Yes, I do agree with what you're saying. But I think the main point here wasn't to draw in the energy of the crowd and its people directly, but rather, to tap into the energy of those collective emotions and the atmosphere that is created by crowds and excitement.
In any case, I personally also wouldn't recommend doing that, I just found it interesting when I saw it in the book and added it, but now that I think about it, it might be a better idea to leave that out.