ND home games

[sblxdoc]

Just a thought and I was wondering if anybody else feels the same way, but when I watch ND home games, whether it be in the stadium or on tv, it seems very dead compared to when I watch other games. Now back in the 80's it seemed like there was much more excitement in the stadium then there is now. It just seems that everybody is sitting on their hands most of the game and when we do score, the crowd cheers for a brief moment and then its dead again. I've been to different stadiums around the country and the crowds are going absolutely balistic. Now don't get me wrong, ND home games have a great ambience about them, but for some reason the intensity throughout is just not the same.

Does anybody else have any thoughts on this? I also wonder if this hurts recruiting? Let's be honest, if your a highschool kid that wants to play in intense atmospheres there is no comparison between the intensity in south bend compared to lets say "the swamp".

 

[KMac151993]

Obviously you have never sat by me during a game....but mine isn't the cheering going crazy like your thinking of....anyway its because Notre Dame football games are the trendy thing to do for rich people...they take the tickets away from the real fans that worship the team. By the end of the Stanford game the two rows in front of us were empty...if it was up to me those fans would never be allowed to set foot on campus again.

 

[lattedatte]

we discussed this a few weeks back, I think the general concusion mirrors your thoughts. I went the USC/ND game last year and my buddy got into a fight with nearly everyone around us about standing up on big plays. In general ND fans don't view themselves as being a 12th man, rather a spectator. Some of this is becuase of the demographics of the fan base at the game. Charlie also asked in the SC pep rally, "ND stadium has a reputation as being a subdued crowd, WHAT are you going to do about it?"

But to your point on recruiting, they set the recruits in Section 29 first 5 -8 rows, which is strategically placed right underneath and surrounded by the student section. They are plenty loud.

 

[punishment]

You are right, ND Stadium is eeriely quiet. That is the biggest turn off for me at ND games. When watching the SEC play you can almost feel the noise of the crowd coming out of your TV set.

I remember when we played Tennessee at home in 2001, the UT fans were louder than the ND fans. Granted, they blew us out. But, they were screaming the entire game, and singing the entire game. Afterwards, all I kept hearing was ND fans referring to those fans as damn hillbillies and being to raucous. Maybe ND fans are just to high class to pretend they actually love their team. I grew up a Raiders fan, so I could care less what others think of me when I am cheering on my team.

The problem is the alumni section. The students do their job. But then something happens after those students leave and start collecting paychecks.

 

[KMac151993]

You also have to realize that those alums grew accustomed to winning...when was the last time we won a bowl game...my boy Kevin McDougal was under center so if we went out and won or got a championship I am sure the stadium would come alive again....I wasn't at but I know a couple of people that were, the 1993 ND FSU game....I still get goosebumps when I hear how loud it got when ND entered the stadium and the fans that rushed the field...so the spirit is there its just been locked up waiting for the right time.

 

[guff]

I was thoroughly disappointed at crowd at the Stanford game. The students were great but the rest of the crowd was lifeless. It's really kind of embarrassing as a fan. I see people show up to games dressed as if they were going to a wedding reception.

ND has no real home field advantage. Watch the PSU/UM game, listen to the crowd. I hate PSU but their fans are loud and they have a real home field advantage. Check out a Vols game - the whole freakin stadium is traffic cone orange. Who in their right mind would that color? A fan that's who. Check out any other top D1 team and ND's crowd pales in comparision.

There is a certain snobbery that I sense when I walk the campus on gameday. It's easy to tell who's a fan and who's just an alum going to the game. The same fans that sold their tickets to Cornhuser fan are still getting tickets but now they are showing up at the games and infecting everyone else with their mediocre fandom.

 

[CharlotteND]

A couple of years ago (pre-Weis) some alumni tried to start a "standing alumni" section diagonally across the field from the student section. It was university sponsored I believe, but I haven't heard anything about it since.

 

[punishment]

A couple of years ago (pre-Weis) some alumni tried to start a "standing alumni" section diagonally across the field from the student section. It was university sponsored I believe, but I haven't heard anything about it since.

I remember I applied for this tickets once I got out of ND. But I never heard anything after that either. Maybe there wasn't enough alumni interested in standing during the games.

