Home Field Advantage

I don't know. Maybe 10-12.

 

I was not at that game but the article is in line with my experience over the past 5 years. Just becuase there are diehard fans doesn't change the fact that the majority are not. Of course there may be worse atmospheres at some stadiums but that's not the standard I would prefer to settle for.

 

Okay, I have watched the game again and having been there, I can tell you crowd noise was definitely muffled. The first quarter was pretty loud - not as loud as playoff games or the first season at old Ericsson, but pretty darn loud with a ton of chair banging in the uppers right off the bat. I remember turning to my husband saying "My god they're serious today banging seats on the very first series for NO" The 2nd & 3rd qtrs were pretty darn quiet, but not to the almost silence of the tv production. The 4th picked up again but I think NO's quick score & 2 pt conversion sort of shook everyone for a bit.

But the tv sound was filtered absolutely. We stayed until the last player was well up the tunnel and most of the stands were empty. We always do. Hang out at the folks for 30-45 minutes and by the time we hit the road it's clear sailing or at least dramatically better then it would be hopping right in the car.

I don't think we'll see a huge change in the fan base any time soon. Screw 'em.

 

I was puzzled at that, too. We stayed until the very end and there was a shitload of people clogging the walkways after the final horn sounded. And there were TONS of people walking in the middle of the road trying to get their asses run over.

 

I went to 3 in 2002, 7 in 2003, 4 in 2004, 6 in 2005, and one this year (so far). Sometimes it's ridiculously loud in there, sometimes not so much. Usually it reflects what the team is doing - if the team isn't playing well, the crowd is really bad about not getting into it.

If it's close at the end or the panthers are kicking ass, it can get really really loud - the second half of Jax in 2003, the last couple drives of TB in 2003, most of ATL in 2005.

Sometimes it's quiet in there. ATL this year. GB 2004.

If the team sucks, the crowd sucks. Or the team sucks because the crowd sucks. Chicken or the egg. I dunno.

 

You are on top of it Clay. At the Atlanta game we started strong, but the Falcons just controlled the whole game and the crowd reacted accordingly. There is no Black Hole or Dawgpound section at our house that goes crazy even when the score is 50-0 in the first half and both QB's have been taken to the ER. And that is nothing unique to the league. Most of the places I have been are the same way if the home team is losing.

One interesting place was Philly at the NFC title game in 2003. The crowd was loud late, but it was not really yelling at our offense. It was yelling at their own team. They were brutal to Andy Reid for the entire second half of that game and when McNabb went down there was even a brief cheer until they realized that he is the best thing they have. I mean of all the mean and nasty things people around here have said about Trgo and Henning, it pales in comparison to what happens when the Philly people turn on themselves...

 

Uhm ... the game on Sunday was tight throughout and yet multiple people have pointed out that the crowd sucked after the first quarter. Seriously, please don't even try to deny that our fans suck compared to most around the league. People (even me) want to agree with you on most things because you're a cool guy, but that's just too obviously wrong to accept.

 

WTF? Are you trying to patronize me? Please, just stick to the fire and brimstone as it comes off with more sincerity.

All I know is what I experience. I will acknowledge that the holy shrines such as Green Bay and Kansas City are beyond approach when it comes to the fans in the stands. Chicago is solid, even when they sucked for so long. Vikings and Lions are more like Charlotte. AFC North is solid all together. Buffalo comes and goes with the times. Miami can be down right embarrassing. Tampa is strong, but the Falcons and Saints have decades worth of early stadium clearing over the Panthers. Before they built the throne to the 12th man in the new house, the King dome was home to many quiet Seahawk games. The 3Com/Monster park is a shell of its former glory days and even though they are pretty good, the Chargers are not always playing to a full house.

Why does it give you rocks in the shorts to call our fans the worst and our cheerleaders the ugliest? Why all this self loathing? I thought you were on our side?

 

I wish we had more, but crowd noise is overrated. And sure, you would like it to be loud no matter what, but we've shown the ability to get loud during key moments and under playoff-type atmospheres.

 

I disagree about Minnesota, but I have no idea about Detroit, as Matt Millen may have beaten the spirit out of them to the point that they're on our level. But from everything I've heard and read, we're very near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to fan involvement, and a big part of that is the PSL system. Honestly I'd rather have it this way than build a stadium with public funds, but getting a bunch of rich people who don't care that much is an inevitable consequence of using PSLs.

Our cheerleaders weren't always dogs, but they are now, and our fans generally do suck. I'm just calling it like it is.