Swarbrick acknowledged a hotly contested sentiment among Irish fans, commented on the energetic atmosphere, or lack thereof, of Notre Dame Stadium and encouraged the Irish student body to take matters into its own hands.
"I need your passion," he said. "I travel around with our team, and our stadium is the quietest place we play. I want you guys on that Saturday night at least once to make USC have a false start penalty."
Source: Observer
Apparently Swarbrick addressed the students during dinner this past week in anticipation of next weekend's game with Southern Cal. Anyone who has been to a home game in South Bend over the past couple of seasons knows there is a lot to be desired when it comes to environment and crowd noise. Some of the issues can't be fixed (namely lack of student body and design of the stadium). But plenty of them can be so for a variety of reasons, this really pissed me off.
First, the student section isn't too blame. Having spend 4 years there, including the miserable 2007 season, I can attest to how loud it gets. ND has 8,000 students who stand the entire game and cheer their asses off. Blaming them for lack of crowd noise is just stupid.
Second, ND stadium can get loud. Anyone who was in the stadium in '05 for 4th and 9 or watched/attended the Michigan game in '88 (embedded above) knows how loud that stadium can be. And you know what the biggest difference between those games and the past couple of seasons? Notre Dame was a very good football team. When you produce teams that lose to Syracuse and UConn on Senior Day, you're going to cause a distinct lack of noise within your stadium. Will ND ever be as loud as a night LSU game vs Alabama in Baton Rouge or the Swamp for UF-FSU? Probably not. 20,000+ students and different stadium designs will ensure that.
But the biggest reason Swarbrick bitching about the lack of noise annoys me is he is in a place of power within the athletic department and can make changes to fix some of the biggest issues.
- Stop celebrating the various staffs and obscure department groups at the 20 yardline during TV timeouts. I know that sounds cold but it just zaps any momentum from the crowd. The music has to stop, everyone gives a polite clap while giving two shits about it at the moment.
- Do something about the ushers. While never experiencing this myself (either I'm the worst fan or I actually sit near normal people), way too many people have complained about being told to sit down when standing during critical moments or been warned that they were cheering too loud (wtf?) for it not to be an issue. It's frickin football game. People stand, people cheer loudly (you'd hope) and sometime people curse. None of those are reasons to eject someone from the stadium.
- Accept that drunk fans usually equals louder and more rowdy fans so do something with Excise. (Note: I doubt Swarbrick has any power to fix this, just wanted to complain about Excise)
- Win! Then win some more! Just keep F&$%KING winning!
None of these issues are new and have been bandied about by ND fans for a long time. Still, as the athletic director, I'd like to believe that Swarbrick would be in position to help fix some of them. We all like to think he already did a good job with number 4.
There are plenty of reasons that ND stadium is quiet. The student section is without a doubt not one of them. So don't complain to them or implore them to get the stadium louder. They'll be plenty loud next Saturday night and even the Saturday following that. It's not them Jack. It's you.
By NDtex October 13, 2011 - 2:31 pm
If I have a single usher tell me to sit down or be quiet next week, I will be bringing up Swarbrick’s quotes.
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By Whiskeyjack October 13, 2011 - 2:37 pm
I’d add poorly-timed and over-long TV timeouts to that list, Poot.
I didn’t interpret Swarbrick’s dinner address as an indictment of the student section’s lack of enthusiasm. He basically just asked them to (1) bring their A-game against USC; and (2) behave themselves so we can continue having night games in the future.
It’s great that the powers-that-be are formally acknowledging the problem. I’m sure Savvy Jack will do whatever is in his power to address the problems listed above.
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By PootND October 13, 2011 - 2:40 pm
Our TV timeouts are modeled exactly after the ESPN/NFL model. They’re just a fact of life and nothing you can do about it. All stadiums deal with it so it’s not something you can blame for lack of noise.
Also, while I realize that was the point, the way the quote will get carried through the news cycle will be “ND stadium quiet. STudents aren’t loud enough”
Edit: Removed ‘Not’ from 1st sentence.
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By Whiskeyjack October 13, 2011 - 2:51 pm
Swarbrick can’t call out the “down in front!” blue-hair alumni directly. The best he can do is to make a public statement on the subject (which he did) and begin working on the factors you listed behind the scenes (which I hope he’s doing).
