Steve Schnur can’t sleep. He calls it a blessing and a curse. 

In pursuit of the next great sports video game soundtrack, Schnur scrolls social media in the middle of the night, discovering new music and sending it to his colleagues who have long gone to bed.

That’s how he found Lola Young.

Swiping through Instagram one morning last November, Schnur, the president of music at Electronic Arts, came across Young’s raspy, soulful voice. “Holy … you know what,” he thought, and immediately texted Cybele Pettus, EA’s senior music supervisor.

Two days later, they attended a rooftop party in Los Angeles where three emerging musicians performed for a crowd of industry veterans. Out walked a young British woman with long dark hair, choppy bangs and nose rings. The same singer-songwriter Schnur had texted Pettus about at 3 a.m. 

“We literally fell in love with her,” Pettus said. “She was just so engaging, so interesting, such a storyteller with her music. We went right up to her, told her how much we loved her set — which was like three songs — met her manager. She was very recently signed at the time to a label … I don’t even think her record was done.”

Schnur and Pettus wanted her for EA Sports FC 25, the latest edition of the wildly popular soccer game. Young doesn’t play video games or follow sports outside of watching the World Cup. But she knew it was a big deal. Her song “Flicker of Light” is nestled among 117 songs from artists in 27 countries.

“It’s interesting because it’s quite a male-dominated game, but there are loads of women who play it. It’s exciting to me that I’m going to be in the game because I’m a female artist doing my thing,” Young said. 

Not all tracks emerge from serendipitous rooftop encounters. But Schnur’s path to Young is emblematic of the modern effort to build a quality, fresh video game soundtrack.

To curate such an expansive collection of varied tracks requires an ear for what will be the next breakout song rather than merely having a finger on the pulse of what already is topping charts or going viral on TikTok. At EA, Schnur challenges his team to a musical scavenger hunt with a rule: don’t listen to the radio or any major outlet where music is played. 

“I don’t want the influence of what is today to influence what will be in the next six months,” Schnur said. “You can’t title a game ‘Madden 25’ and have it sound like 2023. It has to be, by a matter of design, a place of discovery, a place that cements what the next year ahead is going to sound like. A place where the sport itself will be a part of this sound.” 

To achieve this, Schnur and his fellow songseekers scour the globe for fresh tracks. They attend concerts of up-and-coming artists, take suggestions from current athletes and field submissions from the biggest names in the industry. 

Everyone from Green Day to Billie Eilish and her brother/producer Finneas want to know what they have to do to be featured in the wildly popular video games. In the former’s case, that meant playing “American Idiot” on acoustic guitars for Schnur to lobby for its placement on Madden 2005. In the latter, Schnur got to hear Eilish’s new album “Hit Me Hard and Soft” before it was finished because the nine-time Grammy winner wanted to be in FC 25. Eilish’s “CHIHIRO” appears in the game.

Album sneak peeks and concert tickets are perks, but the job also comes with some pressure. Curating a video game soundtrack means creating a playlist that millions will hear — over, and over, and over. Avid gamers will remember the music for better or worse. And the best ones are remembered even decades later, when a song immediately conjures memories of a game and a time and place.

The teams responsible for piecing together the soundtracks are well aware that their work will live on as virtual time capsules once a current game is superseded by a future iteration, but they strive for the initial experience to be an introduction to new sounds instead of a recognition of old favorites. 

“The sound of the NFL to a 20-, 25-year-old is very different than their parents because their associated tone with football comes from Madden,” Schnur said. “It does not come through broadcasts or live football games. It comes from the virtual experience. With that comes an enormous responsibility of getting it right and knowing that you’re defining the sound of the sport going forward.”

That’s something David Kelley, the director of music partnerships and licensing at 2K, considers when selecting songs for the NBA2K franchise.

“The most important part for us is that we want it to be future-facing, always. We want it to sound like something you’ve really not heard before,” he said. 

One artist 2K tabbed for its 2025 installment, released Sept. 3, was as future-facing as it gets.

In June, 310babii, an 18-year-old rapper from Inglewood, Calif., collected his high school diploma and a platinum plaque for his hit single “Soak City (Do It)” on the same day. An avid 2K player, he jumped at the opportunity to secure a coveted spot on the soundtrack. He wrote and recorded “forward, back,” a basketball-inspired track, exclusively for NBA2K25 and hopes to hear it when the game shows replays of LeBron James dunking on other players.

Much in the way that Millennial gamers equate Madden 04 with Blink-182 and Yellowcard or hearken back to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtrack, 310babii associates the NBA2K installments of his childhood with the artists featured.

