Mohegan — So here's one for your nearest Marketing 101 class:

Take an obscure sport with players of non-local origin and get people in this corner of the world excited enough to buy tickets for the classically epic Uncasville vs. Saskatchewan allegory, one of those time-honored, blood rivalries where, you know, you just throw out the records.

No, really. This has been the challenge for New England Black Wolves vice president Amber Cox and her peeps at Mohegan Sun. Go sell this indoor lacrosse thing. Except that most of the players live in Canada, opponents stretch from Calgary to Colorado to Georgia ... but still fill the arena with people inclined to scream like wolves in heat.

And darn, if they just about did all that Friday night.

The fifth rendition of the Black Wolves filled America's Most Beloved Arena to 90 percent capacity, a 12-11 win over the defending National Lacrosse League champs from Saskatoon, whose home base is but 2,233 miles away.

The game drew 6,445 fans (second largest crowd in franchise history) all waving their white towels. It was testimony to the perfect storm of marketing diligence and a game made for the roaring 2000s: perpetual action and violence, steady music and drama – an appetizing cocktail for even the most wavering attention span.

"It's prideful," Wolves coach Glenn Clark — a schoolteacher during the week in Canada — said. "You've got eyes on you and it matters to these guys. It really does. It's a cliché (that you feed off the crowd) because it's true. As most clichés are. These guys really buy into being part of this family with the employees at Mohegan and the way they're embraced by this whole community. It's pride. You don't want to let people down."

And while arena size prohibits the Wolves from leading the league in attendance — by comparison, they averaged more than 14,000 per game in Saskatoon last year — Neon Uncasville does have a noticeable rattle and hum to it.

"Anytime a building is near capacity — the nice thing about this one is that it's very vertical and very loud," Clark said. "So when you get the 5-6,000 in here it feels a lot more intense and a lot louder. A great energy here and these guys respond to it."

And so if you weren't there, here's a sampling of what you missed:

• Nice marketing strategy before the game. A group of youth lacrosse players from Brookfield (near Danbury) met the players on the playing surface as they were introduced. This just in: Brookfield is nowhere near Mohegan Sun (although not as far as Saskatoon). But it shows a willingness to reach out to other areas of the state where lacrosse is popular.

Idea: Have a "Darien Night" or "New Canaan Night," home to two of the state's top high school programs. Granted, inhabitants of both prosperous towns hardly need discounted tickets or other amenities (hell, most of them could buy the arena) but marketing yourself to places where the game is popular can't hurt.

• Observation: Not that the games aren't entertaining enough, but inebriation might enhance the experience. I mean, the euphoric nectar could make you sing along to the music a little louder or better yet howl rather thunderously, which is the custom after the Wolves score. AH-OOOOOOOO.

• Nice touch playing "Brass Bonanza" during the game. For you heathens: "Brass Bonanza" was/is the theme song for the old Hartford Whalers, played every time they took the ice or scored a goal. Maybe we could substitute "Brass Bonanza" for the foghorn after the Wolves score as homage to our dearly departed team?

• Lacrosse rules baffle me. Like a Wolves player scored a goal and got called for goalie interference at the same time.

Discuss.

• My one complaint of the night came pregame. We had the treat of hearing "O Canada" before the Star Spangled Banner. I was ready to sing. "O Canada" is the greatest national anthem ever, hearkening days of the Whalers in Hartford when we all sang it happily.

Problem: Friday's anthem singer sang the first half of "O Canada" in French. Nothing against the French, of course. We love their toast and fries. But does anyone in Saskatoon really speak French? I could see if the opponent was from Quebec. I was ready to belt out "with glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North strong and free!" Instead, I got "Car ton bras sait porter l'épée, Il sait porter la croix!"

And I wanted to start booing.

But I resisted.

(It's the new me).

Besides, a truly fun night.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro