Coolest Pregame

Edmonton Oilers players walking through the fans to get to the ice and the fans singing "Oh, Canada".

Didn't know anything about it until the Oilers made the Stanley Cup finals a few years ago, but I thought it totally reeked of awesomeness:

 

No love for Clemson's running down the hill? It's ridiculously convoluted -- they leave the dressing room on one end of the stadium, get on buses, ride around to the opposite end zone, then get off for their grand entry -- but pretty fun, nonetheless.

 

That's Drederick to you.

 

Every time I see a discussion like this, I think of a high school team I used to cover, though they always did this in the hall or the locker room where the fans couldn't see them.

Murder, murder.....kill, kill....murder, murder....kill, kill...

Given the area these guys were from, I'm sure it made a few of the nice little suburban teams they played quite nervous.

 

There's a high school in the DFW area from a suburb that has one of the larget Tongan communities in the country. Before games the team gathers together in some sort of a Polynesian war dance. My children's high school played there in the playoffs and it was one of the damndest things I've ever seen.

 

Dotting the i, Running the T, the Seminole..classics.

The All-Blacks doing the Haka great - anyone else doing it? Lame.

 

Duquesne?

 

Was the schools mascot the Crows?

Softy that I am - I always dig it when teams bring kids out on the field/court with them for pre-game introductions.

Also - a shout out to the service academies marching on the field before games.

 

Coming out to Enter Sandman just doesn't seem that interesting to me. Maybe it's because it takes me back to high school where one of the teams in our league would alternate between Enter Sandman and For Whom the Bell Tolls for their pregame intro.

Anyway, just doesn't seem that unique.

 

Wilkinsburg?

 

Many of the college football pre-game rituals are nice, but none compare to the Haka. There are four primary reasons.

1) The Haka involves just the players. There is no assistance from music, video, the band, or fans. Just the guys on the field.

2) It represents an entire Nation, not just a school. And if you've ever been to New Zealand, you know the All Blacks are a religion. Even crazed Big 10 or SEC fans take a backseat to the Kiwis' devotion to their National squad.

3) The Haka celebrates the Maori culture. New Zealand embraces its indigenous people and heritage (unlike Australia which pretty much has shit all over the Aboriginal people).

4) Script Ohio, the VaTech "Enter Sandman" thing, and others are cool in their way - - but there are lots of college football players who are unfamiliar with them. I guarantee every single player for every National rugby team around the globe knows the Haka.