There is nothing more enjoyable than the pre-game hype-ups at a football game. The enthusiasm from the crowd builds up in excitement for their beloved team to charge the field and take on their foes.

It’s quite a show — the marching band leading the crowd into singing our school song, the team charging the field in a smoke, fiery interest that is guaranteed to draw applause and Bully himself hyping our players up with a routine set to “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood & The Destroyers.

The passion and care vibrantly engulf the arena in an aura of loyalty, love and dedication to our football players — no matter how often they disappoint. This makes it all the more jarring when they cut it all off to once again interrupt it with the same old, horrible sketch.

Everyone knows the set-up: an old Saturday Night Live sketch starts playing that makes fun of the use of the cowbell in Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” That is the entire punchline; just six minutes of Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken talking about using a cowbell in a song.

To me, the sketch seems to be mocking the cowbell. The entire joke is asking two questions: “What idiot would be stupid enough to use a cowbell in a song,” and  “What moron would approve of it?”

Like most SNL sketches, this sketch is unfunny and goes on for far too long. To make matters worse, there is no real tie to Mississippi State University in any way. No bulldogs, no jerseys, no cries of hail state. The only thing remotely MSU is the unfunny and overused quote: “Hey doc! I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!”

However, I understand that taste is subjective. What one person deems as trash can be worth more than gold for another.

Regarding college football games, universities take pride in their identity and heritage. We love to show off the accomplishments of the Bulldogs, from bringing in past lineups to be honored during breaks, to awarding alumni and veterans for their accomplishments and showing off the crowd of MSU fans as they are energetically supporting their beloved Bulldogs. It is not just a game, it is a bragging contest. It is an experience.

S0, to me, it makes no sense that we would gleefully hype up an unfunny sketch that is devoid of the involvement of our university’s students, fans and community.

It is my opinion that we should replace it with something more interactive and intimate for this college. Something special and unique to the MSU Bulldogs.

Since the sketch is making fun of a song that uses a cowbell, and music is normally played during the game, then why not make it a play-along?

Instead of quoting a sketch that makes fun of the cowbell, why not embrace the song that uses it?

Imagine that at the next game, instead of that Christopher Walken sketch, we played the instrumental rift from “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” The crowd cheers as they see the football team walking to the entrance of the field on the jumbotron. Right before they enter, the cowbell starts playing in the song, and the crowd rings along as the flames shoot up and the Bulldogs charge the stage.

Mississippi State is far greater than a twenty-four-year-old “comedy” sketch. We should embrace our community roots more for a more worthy entrance for our players.