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By The Biscuit October 13, 2011 - 2:50 pm
Cue JumboTron argument in 3…2…
I am with you 100% Poot (twice in a weekWTF?!?!?!?) – the breaks honoring people are the worst. I am super glad these people exist, they are amazing. Let’s honor them before the game, at half time, and after the game. That’s plenty.
I think it’s cool for Jack to ask for more noise, but he can and should help out – the usher issue is a big one. They should also start serving beer in the stadium (okay I just want beer, but whatever I’ll get it in there)
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By oaknd1 October 13, 2011 - 3:19 pm
We need a jumbotron.
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By oaknd1 October 13, 2011 - 3:19 pm
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
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By PootND October 13, 2011 - 3:28 pm
I gave both of your posts thumbs up!
Hot debate. What do you think?
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By The Subway Domer October 13, 2011 - 3:19 pm
Get a god damn jumbotron, shot vendors, and the girls of Vivid for TV timeouts. Problem solved.
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By MarkG October 13, 2011 - 3:28 pm
Three points.
One, Whiskey Jack is right — the real reason Swarbrick spoke to the students is to say “don’t get too drunk or we will not have more night games.”
Two, in 31 years of attending games I have never seen an usher shushing someone for cheering or standing. Have they warned folks about swearing? Yup, I’ve seen that. Called out a drunken fool for making an ass of himself? Plenty of times (not me of course). But never for someone yelling “defense” or cheering. It’s not the ushers’ fault.
Three, we can add jumbo trons, rock music, etc., to fire up the crowd and, yes, all that will help the place be louder even given the stadium design. Be careful what you wish for, however — the flashing jumbo trons and music are worse than lame when the weather gets cold and the game is boring (either because we lead big time or are playing like crap). Like going to see the Bulls.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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By Austin October 14, 2011 - 5:12 pm
I have been told by ushers multiple times to sit down.
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By qb October 16, 2011 - 4:13 pm
you’re probably a drunk cursor!
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By JeffM October 15, 2011 - 11:27 am
You are completely wrong on the ushers. You must be in a section with YOUNG ushers, they’re fine. If you have an over 60 usher, your game experience is markedly different. In the last 5 years I’ve probably gone to at least 20 games, and I’ve been told to sit down and be quiet at least 8 times by ushers. And I was not cursing. I was cheering, making noise when our defense is on the field.
To be honest, the 60 and over ushers are responding to requests from the 60 and over fans.
If you are a fan and don’t like gameday atmosphere in a stadium, DONT GO. Quit ruining the experience for the rest of us, and quit ruining the atmosphere for OUR TEAM. Watch the game on TV. The quiet stadium takes away home field advantage and affects recruiting. And ushers, help us make them stay home. Let us cheer our brains out. You’re enabling them by telling us to sit and be quiet, not to mention making us all despise the color yellow.
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By Josh October 13, 2011 - 3:28 pm
If Swarbrick wants a loud stadium, he needs to quit raising ticket prices. Virginia Tech tickets are $48 for a game vs. North Carolina. Compare that to $70 or $80 for ND. The wine and cheese crowd isn’t used to standing up and cheering for 3 or 4 hours. Jack can’t have his cake and eat it, too.
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By Jeremy October 13, 2011 - 5:09 pm
I don’t think the face value of ND tickets is what is keeping loud fans away, it’s access to face value tickets. If I could get my hands on more tickets at face value, I would be there yelling much more often.
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By Josh October 14, 2011 - 8:27 am
I think ticket prices are keeping fans at bay. Especially South Bend area subway alumni.
I went tailgating for the USF game this year. I planned on not going since I figured it was the first game and I didn’t have a ticket. I was shocked at how many tickets were available from scalpers. I ended up paying below face value ($55) 3 hours before kickoff. Gate C Section 21 row 4. Closest I’ve ever been to the field.
Now, why do you think all of those tickets were available?
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By notredamegrad October 13, 2011 - 6:11 pm
I can tell you that STUDENT ticket prices ($210 for five home games, $300 for St. Mary’s and Holy Cross) keep thousands of grad and professional students away. There are 8,400 undegrads at ND, most of whom have parents able to shell out that money for their kids (not all, though). There are another 4,900 grad and professional (law, MBA) students, most of whom spend their Saturdays yelling and cheering at televisions in bars and homes across South Bend because they can’t afford it.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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By PootND October 13, 2011 - 6:42 pm
Considering ND has ~2-3 thousand grad/professional students, you’re claiming that barely any of them go to games AND the only reason they don’t go is ticket prices?
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By notredamegrad October 13, 2011 - 6:48 pm
4,900 grad/professional students. I know that a ton of them love ND football and don’t go to games because of the prices. Some of them split books amongst themselves. Some of them pay face value to go to one game a season. Most watch from bars and houses.
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By PootND October 13, 2011 - 6:50 pm
Yeah, I just looked that up. the 3k was the grad students only.
Anyway, you’re claiming thousands don’t go on account of $210 season tickets?
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By notredamegrad October 13, 2011 - 6:57 pm
Absolutely. Might sound crazy to folks with jobs, but when you’re saving up for South Bend winter heating bills and either plunging yourself into debt or scraping by on a grad student stipend, $210 for five games (or double that if you’re married) is hard to justify.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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By Jeremy October 13, 2011 - 7:13 pm
I was there for law school, and I, for one, was more than happy to skimp on the beer bill at a local bar for game day, and a few other days, to make up the $210 — though when I was there I think it was $175.
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By Erik '04 October 13, 2011 - 7:16 pm
They should split the 5 games among themselves and pay the $42 to go to one game.
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By notredamegrad October 14, 2011 - 8:53 am
Student ticket prices are exorbitantly expensive at ND compared to other universities with flourishing football programs and raucous student fans. No way around it. Here are the 2011 student ticket prices per home game for just a few major schools:
Stanford – $0 (7 games)
Alabama – $5 (7 games)
UGA – $8 (6 games)
UT – $13 (6 games)
USC – $22 (7 games)
U Oklahoma – $28 (6 games)
U Michigan – $31 (8 games)
And by far, the most expensive…
ND – $42 (5 games)
This is something the AD can and should do something about.
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By Matt Q. (DMQ) October 14, 2011 - 9:38 am
Raucous fans? At Stanford?
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By notredamegrad October 14, 2011 - 9:47 am
Right – not “raucous” at Stanford. Just wanted to include another private, small ND opponent for price contrast.
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By Matt Q. (DMQ) October 14, 2011 - 9:58 am
But you’ve got to consider supply and demand there.
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By notredamegrad October 14, 2011 - 10:22 am
You don’t think those other teams have a passionate fan base wanting those tickets? This is about ND wanting all students at all games and making that happen by charging prices comparable to those at other schools.
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By Matt Q. (DMQ) October 14, 2011 - 1:33 pm
I know for a fact that Stanford doesn’t have a passionate fanbase. Never have. Never will.
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By GraceHall1980 October 14, 2011 - 8:10 pm
Notredamegrad–
Just spoke with my son (BS 2008, Ph.D 2013); can’t reach my daughter (BS 2012). Factoring in students studying abroad, in excess of 95% of ND’s undergrads get football tickets. Of the 4,900 grad/professional students, approximately 50-60% get tickets. Cost is a factor but general lack of interest (in football or ND) is a much bigger issue.
Beyond that, you need to update the math. It’s $210 for six tickets (50% of face value) or $35 per game.
Go Irish! Beat Trojans!
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By notredamegrad October 14, 2011 - 9:02 pm
Apologies – you’re right on the ND tickets ($35/game, 6 games), but that’s still significantly higher than most big FB programs and at least higher than all I could find (except Oregon – $36/game). Still think the AD should do something about that.
Where did your son get those numbers? I’d love to see stats on what percentage of the student body gets tickets – I’ve looked for them. My impression is that fewer than 50-60% of grad/pro. students get tickets and I know from experience a large number who don’t b/c of cost, but maybe we run in different crowds.
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By Raj October 15, 2011 - 9:32 pm
I have a had time believing all these grad students stay away from the game based on cost $35 ticket. If most are watching the games from bars & homes, they are still probably that same amount money on beer, drinks, food, etc.
What do these people do for entertainment? Night out anywhere will cost $35.
