With Rose a Star, It’s Now Time to Change the Chicago Bulls' Entrance Theme

“From North Carolina…a 6’6 guard… ”

Late June in what felt like every year we heard Alan Parsons Project being muffled by 20,000 drunks on Madison Avenue. Yes, before there was Hulk Hogan, there was Michael Jordan marching out to a raucous home crowd, ready to face off with the likes of Reggie Miller or Patrick Ewing.

Exciting, yes. But does the theme still have that same punch? It didn’t take a while for the mighty entrance theme to lose its chutzpah when we hear Chris Duhon be named the anchor of the lineup.

Yes foes, that Chris Duhon—the one who had bottle service at the night before. Get some.

But on Thursday when Derrick Rose was officially named to the 2010 All-Star team, a new era had begun—one that was disconnected from a decade of misery and mediocrity. Rose had been redeemed with his first of many all-star bids and was putting the Chicago Bulls back on the NBA’s consciousness again.

No more Baby Bulls. No more you-got-to-love-their-hustle-type-guys. No more young potential stereotypes and certainly no more mentioning of Ben Gordon. No more clips of a skinny Horace Grant or a flailing Dennis Rodman.

Sports fans are nostalgic types, which is why we have so many traditions—good or stupid. Throwing back the ball after the opposition hits a home run in Wrigley Field ranks among the all-time stupid, along with college students who paint rocks in the middle of campus on the eve of a football game or college coaches who have extramarital affairs and leave their institution after one year of service.

Yet, there are great sports traditions (particularly in college), which is why it’s so difficult to part from these rites of escapism. Think about it: Is there any other reason to like the month of March in the Midwest other than the temptation to call in sick or “work from home” and watch the first weekend of the NCAA tourney?

And I do like the Chicago Bulls’ entrance theme, but isn’t it time to celebrate a new era now that the team has a bona-fide star? And maybe more importantly, this isn’t a fringe star like Lamar Odom or a C-level all star like Caron Butler; Derrick Rose is likely to be a top 10 or top five player in the NBA and possibly the league’s best at the point guard position.

He’s 21 and is improving before our eyes.

Yes, there’s a lot of optimism to go around these days, and shouldn’t there be after the Bulls have surprisingly put together their best run of the season on this road trip? The trading deadline is nearing and the Bulls have to be a major player.

There’ve been enough rumors swirling about them being interested in Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh in the last month to give us reason to believe a three-way swap may be nearing.

We know that those two are changing uniforms. We just don’t know with whom.

And given the way Tyrus Thomas has played this season (terrible), it’s going to be interesting to see how Chicago packages a deal for either of the two—and it’s not like they’re going to be alone since we’ll see as much action this trade deadline as any recent memory since the recession has made some stadiums look as dormant as Bingo halls and several are clearing room for free agency.

But, now they know they can play with an unselfish star in Rose who is getting better in the league’s third biggest market, Chicago just became more relevant again. Boy, wouldn’t Joe Smith look good in Chicago next Amare Stoudemire?

The problem is that Stoudemire wants a max contract and is he really a max player? Is Joe Johnson? What do you do when Rose nears his third contract?

We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But the hype remains: Has there been a more exciting time for this franchise since His Airness left? Really, we can talk about a few playoff match-ups that were fun while they lasted but only revealed how far away this team is from winning a championship.

In order to win it all, you need stars—and the Bulls now have one. And in a few days, we’ll know if they’re on the path sooner than we expected…

But back to less important matters. It wasn’t too long ago that the Chicago Wolves were as popular as the Chicago Blackhawks. There were myriad reasons for this:

The Blackhawks sucked.

The owner wouldn’t allow networks to broadcast home games.

The league lacked stars and compounded their ineptitude with a strike that cost them an entire season.

The organization was thoroughly unlikable with management and a front office that was so distant from fans, that it was impossible to root for this team if you were anything but a die-hard hockey and Blackhawks fan. It was twice declared the worst franchise in pro sports.

Now they are the darling of Chicago, and the turnaround began when they drafted Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, their owner died (yaay!) and home games went back on TV (welcome to America) and management did a complete cultural overhaul.

It’s too simplistic to suggest that the Bulls are in the midst of a complete turnaround but it’s interesting to note that the impossible occurred when the team landed the first pick in the draft with a 1.7 percent chance of doing it.

Rose was the start; Joakim Noah will win the league’s most improved player award and free agency nears.

Once they get a bona fide coach, we’ll see if Rose’s defense progresses.

But in the short, we can change the intro theme. Here’s a quick refresher for the old theme with the legends.

Here are new the nominees (ripping virtual envelope):

Oh yeah, quick rule: Close your eyes while listening to any song here.

1. I know it’s a little clubbish but Alan Parsons Project was a little ‘80s-ish, so allow me to modernize the theme a little with Daft Punk.

2. I love rap, but most songs today are too slow so I'll lean toward some Hip Hop themes. This one by Kanye West has got some swagger, but you know how quickly this will turn off..ahem..the older customers. It's thoroughly Chicago, remember.

3. Timbaland's cut may be a bit too mainstream, but it's got entrance song written all over it.

4. 50 Cent's Patiently Waiting is rugged but a little harsh for some fans.

5. My pick is probably Daft Punk's remix from selection no. 1 or Black Eyed Peas' Boom, Boom Pow because they're packed with energy.

"From Chicago...a 6'3 guard...!"

I can see it, can you?

Post your recommendations below. What's your replacement theme?