‘Party On Fifth Ave.’ will not be Penguins’ new goal song, but it should be their victory anthem

In the wake of Pittsburgh-bred, hip-hop phenom Mac Miller’s unfortunate death, a Change.org petition to get one of his most popular songs “Party On Fifth Ave.” changed to the Penguins’ official goal song rapidly spread and cycled its way across the Internet.

If you live in the greater Pittsburgh area or, frankly, in the general vicinity of western Pennsylvania, this petition, which has garnered a whopping 29,941 signatures of its 35,000 goal in just five days, has likely crossed your Facebook or Twitter feed.

The creator of the petition left this blurb to encourage fans of the Penguins to honor Miller’s memory:

“After the sudden loss of music icon Mac Miller, I would like to start a petition for the upcoming 2018-19 season — for the Pittsburgh Penguins to change their goal song to ‘Party On Fifth Ave.’ I think it would be a fitting tribute to the rapper to change the goal song to the upbeat song he created. ‘Party On Fifth Ave.’ is a song by Mac Miller, and PPG Paints Arena is located on 5th Avenue in Pittsburgh. Mac Miller from Pittsburgh; was a producer, singer, rapper, songwriter, musician, and friend to many. Wishing his family condolences through this tragic loss of such an inspirational human being.”

However, after receiving a request to respond by Pittsburgh radio station KDKA, a spokesperson for the Penguins killed the growing idea to use Miller’s 2011 single as it gained speed, but they did mention that the team plans to incorporate it into their music mix during game nights.

Despite the strong effort from thousands of fans, “Party On Fifth Ave.” will not be the new goal song, even though a similar, heavy social media push inspired the hand of the Penguins a few years ago to start using their current goal song “Party Hard” by Andrew W.K.

To add a little bit of personal opinion, I don’t think “Party On Fifth Ave.” would’ve been the best choice as a goal song, and I’m a huge Mac Miller fan. Though it’s a great track, clearly connects him to the city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins, and features 5th Avenue, the street in which PPG Paints Arena rests on, it doesn’t contain the energizing element that “Party Hard” does. For a lack of better words, the beat is too slow. “Party Hard” also carried the Penguins through two-straight Stanley Cup wins, and superstitious fans will tell you it’s a bad idea to leave it trailing in the dust.

However, I think it would work perfectly as a victory anthem after a Penguins’ win. The song itself has celebration in the name, is well-known by the fanbase, and as the Pittsburgh faithful leave their seats and pour out of PPG Paints and onto 5th Avenue with that instantly recognizable saxophone riff blasting in the background, they’ll be whooping and hollering right along with it. A Pittsburgh win is already enough to rile up the folks. Pair it with an iconic banger, and 19,758 Yinzers will go crazy.

Our friends over at The Pensblog drummed up an example of what it might sound like in a real victory setting, using Chris Kunitz’s game-winning overtime goal against the Senators in Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final as the foundation:

Even though Mac Miller won’t dethrone Andrew W.K., it was inspiring to see just how many of his fans were dedicated enough to try to make this change happen. Wherever he is right now, I’m sure he’s holding his thumb in the air with a big smile on his face.