As England prepares to step onto the pitch at the World Cup, this piece traces how Neil Diamond’s 1969 hit “Sweet Caroline” became a fixture in football culture, especially among England supporters at Wembley. The story begins with a song that was not written for sports at all, but has ended up echoing through stadiums in moments of celebration.
Diamond wrote the song for his wife, Marsha, but her name did not fit the melody. After seeing a magazine photo of President John F. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline, he changed the title. The song became a major hit, reaching high chart positions in Canada and Australia, later appearing in the British market, and finishing 22nd on Billboard’s 1969 year-end list. It was an affectionate love song about finding oneself in a lover’s arms, backed by a brass-heavy arrangement.
Its sporting life began with the Boston Red Sox, who have played it at Fenway Park since at least 1997, and from 2002 before every home game during the eighth inning. Diamond later sang it at the Red Sox’s 2010 season opener. After the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013, he returned to the stadium for a quieter, emotional performance that became a symbol of solidarity; the rival New York Yankees also played the song, its sales jumped 600 percent, and Diamond donated the royalties to a fund for victims’ families.
In Britain, the song also became linked to boxing, especially through promoter Eddie Hearn, who used it to build crowd energy before fighters entered the ring. By Euro 2020, delayed to 2021 because of the coronavirus, it had become intertwined with England’s run at Wembley, where it was played during the team’s winning streak as fans embraced it as an anthem.