“For me, 2K16 is one of my favorites. When I was in fifth grade, I remember DJ Khaled having the craziest songs on there. That’s what made that game special to me aside from the gameplay itself,” he said. “For a 10-year-old kid, my song could be that for him.” 

At EA and 2K, the process for scoring a game begins the day after the previous edition launches. Figuring out how the songs flow together to establish a vibe is just as imperative as choosing the individual tracks. 

“You’re kind of like a DJ in a club. You can be having a great set, then if you play one song that feels out of place, you’ll lose the whole audience and you’ve got to build that trust back,” Kelley said. “It’s something we take very seriously.” 

Nailing an authentic sound means molding the soundtrack to fit the sport. That doesn’t necessarily mean zeroing in on a particular genre, though hip-hop, rap, R&B and pop tracks are frequent choices, but it does mean keying in on what athletes and fans are listening to. Kelley said Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant even send songs or artists for consideration.

For MLB: The Show, finding the right vibe can mean looking to players’ walk-up songs for inspiration. Ramone Russell, PlayStation’s director of product development communications and brand strategy, said they’ve tried to lean more into the different cultures and ethnicities represented within the sport.

“We’ve started to have more Latin music, more reggaeton, some bachata. We have to do that if we’re being accurate to the source material,” he said. “We’re making a Major League Baseball game based off of something that’s real life. If in real life 40 percent of the players are Latin, and the music that they listen to on average is Latin, our soundtrack should probably have some Latin music in it.”  

The team putting together the MLB: The Show soundtrack receives about 50 albums per day from labels and publishers hoping to land an artist’s track in the game, PlayStation Studios director of music affairs Alex Hackford said in an email. Along with partners at Sony Music, Hackford sends ideas to Russell’s team, which then decides what fits on the game’s base soundtrack.

The team also curates a specific set of music for the game’s “Storylines” mode, which allows gamers to play out narratives from baseball history. The songs for the “Storylines” mode that centered on the Negro Leagues were chosen solely by Russell, with the intention of expressing the more somber aspects of baseball’s history through music.

“That’s not necessarily a happy story to tell, but what we try to focus on here is what these men and women accomplished despite the racism and the Jim Crow.” Russell said. “We don’t shy away from the ugliness that’s in this story, but we celebrate what these men and women accomplished despite those things. ” 

That’s particularly evident with the introduction of Toni Stone, the first woman to play regularly in a men’s major league, into MLB: The Show 24. 

“When we decided we were going to do Toni Stone, the first song that came to mind was ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’ by James Brown. I’m like, ‘This has to be her intro song because it is perfect. The nuance is there. It’ll just get people into the right mindset for the kind of story that we’re telling.’ Because it is still very much a man’s world, and it was very much a man’s world back then,” Russell said. “But as James Brown said, it wouldn’t be anything without a woman. There’s that duality there that really helps tie everything together.”

Through each new video game released year after year, these soundtracks weave across sports and through time to become cultural touchstones. The songs bind the gameplay experience to moments that go beyond scoring virtual touchdowns or blasting animated home runs. 

“Nobody remembers that unique piece of gameplay that came about in 2009,” Schnur said, “But everybody remembers the music.” 

(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Kevin Mazur, Sean Gallup / Getty Images)

Fernando Valenzuela would have turned 64 on Friday.

The left-handed pitcher who sparked “Fernandomania” and helped the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees in the 1981 World Series died Oct. 22. Eight days later, the 2024 Dodgers clinched another World Series title by beating the Yankees. The team’s victory parade was also Friday in downtown Los Angeles, followed by a celebration at Dodger Stadium.

Valenzuela is not in the Hall of Fame, but he is a Dodgers legend. Coming from a small town in Mexico, Valenzuela helped expand the Dodgers’ fan base to include a large portion of L.A.’s Latino population decades after many members of that community were forced out of their homes in Chavez Ravine to clear the way for Dodger Stadium.

There is no statue honoring Valenzuela at the stadium. Only two Dodgers greats have received that honor — Jackie Robinson in 2017 and Sandy Koufax in 2022.

A group of Dodgers fans thinks it’s time that changed. A change.org petition calling for a Valenzuela statue to be erected at the stadium was started two days after the former Cy Young winner’s death. As of Friday morning, it had received more than 900 signatures.

“Fernando, popularly known as “El Toro”, isn’t just a player; he’s a symbol of resilience, dedication, and passion to many like myself who grew up venerating him,” wrote Hector Gonzalez, who started the petition. “He created a sense of invincibility around himself, standing as a symbol of hope for the fans, especially the Hispanic community in Los Angeles.”