 

[sblxdoc]

I was thoroughly disappointed at crowd at the Stanford game. The students were great but the rest of the crowd was lifeless. It's really kind of embarrassing as a fan. I see people show up to games dressed as if they were going to a wedding reception.

ND has no real home field advantage. Watch the PSU/UM game, listen to the crowd. I hate PSU but their fans are loud and they have a real home field advantage. Check out a Vols game - the whole freakin stadium is traffic cone orange. Who in their right mind would that color? A fan that's who. Check out any other top D1 team and ND's crowd pales in comparision.

There is a certain snobbery that I sense when I walk the campus on gameday. It's easy to tell who's a fan and who's just an alum going to the game. The same fans that sold their tickets to Cornhuser fan are still getting tickets but now they are showing up at the games and infecting everyone else with their mediocre fandom.

The reason I brought this up was my buddy was at the Stanford game this weekend and was at the swamp the weekend before and he couldn't get over how dull the scene was. He said he would stand up to cheer and people would look at him like he had lobsters coming out of his ears. This dullness in the crowd was extremely apparent for the Michigan game. Who knows how that game could have turned out if the crowd would have been going bananas from the beginning. The crowd is such a big factor in getting players emotionally reved up. I definitely think it plays a role when recruits come to visit. A bunch of old bastards sitting on their hands doesn't exactly get you pumped to play football.

 

[ndfantp]

The fans at Notre Dame games just don't realize what it means to be loud at a football game. For the most part, the only college football games these alums and fans have gone to are Notre Dame games. Hence the reason they don't know how to cheer. I think its great that the stadium is silent when the offense is playing, thats the way it should be, but on defense the crowd should be deafening. There are over 80000 people in that stadium. You shouldn't be able to hear your neighbor talking to you. I know Notre Dame fans can be loud, I heard them at the MSU game this year. Its just a matter of getting more tickets into the hands of younger more boisterous fans, rather than the alumni who leave after the 3rd quarter. I love our alumni, but something has to change.

Tony 10'
Bandsman

 

[NDAlumSon]

From a television viewing standpoint, it seems like you're ALL correct.
Jumping back and forth between games there is a noticable difference in crowd noise.
I didn't know if it was different television production techniques between the various broadcasters (number of microphones on the field, in the stadium, etc.) but it's definitely quieter in South Bend.
I really think trepidation about the team, as a result of seeing some of their performances on the field this year, has to have something to do with it.
Remember when we were rated #2 and on path to win a national champoinship?
Seems like a long time ago doesn't it?

 

[punishment]

From a television viewing standpoint, it seems like you're ALL correct.
Jumping back and forth between games there is a noticable difference in crowd noise.
I didn't know if it was different television production techniques between the various broadcasters (number of microphones on the field, in the stadium, etc.) but it's definitely quieter in South Bend.
I really think trepidation about the team, as a result of seeing some of their performances on the field this year, has to have something to do with it.
Remember when we were rated #2 and on path to win a national champoinship?
Seems like a long time ago doesn't it?

It always seemed to be quiet during my years there. I didn't quite notice it too much while I was in the student section because it was loud there. But once I graduated and started sitting with the alumni, you notice a stark contrast in the noise level. It sucks because I wanted to stand and cheer but people kept looking at me like I was uncivilized or something. Apparently I'm not snooty enough to cheer (or not cheer) along with the alumni.

I would like to call the alumni out, but its irrelevant as most don't seem to care. I realized this during my second game at ND when Nebraska played a home game at ND stadium in 2000 thanks to the alumni making bank off of their tickets.

I know this sounds bitter or what not, but it is dissapointing when I take some of my friends out there for games, and they comment on how great the pre-game and post-game festivities are, but during the actual game itself, it is such a let down. And a lot of my friends are life-long ND fans who had been dying to get out there for a game.

 

[jiggafini19]

Ever been to a live game?

You spend most of it sitting around during NBC commercial breaks. It really is terrible.

Outside of the student section, most of the crowd look like something out of the movie Cocoon. I got nothing against the elderly and senior citizens, but these people aren't exactly tailgating since 7 AM types that would make the crowd loud.

The student section is awesome. Aside from that, you're mostly waiting for the guy with the neon orange gloves to let you know it is okay to play because NBC says so.

After Stanford this past Saturday, I think I'll just stay home and watch on TV. I'd almost rather be on campus and see the sights, then just skip the game. Takes way too long to play an ND game.

