 THE DOME CROWD & PA SYSTEM FOR THE SF
GAME, BY MIDMOFAN (Oct 13) |
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Others have analyzed the
49er's game much better than I ever could, so as the self-appointed defender of the Dome
fans and critic of the Dome's sometimes intrusive PA system, here are my thoughts on Game
4: THE CROWD. The crowd got inside early and stayed late. Far fewer empty seats for the introductions. The seats in my section that were empty were filled by folks who obviously bought them from scalpers. On that note there were far more folks looking for tickets this weekend than ever before. Next game, I will try to give a scalper report on supply/demand and how much tickets are going for. THE NOISE. The noise from the fans was unbelievable! Fans were going nuts all over the dome. I have a cheap radio with a poor tuner that picks up the internal radio feed at the dome. This allows me to listen to the broadcaster's off air comments and conversations between the producers and the sideline announcers. On a number of occasions Malcom, the Rams sideline guy, commented that he could not hear anything because of the crowd noise. The guys in the booth, likewise, mentioned off air that they have never heard it so loud in the dome. This week I have heard Garcia say that the crowd made it very difficult for him and that the noise caused two false starts! Fans had the timing down very nicely, muting themselves when the Rams had the ball and screaming their lungs out when the 49ers in possession. In the first half the dome fans usually started the roar as soon as the '9ers broke huddle. After the runback in the second half the yelling started earlier, often starting as soon as the 49er's huddled up and lasting through the play. I only noticed Warner having to quiet the crowd once, and that was due to the PA system/animation board doing a "Charge" cheer that ran too long. Things did get a bit subdued during the couple of Rams offensive drives that featured a number of penalties. Malcom even commented on it, off air from the sidelines, noting that it felt like the crowd was getting out of "it." Actually, there was nothing much the crowd could do. There was a whole series of plays that gave nothing to cheer about and, as we held the ball for quite a long time during these drives, and as the crowd knew not to yell when it would distract the Rams, there was bound to be a subdued stretch. THE PA. The PA system was on good behavior again. The "CHARGE" and "DE-FENSE" animations were not necessary and were usually ill-timed. Only a few annoying announcements, including a charity check presentation that was run twice, but they were generally during the TV time outs. Once when the Rams were really in the groove, one of the radio announcers (off air) said "Not another TV spot, not now!" I don't even recall a cell phone "Pick the music" or trivia spot. If they had them, the fans drowned them out. Lastly, the "hat-game," IMHO, should be banned from all sporting events. STAND UP! Something new from the fans in the lower seats. STANDING UP!!! Up to the 49er's game, most of the fans in the lower seats would only stand for the kickoffs and when an exciting play took place (usually a domino effect from some folks standing to get a better look) but then would stay seated. This week fans were on their feet for almost every 49er 3rd down and a number of 2nd and longs, many offensive series ( this week after a good play, we often stayed standing for the next one just waiting for something else wonderful to happen), and for most of the last 2 min. of the game. After every big play everybody was jumping and high-fiving each other. A CLASS ACT: A lot of 49ers got hurt on Sunday and one had to be taken out on the cart. Everybody who got hurt got a warm ovation from the fans as he was leaving the field. A number of fans even stood to salute the injured player as he motored past. Quite a contrast to what happened in Philly. Be nice to see the media focus on these kinds of fans instead of the jerks. FINAL GRADE. In all I give the Fans an "A+" for their effort this game and the TWA folks a "B-," which, considering I would have given them an "F" for every game last year and "D's" for the '99 preseason games, shows remarkable improvement. |
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