Bill Murray Goes Rogue As British Baseball Fans Butcher 'Sweet Caroline' At MLB's London Series
When Neil Diamond released 'Sweet Caroline' in 1969, there is no way that he could have expected what the song would become. There may not be a more well-known sing-a-long song in existence.
Everybody knows the words and the people love to chant along with the "Bum Bum Buuummmmm." It doesn't matter where or when the song comes on. The people are going to go crazy. Especially white people.
Sunday's baseball game between the Cubs and Cardinals was no exception.
As part of the MLB's initiative to grow the game, St. Louis and Chicago played at London Stadium in the Stratford district in England. The two-game London Series saw the home pitch for West Ham United undergo a huge transformation for the weekend.
And then, during the seventh inning of Sunday's game, 'Sweet Caroline' started to play over the loudspeakers. The British crowd went bonkers and it made for a very cool moment.
However, they butchered it.
ESPN came back from commercial and the broadcast cut to the singing of the Neil Diamond classic. It sounded as though either:
Regardless of the reason, the timing was off.
As Diamond went to sing "hands, touching hands," part of the stadium chanted "bum bum bummm!" and "so good, so good!" They eventually got it together, but there was a clear lapse.
Here is how it sounded on ESPN:
Meanwhile, Bill Murray was on the broadcast for BT Sport as the song came on. He proceeded to take all of the items from the broadcast desk, including Cubs and Cardinals hats, and threw them into the crowd below.
People go crazy for Sweet Caroline. Even Bill Murray!