Rangers fans have spoken, and the baseball club has listened. After a number of complaints about a new hip-hop remix of Pat Green’s countrified “I Like Texas,” the Rangers will go back to playing the original version after home wins.
“I Like Texas'' has been the unofficial anthem of the Rangers for the last 25 years, and a tradition following victories. But the team recently debuted a reimagined version of Green’s song remixed with Dallas-based rapper, songwriter and producer Bobby Sessions as a modernized replacement. Longtime fans were quick to complain about the change “nobody asked for,” especially on the Rangers’ social media.
“Bring back the original,” Brandon McAuliffe commented on the team’s X post, seemingly referring to the club's recent World Series win. “Quit changing crap because of the winning title.”
A few days later, Rangers spokesman John Blake told the Dallas Morning News that the club will return to playing Green’s original version of the song, but will still use Sessions’ remix “in other elements during the game.” Green himself also approached the Rangers about still using the new remix in some fashion.
“We continue to modify and work on our in-game entertainment,” Blake said to the Morning News. “We are trying some different things, but are cognizant of the component of tradition for fans.”
Dallas sports-talk station 1310 The Ticket spoke with Green on April 9 about the Rangers' move to return to the classic “I Like Texas.” Green said he hadn’t heard about it from the team, and joked that the topic of the song switch has had him “in controversy.” The country singer then said that Sessions is “one of the coolest guys you’ll ever meet in your life” and as a big baseball fan, he has been appreciative of the Rangers “being nice to [him]” for so long.
“But I just thought it was – you know, I’ve been playing that thing for 24, 25 years,” Green said on the radio show. “Sooner or later you’ve got to pass the baton.”
The “I Like Texas” controversy marks the second time in a week that the Rangers have reversed recent changes to in-stadium entertainment. The team’s traditional use of “Cotton-Eyed Joe” during the seventh-inning stretch, a Rangers music tradition since the ‘80s, had gone missing from the opening series. Fans created a similar upset online, demanding answers for why Joe had suddenly disappeared. The fiddle-heavy folk song quickly made its return during the April 5 game with the Astros.
With two Rangers music traditions back in place, some fans continue to beg on social media for just one more change: fewer guitar riffs and more organ tunes during chants. Whether the Rangers will decide to get rid of what has been referred to as “pre-recorded guitar wankery” remains to be seen, but fans can rest assured that the OG Green track is back in play.
Pat Green performs on May 31 at Jub Jam XIII at The Longhorn Ballroom.
