Virginiashadow pretty much nailed it, most of the time this pumps up the athlete, they are eliciting a response from the crowd by their actions and therefore it intern energizes them to perform. I also said that you must be prepared and if you are not then the noise level could effect play but you can watch all the games this year and only find an occasion or two where it might have helped marginally. You have to stop thinking on the high school/college levels where this is more of a factor. In the NFL it's pretty much a non factor. I'm not saying it doesn't ever happen, there are some stadiums that are more conducive to being loud and they are, but as I stated, we simply went to a silent count with hand signals. If you're prepared for it, it won't stop you. I guess you are just gonna have to trust me on this one....I've actually played in those conditions I think I know what I'm talking about.
You got it Tony, I've got many of them...the best ones happened OFF the field! I've been good, just been lurking for a while, not posting much but checking in regularly. The kids are very much into shooting now so it's a step in the right direction. They are starting to ask when they can start hunting. I need to get them in a hunter safety course so I can start taking them. They mostly want to gun hunt but that's just fine by me. It's a start and I have a feeling that once they get the passion for it, they will expand their weapon choices. I've done some scouting and I've actually seen some pretty nice bucks, my stands are up with the exception of one and I'm going down this weekend to put it up. I'm excited about this season. Hopefully I'll get the time to hunt as much as I want to. I hope all is well with you and yours.....
Yep I agree 100%. I'm not or never have been or never will be on the same level of competition as you BigJ. But through the years of playing sports (some at pretty high levels) I've noticed that you pretty much tune out anything around you. You go into your personal bubble and focus on what you have to do. Same is true even at the lowest levels of sports. I always get a kick out of the parents at little league games and other youth sports. Screaming and yelling instructions all game and little johnny never hears a word of it. If the poor kid did he'd probably be more confused. I asked my kid one day (after a little league game) if he could hear any of the 4300 things people yelling to the field. He said he thought he might have heard his mom saying come on Justin one time before the inning started when he was warming up pitching. Other than that he doesn't hear a word anyone says. Which is great as far as I'm concerned. I usually wait until the game is over with and talk about anything I noticed when we get home.
If golfers could replicate the noise in practice, I'd be all for it......lol (I'm not being serious). It's a gentleman's sport. The gentlemen who play, prefer to respect their fellow-competitors via observing silence at dictated times. The true fans of the game respect the game; tradition and the competitors. So, they abide by the game's etiquette. It's really a beautiful game. It doesn't "always" mesh well with every crowd. But, it's worked out, so far. Good luck with that, BigJ!
So which is it? Does the crowd noise have "absolutely no effect" or does it "energize them to perform"? I would think an energized player plays better/harder. But I've never played in the NFL, so thats why I'm asking.
Anyone that watches football can easily see crowd noise does effect the game. Sure, a well coached team can work through it, easily. But I have seen even the best in the game make mistakes due to crowd noise. Whether its a false start, delay of game, or wasting a time out. To say it has no effect is completely inaccurate. Do I think the crowd is the 12th man? Of course not. But it does come into play. Maybe not at a Tallahassee JUCO baseball game, but you bet your ass it effects games on a Saturday night in Baton Rouge.
knew another guy close by me that played big 10 college ball and got drafted pro back in the early 90's... OT was his position... thought maybe you might have been him, apparently not...
Dan I'm with you. I do enjoy watching football when I can. Usually, I don't see many college games because I'm out hunting that day (if not working). Due to no Sunday hunting here in VA, I watch a good bit of the NFL and actually enjoy it but not to the point of being obsessed with it. Baseball, I could care less and the same goes for basketball unless I'm actually there. Don't watch golf either.
The crowd will have absolutely no effect on a properly coached and well prepared team. As far as "energized players" I've have defensive players waving their arms going nuts trying to pump up the crowd/himself and I still kicked his ass. = zero effect on me. Some players need that stuff I never did.
BigJ, probably one of the reasons why you stayed calm because you were an OL. Most of the OL that I knew were very cerebral, The best ones were very smart, focused, and not open to being tricked by some guy going nuts. I did not play anywhere on the level you did, probably the biggest crowd in college was 50,000. However, the loudest I ever heard was 20,000 in a dome. I mean it was deafening. All you do as an athlete is focus, focus until everything comes together mentally. That is one of the true values of sport, the ability of the game to teach a young man/woman the ability to focus to get the job done even if one is nervous/hurt/whatever. Get the job done.
Those teams/players weren't prepared then. I've never.....never been effected by crowd noise. I've never not been able to make a line call and I've never made a false start. These are mental mistakes, crowd noise or not they are mental mistakes. There are players making mistakes even when the stadium is dead quiet. I've said from the start that crowd noise can and has effected play, I never said it didn't, to an unprepared team/player it will. But if you are prepared it's a non factor, period. You can base your opinion on a Saturday night in Baton Rouge. I'll base mine on being ON the field on a Sunday afternoon in Mile High.
Yes I agree. That's a LOT of it. It's really a game like no other. Also it's a sport that doesn't rely on reaction. Football.. the ball is snapped and players are flying all over the field. The play happens in seconds. You react! A middle linebacker reads the off tackle running play and reacts to what he sees developing before his eyes immediately. Same for every position on the field. Baseball... Batter vs. pitcher. At face value the game of baseball seems slow. But when batter is in the box and pitcher is about to hurl a 98 mph fastball........ you react! Line drive drilled at you...... react. Hockey.......mega reaction, self explanatory. My point is crowd noise really does not have an impact on sports like that. Things happen so quick that the athlete really is pretty much robotic and reacts to the situation. Golf is so much more target oriented and mental preparation to perform a shot. The process of hitting a golf shot (of high quality and consistently) is really pretty intense. Takes a lot of concentration. Any blip in that process makes a good golfer have to reboot the process. It demands that much attention. I'm not saying that every sport doesnt' have a degree of a mental aspect to it. Every sport does. When it's all said and done though.... the other ones mentioned are more react to what you know how to do.
