 DOME REPORT FOR THE GIANTS GAME, BY MIDMOFAN
(Dec 20) |
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WOW! That really is all that is needed for this weeks dome report. The fans sure took it up a notch this week. I have been generally pleased with the fans given the obstacles that the dometypes place in our way, but this week we were in a whole other league! The PA system started slow but in the end, seemed to finally "get it" ENTER HERE I was running late due to not one but two accidents (rubberneckers should be shot) so I had to push it a bit to get to the dome in time. I passed quite a number of folks heading east on 40 who were obviously going to the game, but seemed in no big hurry. Start earlier guys! I also note that there are a number of folks each week who are not familiar with downtown and the intricacies of the parking spots. There is one garage on Washington in particular that is open to the public until about 1/2 hour before gametime when only permit holders can get in. Every week cars gets in line to enter the garage, despite the full sign because they see other people (permit holders) turning in. This causes a mess. Now downtown is confusing and the parking is often a mess. The point is, if you are not familiar with downtown or if this is your first time driving to a game, you should leave EARLY. There was quite a demand for tickets and if you had any extra, there was no trouble in selling them. AN OMEN: Since I needed to rush to get into the dome, I left my TUMS in the car. These I needed badly due to late night pizza on Sat. Just as I was debating if I should go back, who should I see but a young man handing out free Pepsid AC samples! I knew it was going to be a great day. THE CROWD Record attendance! Both overall and for the pregame. The dome was as full as I have seen it in a long while for the player announcements. Still some folks getting to there seats at kickoff with food in hand, but far more folks ready for the kickoff than in past games. Everybody was pumped! Nobody was sitting for the kickoff and the noise was incredible. Obviously responding to my previous posts (with, perhaps, a bit of help from Bernie and the Post) everyone in the lower sections was standing on EVERY Giant 3rd down, EVERY kickoff and on all important plays until the very end of the game. The noise was huge, sustained and well-timed. A few rough spots early with the ads and stuff, but nothing to get too worked up about. A slight drop-off in the noise factor at the start of the 2nd half, but it picked back up pretty quickly as soon as everybody got back from the bathrooms. What a great crowd, nobody should have any complaints today. THE P.A. SYSTEM On the first change of possession in the 1st Quarter, the Southwestern Bell ad ran long and was still playing as the Giants broke the huddle. The ad was loud, as usual, and this slowed the crowd roar. IMHO to be really effective, we need to start to holler while the enemy is still in the huddle. This is tough, however, when the ads are loud and long. This happened a couple of other times, especially with a rather obnoxious Dodge commercial. Making matters worse, whenever the ads run long the music guy still tries to squeeze in a few notes and the announcer yells anyway As a result the S.W. Bell and Dodge incidents violated the league rule on when the PA system is supposed to shut up. HOWEVER, someone finally seemed to get a clue! After a punt put the Giants at about their 5, the TV started playing a Visa card ad at the change of possession. Mike Jones, bless his heart, started whipping the crowd into a frenzy and the ad was quickly drowned out. Somebody, as hard as it is to believe, switched from the ad to a close-up of Jones urging on the Crowd!! Can you believe it? Later, after Rams scores, the crowd stayed on their feet cheering throughout the entire TV time out aided by the music man who kept playing the "Were going to beat the @#$% out of you" song the entire time. The music was even played OVER the dreaded "Helmut Game" and some other Jumbotron nonsense which, for the first time was not a distraction. Congrats to whoever it was who finally got a clue! For the first time in memory I can actually say the PA system helped the crowd instead of getting in the way.The ads, however are still too loud. If you can't hardly understand the words due to the volume, why bother? The crowd also gave great ovations to the offense and defense as they left the field and a great standing O for Pace as he left the stadium. THIS WAY TO THE EGRESS The dome stayed packed until 4 min left in the game when a few folks started for the exit. At the 2min warning there was a major rush by lots of folks to get out. Wish more folks would have stayed, but there was still an enthusiastic crowd for the final gun. Hey everybody, I tested it myself, you CAN stay to the end of the game and still get a table at Planet Hollywood or a place at the Brewery. The Dome police attempted again to stop folks from getting near the exit tunnel. [NOTE TO THE POWERS AT BE: You are actually creating a MORE dangerous situation because you are forcing people to climb over seats to get to where they are heading and there is no way you can stop that. It would be safer if you just let the people go down the aisle.] The cheerleaders did their best again to block players from getting to the railing but a number of Rams ignored them. Of course Kurt, who always comes over to kiss his wife comes over to the rail and he seemed really pumped up by the crowd today. CONCLUSION WOW! (did I say that already?) Given the strange acoustics of the Dome, I'm not sure it can get much better than this, although I am willing to give it a try. If we can keep this level of intensity for the playoffs.....WOW! |
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