Costner Salutes Rays With New Song

Kevin Costner sure has a thing for the Tampa Bay Rays, doesn't he?

He might live on a ranch in California, but the famous actor ("Bull Durham," "Field of Dreams") and Oscar-winning director ("Dances With Wolves") has been stepping to the plate for the Rays lately.

He attended a news conference in November to unveil the team's new colors and logo, and then his band, Modern West, played a concert. Then he appeared in a promotional video when the team wanted to build a stadium in downtown St. Petersburg.

Now he's bringing the music.

He and Modern West have recorded a new song, "It's All Up To You," which they bill as a salute to the Rays, who made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history this season. They start the playoffs Thursday in St. Petersburg against the Chicago White Sox.

The song, a mid-tempo arena rocker, actually never mentions the Rays by name. It extols an unnamed "you" to "give a hundred percent" and to not let "anybody else tell you what you can and can't do" (excluding, we assume, the umpires). It also includes the radio call of Cliff Floyd's home run against the White Sox.

In an interview Tuesday, Costner said he had been working on the song previously but added lyrics that are "metaphorically where the Rays are at this moment." He said that "it was something that I wanted to do for the guys. It's a gift. How it is used is up to them."

Costner said he sees the tune as a "war song" for the team, although he acknowledged that most players, who are into hip hop, might not like the song, which he called "pretty Stones-y."

Costner said he has no plans to travel to see the Rays, but he will pull for them. However, he said that if the Rays make the World Series and play the Los Angeles Dodgers, he'll have no choice but to pull for the Dodgers.

"You've got to be true to yourself," he said.