Tottenham’s choice of Duel Of The Fates, the climactic theme to the first Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace, wasn’t inspired by a deep love of mediocre sci-fi films or a desire for a critical reappraisal of Jar Jar Binks. Although that would have been reason enough.
Instead, it stemmed from the North London derby in 2004: Spurs wanted to create a pre-game montage to beef up the atmosphere at White Hart Lane, so put together one soundtracked by a movement from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. You’ll know it — very dramatic.
It did beef up the atmosphere — although
Arsenal scored after two minutes and ultimately got the point that secured the league title — so they wanted to create similar montages for future games.
Sky helped them make a new one, this time with Duel Of The Fates over the top. The montage was frequently updated but the music remained and became a sort of tradition. Recently, however, they have started to mix it up with Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur and Enter Sandman by Metallica thrown in occasionally.