Atmosphere is everything at a college football game. Even if you were blindfolded, you would know you were at a home University of Louisville game. Or so I thought until Friday’s game at Rentschler Field in Hartford. It was deja vu all over again.

To my surprise, UConn welcomes the Huskies to field with “O Fortuna,” the same anthem that we hear in Louisville. They also play the same kickoff music, and an identical version of the third down music. To top it off, the public address announcer had a similar version of Sean Moth’s “Card’s First Down” rallying cry. They even played ” We Ready.” I halfway expected the Huskies to start playing “R U Ready?” or “Red Reign” next.

Were the Huskies being copy cats, using the same music because it was so great at Papa John’s? I don’t think so. It wouldn’t surprise me if the same tunes are repeated at dozens of other college stadiums. I’ve heard bits and pieces while attending other college games and even at NFL games.

Many people couldn’t care less about the extracurricular stuff. But it bugs me. I was under the impression that these pieces were carefully selected to get U of L players fired up. If a team keeps hearing the same music and the same rallying cries for different teams at home and away, what’s so special about it?

U of L fans consider their program special and unique. The train whistle is great but the fans deserve better than a carbon copy approach to enhancing the atmosphere at local games.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.

One thought on “Deja Vu”
  1. UCONN’s been doing that ever since Rentschler Field opened up.

    I totally understand what you’re saying though. A lot of times the players use the crowd and the music to your advantage. When you’re the road and hearing the same stuff, it doesn’t have the same effect and may affect them at home.

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