Last week I expressed my unoriginal view that Kentucky Athletics and it's football program shouldn't be in the "tradition business." I also questions the methodology of the effort. At the time, I thought the best course of action was for the university to ask the players what they wanted in terms of environment, music, and videos. If it was within reason then UK should execute their vision. They are the ones playing, my reasoning went, and if choosing their environment somehow helps them to win more games then so be it. That's how it's done at other big-time programs. Fans tend to forget most details of a specific game day over time, but they usually remember if Kentucky football won or loss the day they spent their time and money to visit Commonwealth Stadium. Just win, baby, and atmosphere and tradition will take care of itself.

I still think artificially creating a tradition would be doomed, and in some respects I still want to defer to the players on the atmospherics, but after attending the Major League Soccer match between the Columbus Crew and Sporting Kansas City game Wednesday night, I came away with a new perspective. I've attended Major League Soccer games before in Portland, Seattle, Columbus, and DC, but at the previous games I didn't focus on the team's efforts to keep me entertained so much as the match itself. This was the first MLS game I experienced through the prism of UK's own efforts to reinvent Commonwealth Stadium in the fall. It was impressive.

Examples, I have a few. The Crew did a good job of addressing the "halftime hangover" when momentum wanes and idleness creeps by doing two things I really liked. First, they did a pre-recorded interview with a player that talked about his past, his successes, and his failures. He seemed like a smart, decent guy. All of a sudden I found myself becoming emotionally invested. I wanted him to succeed beyond my own selfish desires for a Crew victory. I noticed myself cheering a little harder in the second half.

While I don't expect 18-23 year-olds to be as generally self-reflective as older professional athletes, it would provide a large platform for their personality's to shine through. Remember how much the media liked interviewing CJ Johnson during the spring? Throw him on the Jumbotron answering questions about his family, his past, and the hurdles he's overcome and the fans will be even more invested. Ask him what he likes about UK and Kentucky, and if he says something at least close to pitch perfect he will have made fans for life. Make the players more than the armored and anonymous players fans usually see from thousands of feet away. Doing so will make fans want to be louder.

During halftime The Crew also aired a pre-recorded video bit with multiple players. One of the player's faces was digitally fused with a mystery celebrity creating a ridiculously looking amalgamation. Basically the same principle as this long running Conan O'Brien skit. The players were then individually filmed trying to guess which teammate and celebrity the hybrid belonged to. It was funny and appealed cross-generationally. It was also smartly edited and incorporated game show sound effects. It was entertaining and yet again provided more access to the player's personalities.

Soccer clubs across the world are known for their rowdy cheering sections, and the MLS is no different. Similar to student sections in the collegiate sport universe, this is where the rowdiest are and usually serve as the backbone for noise. This is too good a thing not to somehow replicate. Perhaps UK could designate a border area next to the student section for younger alumni who go into the game wanting to stand and cheer the entire time. Centrally locate these people to amplify the noise (and segregate away from the fans who want to sit and enjoy in their favored style), and perhaps it'll have a cumulative effect on the rest of the stadium. On top of that, charge these willing individuals a small premium for a game day t-shirt, a seat back, and maybe "A Sea of Blue" drink koosie. Embrace the fanatics and irreverence.

As fate would have it, the next morning The Wall Street Journal published an article discussing colleges looking to learn from the MLS:

As colleges seek out ways to enhance their stadiums and entice a generation of absentee fans, they are looking at MLS teams as models, even though the average MLS crowd is about a quarter of the 75,674 that the SEC averaged last season, the top figure in college football. "The word is out," said Portland Timbers president of business operations Mike Golub , "that it's a special game experience." ... MLS executives believe their league's stature forced them to come up with creative solutions for attendance problems before they struck bigger sports like the NFL and college football. The Portland Timbers, for one, scored with fans by making the in-game experience reflect the city around them. Timbers Army members park their bikes outside the stadium, and the concession offerings inside include artisanal, small-batch chocolate. The result: Its 10,000-person waiting list for season tickets is longer than almost every college-football team's.

Read the whole thing.

There were other neat ideas I noticed at the game too. Being able to use WIFI to upload pictures to social media, use a predetermined hashtag, and then seeing it on the Jumbotron is a good idea. Photographs at The Crew stadium ranged from family selfies to more artistic landscapes of the stadium with a setting sun in the background. Witty or insightful tweets also got displayed. Serving tasty microbrews and White Castle along with typical stadium fare won me over. Sporting Kansas City creating a smart phone app to instantly send you highlights from various angles is genius. Would the majority of UK football attendees want those things is a separate question, but innovative methods - reflecting local culture while harnessing technology - to make games worth the ticket price is indeed a worthy endeavor.

Last week I thought fans focusing on specific ideas were well-meaning but misguided, and just allowing the players to get their way was the most direct and best path to a solution. I was wrong and realize more ambitious goals can be realized. MLS has shown me there are ways to centrally organize and create entertaining game atmospheres. Who knows, maybe doing that will create the new traditions some seem to want.

On the way home from the game I wrote an email to UK listing the ideas I addressed above. I already feel more invested.