Toronto man decides to make walk-up music for his softball teammates. Then he asks those who are able to remove their hats

A Toronto sports fan and content creator/commentator used his talents to hype up his brother's softball team during a league game. Nicholas Vassos (@acevassos) showed off his handiwork in action, and the extra touch elevated the game's experience, bumping the feeling from a casual game, to tapping into some of the energy a stadium sporting event provides.

The video begins with footage of a softball player running up to the plate. As he does so, a loud voice can be heard in the background stating, "Welcome to the dog pound," which is then followed by barking.

Afterward, a rap song verse echoes throughout the field with the lyricist spitting: "B***h like Nolan Ryan," as an announcer's voice speaks over it. "Now batting, the Vicente Dog, number 33, Vineet!" The music continues, much to the laughter of everyone else on the field.

There's a reason for their enthusiastic reactions. According to Vassos' caption, it turns out that this "was their first time hearing them." Next, a pitch is thrown to the swinger, who makes contact and starts booking it to first base.

Following this, the clip then cuts to another portion of the game. "Please rise and remove your hats," the announcer says as another batter goes to pick up a slugger from the ground and approach the plate. "El Dorado softball organization would like to pay homage to all of the fastballs that Zachary has sent to h*ll," the voice states, eliciting a broad smile from the batter and chuckles from others in attendance.

The tone and timing of the last portion of this announcement is perfectly spaced out, especially when it comes to the guttural and ominous delivery of the final few words. Rounding out the announcement is Metallica's "Enter Sandman," which rouses the batter's teammates in the dugout.

Zachary makes contact with the ball, popping it directly up into the air. It looks like an easy catch for the opposing team and a rival player does indeed run up to catch it, glove at the ready to scoop it up and put Zachary out.

However, the easy catch proves to be anything but, and the ball goes in and right out of the catcher's glove. Zachary, thinking he was already taken out, begins sauntering off to the side. But his teammates inform him that the ball is still in play and that he needs to touch first base.

Zachary clocks the information and instantly does so, with his custom song reverberating through the air. Then, the video cuts to show off the next player on the softball team's roster walking towards the plate. "We regret to inform you that Christia did not provide a walk up song or a nickname," the message states, prompting the next batter to look to the camera and laugh.

"Now batting, number 26, Christia Beldeia," the commentator's voice says, followed by a track that sounds like the kind of Bastille song they play during network sweeps season for a TV show about EMS workers. Again, the teammates found the choice to be hilarious, and they shoot joyous looks of approval to Vassos.

People had differing responses to the clip. Unsurprisingly, the comments section had variegated criticisms of the players in the video. "Bro swings like a sissy," one critiqued. "Hey guys, let's play baseball at 40% speed," another said. "Pretty good for their first time playing sports!" another quipped.

However, there were others who commended Vassos' combination of commentary along with his musical selections. "This is top tier," one said.

"This is gold," another wrote.

Many also thought that Christie, the final batter approaching the mound before the clip ended, looked like she was the most capable batter of the bunch.

And judging from one commenter who replied to the video, Vassos isn't the only one who decided to pump up a softball team with walkout music and announcements. "An undefeated team in our league did this in the finals and then proceeded to lose to my very mediocre team in the last inning," they wrote.

Of course, there are plenty of examples where physical is mental and vice versa. I.e., if you carry yourself a certain way, you may be giving yourself a better chance at succeeding in whatever endeavor you're pursuing.

And who's to say that this same concept doesn't apply to sports? Or at the very least, you can feel like a big deal while you're vicariously living out your major league dreams. It's hard to deny how cool it would feel to point to the outfield with a bat after hearing your name blaring over a sound system, your teammates cheering you on from the bleachers.

And there are folks who give athletes this stadium-walk-up feel, even if they aren't trying to send softballs flying over the Green Monster in Fenway. Chad Payne, the founder of BallparkDJ, created a service that lets folks create bespoke plate-walking music and customized introductions for Little League, softball, and casual players.