 

[brownkj002]

I've been to ND twice now (UT last year and Purdue this year) and both times the crowd was not as great as I expected. I agree with the fact that NBC has to long of timeouts and that might play a part. Last year I went to the swamp to watch UF take on FSU and yes this is a big game but you could feel the electricity in the air. I just think that some people go to the ND games to look or feel "cool."

 

[jiggafini19]

Last year's USC game was an awesome atmosphere.

I have to say that the TV Timeouts are a major problem and I'd much rather not attend a live game because of it.

The players line up on the ball and just stand there. It is really dumb and from a live spectator standpoint, kind of a pain in the ass.

 

[lattedatte]

Last year's USC game was an awesome atmosphere.
QUOTE]

Indeed... it was unbelievable... 2nd best atmosphere i've ever been to in a CFB game..

 

[punishment]

Although I will add that I have been to a game at Michigan Stadium and that stadium is even quiter than ND's. Granted, it was against Utah, but its not like UM is brining in the Tennessees and Florida States of the world on their schedule.

I've also been to some USC games. In the 90s when only half the stadium was full, the crowds were quiet. Now they are a rowdy bunch. UCLA has louder fans.

Maybe in order to get the alumni rowdy at ND games, they should all be required to take a shot of Jack Daniels prior to entering the stadium.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

I'm a subway alum and it disheartens me to hear all this as someone who has never been blessed with the chance to go to watch the team I've been cheering for since I was a kid. I still tell the wife that I am someday going to make a trip to "Mecca" whether or not she comes too.

I did go to school at UCF in Orlando. Not a tradional football powerhouse. Not any kind of powerhouse at all really. We only get 40K or so fans at the games, but man can it get wild. The students are loud and we alums are just as loud, if not louder. It is a young school so even the alumni are pretty young, most under the age of 50. We hosted the C-USA Conference Championship last year and you would have thought it was Auburn-Alabama or something. I guess it comes down to appreciating what you have.

 

[irish squirrel]

I went to the Stanford game also. In my section, we stood about 75% of the time and we were pretty loud. Now I'm approaching the 50 yard line in years and every time I take my young son to a game once a year, I make sure everyone hears us. I yell, holler, scream,
and eventually get hoarse by halftime. But I did notice alot of fans being quiet. You can't do that in our house. Get loud and stay loud. You come to the game like its your first time to Notre Dame. You come to the game with a voice and leave hoarse, and then you'll feel
like you were the 12th man. GO IRISH!!!

 

[loomis41973]

The TV time outs are a killer.

 

[proudndfan]

I think it depends on who we are playing. I thought the Penn State game was good because it was the home opener. and a blow out!

 

[dudexcore]

i agree on the tv timeouts being killer. man, they are horrible.

 

[guff]

TV timeouts suck but the Stanford crowd was dead right from the start. NBC had nothing to do with it.

 

[Seymore]

Agree...

Agree...

I had this discussion with my wife last weekend before the Stanford game. TV seems to bring the game down, exspecially the gametime/commercial ratio.

 

[irish4life99]

Here's my take, it seems year after year less tickets have become available to the general public. Even Alums now have to sit in a lottery to see what games they are going to get. Now alum with money that donate a lot to ND seem to get first dibs. Now my sister married into one of these "families" that have a lot of money and ND connections. They get a dozen season tickets a year. I'm lucky to get a couple of these tickets per season and take my son and it's great. However, when we go we're ready to have a good time and yell our heads off. However, this section seems to be alot of other rich donating alum. Any time we stand up and yell or make noise this crowd around us looks at us as were nuts and makes it very uncomfortable.

The days of the regular blue collar fans are over. They/we cannot afford tickets, or even find tickets, to home games anymore. These are the loud and rowdy fans that used to have the house that Rockne built rocking in the 80's. We were loud, we caused a racus, but we never crossed the line.

For example, when they open the stadium for pep rallies. It's free and do you see how many people show up, and the stadium is nuts. You have 45,000 people that are louder than 85,000 on game day. What's up w/that? You know something is wrong when your opponents say they really like coming to play here because it's so quite for a road game.

 

[Pete]

NBC told Carr, that there would be 4 commercial breaks, lasting 5 mins each. The tv timeouts are longer than the quarter itself.