the pre-match anthem Steel River. Boro have been using the first verse of the Chris Rea song ahead of kick-off for the majority of the season, with the desire for a pre-match anthem akin to You’ll Never Walk Alone at Liverpool, for example, for many years.
It’s not the first time Boro have tried Steel River for this purpose. It had a run during the 2021-22 season too, but was quietly dropped at that point after coinciding with a run of no home wins that ended up proving costly to play-off hopes that season (the results, not the song!).
Brought back this season, the club have tried a lot to promote it and encourage fans to get behind it, including screening the lyrics as it plays to help. However, there remains only a small portion of fans who do, with away ends regularly heard singing over it instead. It’s struggling to take off organically.
Though Saturday’s game is the final game of the regular season, Boro are likely to have one more Riverside outing this season - with play-offs now looking likely for Kim Hellberg’s side.
Could it be that such a big occasion as a play-off semi final would be the making of the anthem as a staple? Or has Steel River had its run and ultimately been proven unsuitable for Boro’s pre-match anthem?
The club will be set to review it ahead of next season. And with that in mind, we asked our fan panel, which consists of Youtube analyst Phil Spencer, Boro Breakdown co-host Dana Malt, Boropolis co-founder Chris Cassidy and Twe12th Man member John Donovan, their thoughts on Steel River, and whether it should stay.
It’s a good song, but not a good song for an anthem, so I’m not surprised it hasn’t taken off. It’s too short and there’s no big belting moment that I think an anthem really benefits from.
We’ve had big games this season where it’s been played and I haven’t heard much involvement in it from the stands, especially when it’s the part of the isolated vocals.
It’s a nice try from the club, but it’s not working. I think we should move away from hoping it’ll land because it hasn’t, and it won’t.
Club anthems are hard to get. I do think, unless it’s already engrained in the history of a football club, it’s hard for any to properly take off. There’s too much division - no one ever agrees on what would be good.
I still think We Shall Overcome is the best pick, but others will disagree. Maybe one day we’ll have one that everyone can be proud to join in with, but I don’t anticipate it’ll be any time soon unless it happens organically.
I’m not a lover of Steel River at all. I don’t think it’s worked since the beginning, and I think it’s most definitely run its course. What had started out as a one-off touching tribute to Chris Rea has become something that just irks me on a match day.
As per one of our previous fan panels, having a club anthem has never been something I’ve been opposed to; I just wanted it to be authentic. Unfortunately, Steel River now feels forced.
Middlesbrough’s run of games without a win hasn’t yet driven me to a place where I believe it has any impact on games, but it certainly hasn’t helped that Boro’s poor home form has coincided with the addition of the song into the pre-match buildup.
The lyrics on the screen prior to kick-off are unmissable, and yet still few choose to sing along. At times, it’s even reached the point where small away followings can be heard during it.
When I think back to some of the best atmospheres I’ve ever experienced at the Riverside, it has always been Pigbag as the players enter the pitch and then an immediate start to the chanting led by the south stand. Perhaps rather than an anthem, we just need a rewritten version of the Enola Gay chant.
Steel River is slow and feels like a bit of a lull before kick-off, so I would personally remove it from the pre-match running order before the play-offs begin.
After Chris Rea's passing last December, the club decided to introduce Steel River as a pre match anthem. The first few lines are played and the lyrics put on the big screen to help those fans who were maybe not familiar with the song.
There are very few songs with such passionate lyrics that evoke the history of our town and its industrial strength and importance to the world.
Not only is it a reminder to our own fans of the part our forefathers paid in making this area so important nationally and globally, it is also a reminder to others of our strength, character and pride. It should never be forgotten what Teesside gave to the world and what it's people still have to offer.
In the stadium you only tend to hear what is happening around you, and fans around me in the North Stand have taken to the song very well. Recently, at the sell out Millwall game, we flew the surfer across the North Stand, from East to West.
As we were collecting it in near the North West corner, Steel River started on the PA system. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the song being sung from the North and West stands with pride.
The introduction of the song to the pre-match build up is only a few months old. It is working OK at the moment, but I think with perseverance it will become a pre match ritual and most, if not all, fans will get to love it.
Once fans get more familiar with it, I'd love to see scarves being held aloft while belting out the words. We all have pride in our football team, pride of our area, and pride in our history. Let's show it.
I like the idea of Steel River. Middlesbrough have been missing a pre-match anthem, but it's just not hitting right. It feels like the clip used is too short and therefore it doesn't give fans enough time to be ready for it and get into the moment. Ten seconds later and it's finished.
If you look at 'You'll Never Walk Alone' at Liverpool/Celtic, 'Wise Men Say' at Sunderland or even 'Local Hero' at Newcastle, there's a long build-up which allows fans to ease into the moment and be ready as it builds to a climax. With Steel River, that doesn't quite work.
I believe that Steel River should still be used, but if we are looking for an anthem I think that we need something a bit longer and more powerful.
That said, perhaps what we've missed is a BIG occasion to really try it. These anthems work because of the emotion that fans feel and the memories that they spark.
We haven't really had chance to attach any big moments to the song and so maybe it's just a case of being patient and waiting for the significance to grow.
Steel River pre-match lyrics
For supporters who want to get behind the song and sing it loud and proud ahead of Saturday's game, the lyrics used at the Riverside are:
I was born and raised on steel river,
I see it all like it was yesterday,
The ships and bridges they were all delivered,
From Sydney harbour to the Cisco bay.
As well as hearing their views on particular Boro topics on Teesside Live each week, you can also hear from them further on their respective platforms.
Phil Spencer runs his own Youtube channel Bonkers For Boro, which you can subscribe to here. Chris Cassidy is part of the Boropolis Podcast, Dana Malt is part of the Boro Breakdown Podcast, and John Donovan is part of the Twe12th Man Podcast, all of which you can listen to on all major podcast outlets.
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