Gonzalez added: “The addition of a statue for Fernando Valenzuela would further encapsulate the respect the organization shows for their influential players and enhance the significance of the Dodgers’ rich cultural and sports heritage. Moreover, it would act as a celebration of not only Fernando’s influence in baseball, but his contribution to forging cultural ties through sports.”

The Dodgers declined to comment for this article.

The team officially retired Valenzuela’s No. 34 jersey in 2023, although no L.A. player had been assigned that number since Valenzuela was released in March 1991. It was the first time the Dodgers retired the number of a player who is not in the Hall of Fame.

During their World Series run this year, the Dodgers honored Valenzuela by wearing patches that read “Fernando,” with his No. 34 below on their jerseys and painting his number on the pitcher’s mound at Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave Valenzuela a special shout-out during Friday’s rally.

“Happy birthday, Fernando!” Roberts shouted. “This one’s for you, too!”

Stardom in Argentina is a unique cultural phenomenon, particularly for the country’s professional athletes. In a nation where sport is debated as passionately as politics and world affairs, one is more likely to be polarizing than universally admired.

Which is why the story of rising Formula 1 star Franco Colapinto is unique.

The 21-year-old Argentine replaced Williams’ American driver Logan Sargeant in August. Since then, Colapinto has experienced a constant whirlwind as one of F1’s most popular newcomers. His best finish was eighth place at September’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He was the first South American in F1 history to finish in the top 12 in his first three races.

But even a casual observer of F1 knows that Colapinto is still many miles away from breaking into its aristocracy.

In Argentina, that matters not. Colapinto is flying the Argentina flag in one of world sport’s most visible arenas. He has captivated the nation within a few months. His youthful personality and approachability as a sought-after public figure have endeared him to his countrymen and women, who don’t always appreciate their idols.

Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are both Argentine football royalty but took wildly different paths to kingship. Maradona was a diamond in the rough, unearthed from the humble Buenos Aires neighborhood of Villa Fiorito. A people’s champion from an early age, the brash and unapologetically outspoken Maradona would go from phenom to deity in Argentina after leading his national team to glory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Messi, meanwhile, was discovered on the dirt pitches of Rosario, 300km from capital Buenos Aires, as a pre-teen with local club Newell’s Old Boys. He was quickly spotted by an agent who connected Messi’s family with decision-makers at leading Spanish club Barcelona. At 13, Messi moved from Rosario to Europe, etching his own story into the annals of world football while away from home.

Like Colapinto, who left Argentina for Italy at 14 to pursue racing, Messi’s formative years took place thousands of miles from his homeland. Despite Messi’s unworldly talent, he had a distant relationship with Argentina’s public. He became a pariah, labeled a foreigner after losing four major finals with the national team. The press was Messi’s principal nemesis. He was ostracized before he was idolized.

Today, Messi is revered as a resilient legend after leading Argentina to the World Cup title two years ago and back-to-back Copa America trophies in 2021 and 2024. His transformation is now a case study of how Argentines measure success in sports. It’s not a cautionary tale for Colapinto, though.

In a football-crazed country such as Argentina (and throughout South America), F1 is a niche sport. It’s luxurious and virtually unattainable — the cultural opposite of football.

Colapinto’s ascension has also coincided with one of the greatest moments for Argentine football. Previously vilified as underachievers, Messi and his teammates have reached a new level of celebrity. They are social media and popular culture darlings. Once easy targets for criticism, national-team players are now routinely celebrated and defended by the press. Their success united the country and softened a notoriously toxic media environment.

(Peter Fox, Getty Images)

The timing has been ideal for Colapinto. The Argentine press has already referred to him as a genius and a generational talent — plaudits that have been reserved back home for Maradona, Messi, former tennis star Gabriela Sabatini and NBA legend Emanuel Ginobili. Pundits have audaciously said that Colapinto is the next Ayrton Senna.

The late Senna, an F1 icon, sits rightfully alongside Brazil’s greatest footballers, including Pelé, Zico and Ronaldo. By contrast, the hype has intensified around Colapinto so much that, in some media circles, he has been compared to Messi.

“I don’t think I’m anywhere near Leo Messi,” Colapinto recently told the Fast and the Curious podcast. “He’s at another level and I cannot believe that people compare me to Leo. I’m like ‘What’s wrong with you?’.”

Diario Olé columnist Diego Macias described Colapinto as “the ideal combo”.

“There’s a vibe about him, he’s witty and laid back, and he could give lessons on charisma and empathy to more than a few people. He doesn’t have a ceiling,” Macias wrote.

