By Mitch Rice
It is no surprise that there is a deep connection between music and sports. The same kind of drive and desire that can be found in the personalities of rock stars are also common with top athletes. Sports stars love to try their hand at music and musicians get involved as much as they can with sports – even if it is only watching it sometimes.
There are some rock stars that have even given sports a go – with decidedly mixed results. None of the musicians in our list will be featuring on top betting sites like BetNow any time soon. But it is always interesting to discover passions that exist outside the recording studio.
Eddie Vedder
The Pearl Jam singer is an Evanston, Illinois native and is a big fan of all Chicago sports teams. He has even been joined on stage by former Bulls player Dennis Rodman. But baseball is his first love after his father took him to watch the Chicago Cubs when he was just five years old.
Eddie is no part-time supporter though. He is regularly spotted at Wrigley Field and would have been as happy as anyone when the team ended a 108-year World Series drought in 2016. He has had the honor of singing the national anthem and throwing the first pitch at a Cubs game – and even featured on a baseball card.
Gene Simmons
The Kiss bassist and co-lead singer is known for a lot of different things. His outspoken political views, his reputation as a ladies’ man, and his make up and stage persona. But he is also a big football fan and has put his money where his mouth is in the past.
Arena Football is one of those football leagues that gained media attention every now and then – before its official closure in 2019. But the teams came and went frequently. When the LA Avengers folded in 2013, Simmons – and band mate Paul Stanley – stepped in and became new owners, changing the name to LA Kiss. The team lasted three years.
Robert Plant
The Led Zeppelin singer claims that when he was first taken to watch local soccer team Wolverhampton Wanderers at the age of five, the legendary captain Billy Walker saw him in the crowd and waved at him. That was enough to start a lifelong passion for the club.
But the club has shown its love for the rock star too. In 2009 it was announced that Plant would be the third vice-president. He received the honor on the field in front of a packed stadium on the first day of the season. He also apparently plays a lot of tennis – but does not rate his game too much.
Figure 2 Alice Cooper can be found here more often than not
Alice Cooper
Born in Detroit, Michigan and the lead singer of a band that came out of Phoenix, Arizona, Alice Cooper is a bona fide fan of most of the pro sports teams representing the two quite different cities. He was even once a part owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team.
But it is a far more genteel sport that has captured Alice Cooper’s heart. It may seem a little strange that a metal singer famed for hanging himself on stage is an accomplished golfer. But he plays at a very high level and has competed in Pro-Am tournaments. He credits the sport with helping him with his alcohol addiction.
ZZ Top
The famous Texas band actually played the Super Bowl halftime show in 1997 and also performed at NASCAR races. But it was another sport that they were known to be huge advocates of. Both Billy Gibbons and the late, great, Dusty Hill were big wrestling fans.
They were often seen ringside at WWE events and even hosted a WWE Monday Night Raw event from Raleigh, North Carolina in 2009. ZZ Top and wrestling just seem made for each other and WWE offered a glowing tribute and condolences when Hill passed away in 2021.
