I Love the Stupid Final Four Horn
By Kyle Koster
If there was a breakout star at Saturday’s national semifinal games, it was the interesting-sounding horn used by the Alamodome. It reminded many people of a vintage car honking and that was very much NOT OKAY.
Those consuming the above content were treated to a treasure trove of embedded tweets from those who simply couldn’t handle this sound. The negative feedback ranged from playful to oddly visceral.
Sure, this particular horn is a little high-pitched, like it’s going through puberty or something. One cannot argue that it emits an entirely pleasant sound. But you know what? Buzzers and horns and whistles aren’t intended to play beautiful music. Their sole purpose is to cut through the ambient noise and force everyone to pay attention.
In that way, the Alamodome horn is doing its job better than most — if not all — its predecessors. In this age of inclusiveness we should applaud it for being itself no matter what the haters say.
Also, true art is about taking risks. Paul Gauguin’s post-impression works weren’t appreciated in real time. Jim Carrey’s decision to become Andy Kaufman alienated his co-workers but translated to terrific acting. Bob Dylan going electric at the Newport Folk Festival earned boos.
Years from now we could be looking back at the silly Final Four buzzer and wondering how its brilliance went overlooked by the masses.
Anyway, I’ll just say it. I love that stupid buzzer — both for what it is and what it’s done to make people mad online. It will be sad to see it go after tonight’s championship games but here’s hoping it spawns another several thousand pissy tweets.