He certainly is a marketer’s dream. Colapinto is a social media influencer who has quickly amassed more than 3million followers on Instagram. The trail of paparazzi that follows him around the world seems to grow, as well. Naturally, Colapinto is a football fan. He revealed recently that he supports Buenos Aires club Boca Juniors.

At the Italian Grand Prix in September, Colapinto’s F1 debut, hordes of fans waving Boca and Argentina jerseys showed up to support him. Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters on the day of the race that he was watching Colapinto compete at Monza on a split screen alongside an English Premier League match.

Swept along by the excitement, Scaloni said it was “very strange” to have been distracted by something other than football.

“It’s exciting for Argentines to have a driver, and for him to have done it the way he did: the crowd in Monza with the flags, the fans going wild… I congratulate him. We’re proud to have a Formula 1 driver in the top category,” said Scaloni.

Although he preferred to not name which ones have reached out to him, Colapinto said that he has spoken to several current Argentina national-team players about his current success. “It’s very big for the country, and they are just enjoying the moment, and yes, it’s great,” he said.

It’s been a steady climb towards the mainstream for Colapinto.

There isn’t a day that he isn’t part of Argentina’s daily sports coverage. He has earned sponsorship deals from Argentina-based companies such as YPF, an oil and gas conglomerate that also sponsors the national football team. Argentine DJ and producer Bizarrap joined software firm Globant and e-commerce company Mercado Libre to provide Colapinto with the financial backing he needed to compete in F1.

Colapinto is innocently brash. He has good looks, is media-friendly and has shown courage on the track. That is the ideal combo in today’s sporting landscape, where athletes are their brand. Before the Mexico City Grand Prix last weekend, Colapinto was featured in a humorous race-inspired ad for Mercado Libre. He also graced the cover of Forbes magazine’s Mexico edition on the eve of the race.

“Formula 1 is now seeing how much they miss those Latino fans and those Argentine fans, because they have been extremely insane,” Colapinto told reporters before the race in Mexico City. “In only a couple of races, they have gone crazy and the support that they have, I honestly haven’t seen it in any other driver. It’s special and unique.”

Even if he does not yet have a guaranteed F1 seat for the 2025 season, in Argentina, he has become just as popular as Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. In Latin America, Colapinto joins Mexican driver Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez as the bearers of the region’s rich history with F1.

“What a lot of us believed in the past was that it was impossible for an Argentine driver to get to Formula 1,” Colapinto said. “It’s great to see so many Latinos all together. You can see in other sports there was some fighting between the Brazilians and the Mexicans and Argentinians but now in Formula 1, in motorsport, it looks like everyone is together and everyone is supporting me, like the Brazilians, the Mexicans and the Argentinians.”

In Argentina, almost everything associated with the furor surrounding Colapinto has gone viral on social media. After he finished 12th in Mexico (ahead of Perez and Fernando Alonso), cameras captured the Ferrari pit watching the media and fan frenzy that now follows him on F1 Sundays.

“I love you, Franco!,” one woman screamed. Diario Olé’s caption on a photo of the scene read, “The Ferrari team trying to understand the craziness around Colapinto.”

Last week, a popular restaurant in Buenos Aires added Colapinto to its menu. El Antojo (The Craving) has become known for shaping its milanesa, a breaded beef cutlet that is the unofficial national dish of Argentina, into the likeness of celebrities. Messi and Argentina teammate Emiliano Martinez, as well as former national-team winger Angel Di Maria, have previously been honored in breadcrumbs.

Colapinto has not returned home since going from an unknown amateur to a cult hero in Argentina. Asked how he is adjusting to his new life as a megastar, he replied in typically humble terms.

“It’s been a lot, and luckily I haven’t gone to Argentina yet, so I don’t know how it’s down there, but from what I hear it’s going a bit crazy,” he said. “I love the support that I get.”

Colapinto hasn’t won anything yet in a sport defined by pole positions, top speeds and perennial championships. His future in F1 is also uncertain, as he is not guaranteed a drive with Williams next season. Nevertheless, Colapinto is riding a wave of attention in Argentina that is coexisting with Messi’s acclaim.

Argentina has the world’s best national football team, which has led to an ongoing commemoration by the press of its recent accomplishments. From a sporting perspective, things are as good as they have ever been.

Will Colapinto continue to benefit from this newfound praise or will his star rise based on consistent sporting merit? One thing is certain: Argentina’s hunger for more trophies is matched only by their passion for sporting prestige.

Luke Smith contributed to this story. 

(Top photo: Joe Portlock / Getty Images)