DShans and OMM have highlighted real issues/reasons for the relative lack of noise at ND Stadium. One of, if not the smallest student bodies in big time Division 1 football and therefore average age of attendees in the stadium as a whole (only ~ 10K/80 K attendees are in the 18 - 22 yo demographic) and the real physical limitations that come with that.
I have been to 6 games as a parent in the last 4 years. Our seats have always been at the end zone away from the student section. It at times gets loud but is not sustained.
As far as the "sit down your interrupting my Saturday afternoon attitude," I must say I tend to be a stand up person at football games and often loud and in all of these games no one has ever asked me to sit down. In fact, at the Washington game last year when a booster type (he could have been a local resident or an alum or both) asked an usher (who he obviously knew well) to say something to a group of 4 college age guys who were being loud but not vulgar, a good number of the section came to their defense and the usher sort of gave the complainer a "get real" kind of response.
Not only did the team win more in 1988, 1993, etc. but the games meant more - really meant more at the national level.
When we are back (and I think we may be just about to get there), much of this will return.
However, our students (who will always set the tone) will never be able to be as loud as those from a school with a student body of 35,000 - 50,000.
Moving the Pep Rallies back to an indoor location and making them student centered is also something that would increase the excitement of the weekend. These Irish Green experiences leave much to be desired. Again, winning would bring more students but having the students be the center of the presentation would also raise the excitement.
On a side note, we are at a family gathering this weekend and while discussing yesterday's PC our recent graduate was bemoaning the fact that she was there during the 4 years when the undergraduate business school (her college) rose to the number 1 ranking in the country but the number 1 sign on top of the dorm was never lit for the football team. She would have loved to have had both in her time under the Dome but would trade the former for the latter in a minute.
GO IRISH!
