Also, let me add that I'm exteremely interested to see the atmosphere on Saturday, when I think it's going to be packed. I think having a full house may get people more revved up and we may get more participation in some of this stuff.
That being said, for all of ku's faults, one of the things they do really well is the 10 minutes leading up to tip-off. They just installed videoboards before last season, and they now incorporate them in the run-up, and they've managed to incorporate video that helps rev things up, not kill everything...an area that we've improved upon a bit in the last couple of games. They do the national anthem and the teams leave the floor. Then they sing the alma mater and do the rock chalk chant. Then the players come back out and do their layup drills while the band plays a song that starts slow and ends fast, right at the buzzer. Then the announcer gets on and does his whole "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Allen Fieldhouse" thing. Then they introduce the visiting team...and then they play their little 20 second video that has a film reel countdown clock on it, begins with Naismith and Phog Allen and Wilt and then shows brief clips of 1988, Paul Pierce, Hinrich, etc., ending with a few dunks by current players. It does a nice job of getting folks excited by going through the history and then the excitement of the present. Then they do the ku intros and start the game.
Now, we do a lot of those same things, but I think the difference lies in two areas: first, it's a tighter presentation (video is done well, no dead time like we get a lot in pregame), and people always know what's coming next, so there's an anticipation. Second, a full house makes a big difference, which is why I'm interested to see what it's like this Saturday. Also, the band plays a bigger role, rather than using the canned, NBA arena music.
Speaking of the band, could it possibly play some music that's been written in the past 20 years? Seriously...I've heard "Shout it out loud" just one too many times. Believe it or not, there are arrangements available of pop songs from the past 5 years...why can't we break one of those out every now and then?