Make "Get Ready to Roll" a Family Affair

KANSAS CITY – For the first time in a long time here, I’m gonna go all bloggy on you all.  I think it fits this discussion because it isn’t really a story on any front, but more a thought on how to make the Kansas State football fan experience better.

You’re down for that kind of discussion, right?  Or, as it shows up on message boards…amirite, guys?  Amirite?

Here’s the deal, this has been gnawing at me for the better part of a year, maybe a little longer.  The video and music production at football games, especially in pregames, has been good.  This year, it has been fun to hear the stuff that head coach Bill Snyder made famous by refusing to change through his first go-round.  It has been loud and muscular, doing what it is supposed to do – almost.

For all its nostalgia, the pregame has missed that “it” factor, that energetic glue that reaches out and pulls individuals from different generations together into one furious, beautiful chorus of cheer – the kind that hits you down-deep Josh Buhl style, gives you chills, makes the hair on your arms stand up.

I’ll be honest, I had no idea what the answer would be in terms of an upgrade, which is why I’ve not previously said anything about it.

However, I think a certain video (the chant it captured, specifically), has solved all of that and should be used immediately.

It. Is. Awesome.

If you haven’t seen the youtube clip, it is a short video, presumably from a cell phone*. 

*I’m sure some stern words have been heard by the person who taped it (which is rumored to be a coach’s son) because nothing is supposed to escape from inside the Vanier Complex’s walls, but the fact this thing got taped should be celebrated.

K-State players gather into a tight circle and start to chant.

About halfway into it, part of the group breaks away from the chant and sings in that deep, throaty, band-of-warriors type way that sparks a person’s inner run-into-something-really-hard.

It is powerful stuff, and it should be echoing from both sides of Bill Snyder Family Stadium – not confined to a locker room.

The chant is the rebirth of an old team tradition, and this time it should extend to the whole family.

This is the kind of thing students can get behind without thinking about.  This is the kind of thing that could get people back to their seats to start a second half - maybe even convince them not to leave if they really had to choose between leaving or being a part of a new "old" tradiition.

Maybe an email to Bill Snyder is in order…

Send your comments to curtiskitchen@810whb.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter @curtiskitchen.