United Center, Chicago, IL: Home of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, site of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, Elmo On Ice, and countless other events/concerts in a given year. The United Center, or "UC" to which it is commonly referred, opened up in 1994, replacing the old Chicago Stadium--the original "mad house on Madison." And during that time, Chicago fans have seen some great highlights at the UC: the dominance of the Chicago Bulls throughout the 90's (winning an additional 3 NBA titles in their first 4 years at the UC), and the resurgence of the Chicago Blackhawks in the later portion of this last decade. When we think back to the days of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jeremy Roenick, and Chris Chelios, we are quickly reminded about how much has changed at the United Center since 1994. But go to a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center in 2010, and you are likely to see and hear plenty of things see that will make you think you are still living in 1994. And if you're like me, instead of feeling engulfed in classic tradition, you are more likely to feel old, outdated, and not with the times. The United Center needs a musical/marketing makeover.
Back in the mid 90's, the Chicago bulls were one of the most dominant teams in all of sports. When watching a bulls home playoff game on television, NBC would make it a priority to show the captivating introduction of player line-ups. Anyone who is reading this post knows what I am talking about: stadium lights off, a couple of spotlights, Alan Parson's project "Eye In The Sky" intro, Ray Clay's voice "And now!......". This was always a revved-up, stirring moment to get the crowd (and TV audience) worked up. Now fast forward to 2010. The bulls continue to use this same introduction of player line ups for the home team. Except now there are more lasers and fire works, more video screen enhancements on the scoreboard, a different announcer, and a slightly updated version of "Eye in the Sky" with a snare drum rap beat to it. But it just seems terribly outdated. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Phil Jackson have moved on, so it's time for the United Center to move on as well.
There are other old and outdated audio clips and songs that remain at the United Center in 2010 and need to go: coming out of an important time out or to represent a player substitution, the UC sound system continues to play the 4 tone progression that is heard at the beginning of a round on Wheel of Fortune. Why are they still doing this? Coming out of an important timeout or face-off near the very end of a game, you are likely to hear clips from one of two songs: U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" or "Right Now" by Van Halen. Say what you want about these songs, but I think even the most loyal Van Hagar fan would agree that the song is entirely out of music context in a basketball arena in 2010.
It's as if the marketing people at the UC have not even considered making minimal changes in stadium audio effects since the hey day of the Chicago bulls during the 90's. Keeping up with the times musically from a marketing perspective is fine (and necessary) as long as it doesn't interfere with tradition. And none of these things would really be considered tradition. Some stadium classic rock anthems will always have their place no matter what personal opinion might say: YMCA, Queen songs, Rock and Roll part 2. Fine. But why is "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic still being played at the UC in 2010 when Joakim Noah dunks the ball and the Charlotte Bobcats call time out?
This post is dedicated to my friend, Curt, who has observed the same trend in New York at the old Yankee Stadium.
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