Excite a crowd about it (7)
I believe the answer is:
agitate
'excite' is the definition.
(I know that excite can be written as agitate)
'a crowd about it' is the wordplay.
'crowd' becomes 'gate' (gate can refer to the crowd for a sporting event).
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'gate' enclosing 'it' is 'gitate'.
'a'+'gitate'='AGITATE'
(Other definitions for agitate that I've seen before include "Make troubled or nervous" , "Disturb or churn" , "Campaign" , "Trouble, make nervous" , "Disturb or shake" .)