Ok, I'm watching the Michigan/Purdue game this afternoon, and during a timeout I heard the Purdue band playing "Livin' On A Prayer", by Bon Jovi (like I needed to give you the band name, you already hate me for sticking the song in your head).  As an extremely intelligent blogger noted recently, this song is everywhere.  I've heard this in several games this season, most notably the Boston College/Florida State football game, when we found out that the song has become somewhat of a rallying cry for the B.C. fans.  And I guess my question is...

WHEN THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!

As the linked post notes, George Mason's band used this song repeatedly during their 2006 final run.  But come on, there had to be something else to spark this trend.  I'm dying to find out what it is.

To give you an example, here's a clip from the Penn State/Notre Dame game in September, where approximately 378,000 Penn State fans are waving white towels and singing along with the song (they even know the words to the bridge before the final chorus, it's frightening):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXWbHwg7V54&NR=1