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By starkruzr October 16, 2011 - 5:58 pm
Speaking as a former grad student (MS ’08) and current OIT employee, I can say you’re right about roughly half the grad student body not caring about ND football. The thing is, half does, which is HUGE for just about any university.
You can probably count out a large chunk of the science, math and engineering departments, many of whom are internationals who couldn’t care less about collegiate sports.
It’s really tough for a single employee, though. It isn’t *possible* to buy season home tickets for a single employee. You HAVE to buy them in packs of two. Of course, that’s ND — if you’re an employee and you’re not married, you’re “weird.”
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By MarkG October 13, 2011 - 3:36 pm
Let me expand on my “Bulls game” comment.
When the Bulls were great, the crowd was into the games, and the energy level was high because folks were seeing great athletes perform at the top of their game. Even blow-outs were fun. The flashing screens, music, T-shirt guns, Luv-a-Bulls, etc, during the time outs were merely distractions – the game was so exciting that even the fans needed a break from time to time. You didn’t need a sound track to fire you up (after the introductions, at least).
When the Bulls got sucky, the same flashing screens, music, T-shirt guns, Luv-a-Bulls, etc., were just lame. Like a speaker saying “I can’t heeeeear you” or a suburban priest asking the congregations to “give me an amen.” All of the sound and flash was just trying too hard, which just emphasized how poor the product was on the floor.
I am not against some psych tapes before the game or before the half, a’ la Yankee Stadium, to get the crowd going, but the old jumbo tron is a two edge sword if not used judiciously.
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By Titus October 13, 2011 - 3:44 pm
That’s a high-quality rant. And some of the comments aren’t half bad. I think Jack telling the student body not to get falling-down drunk is a task of sisyphean futility.
I once defended the timeout awards: man, that was stupid of me. Kick those to halftime and before the game and you’ll have made a lot of progress. And the suggestion to lower the ticket prices couldn’t hurt: it’s a major investment for younger alumni to come back at $70 a pop and rising (did you know babies pay full price for admission?).
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By sagcat October 13, 2011 - 3:46 pm
It’s not just younger alums. What about all of the alums the school brags about who go into a career of service? If you didn’t go to the business school, they don’t want you.
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By sagcat October 13, 2011 - 3:44 pm
2 things: We CAN do something about stadium design. The desire to never have anything change led to the 90′s expansion trying to mimic the original design (except for the exterior which was gorgeous) and lets the noise out. Even a partial roof covering the top 15 rows of the stadium would do wonders for noise, but OH NO! That would make the stadium look slightly different, so everyone will shoot it down.
Secondly, lower the prices and make them available to more people than just the old, wealthy alums. Let the commoners into the game and watch the noise level rise. Heck, do both of these things by adding an upper deck of 20k seats on the east side to sell to the common man for reasonable prices and reflect the noise from the student body back down.
True story: ’87 Michigan State game. After Tim Brown had returned the legendary two punts in a row for TD’s and we forced the next punt, I turned and yelled loudly at the crowd around me (SW Corner) to “Stand up for Timmy! Make some noise! Show your appreciation!” And I had the old alums (yes, even then) laugh at me and tell me to sit down. One of the greatest moments in ND history and I was mocked for caring.
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By coachwood October 13, 2011 - 4:05 pm
Are ushers and excise an issue that Swarbrick has control over or does that fall back on the Director of Gameday ops?…A position which does not report to the AD btw.
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By PootND October 13, 2011 - 4:15 pm
I really doubt Jack has sway over Excise. As I said, just wanted to bitch about Excise. Even if he doesn’t have direct control, Jack should be directing his efforts to fixing the ushers rather than telling the students to be louder
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By Brad October 14, 2011 - 6:25 am
I think you would probably be surprised as to how much influence Jack and others in the administration can have on Excise. They are always gonna be around, and often for good reason (I spent quite a few drunken moments at tailgates when I was 15-18ish myself). But there has been a very distinct change in some of the enforcement issues surrounding campus (gamedays or not) over the last year or so and I think the administration has had a lot to do with it. I think they have made a strong to move to lighten the atmosphere up a bit as far as Excise and Reslife go (not necessarily the same issues, but linked as far as perception).
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By Brad October 13, 2011 - 4:39 pm
I’ll be honest, I live in South Bend and have been to more games than I can count in my lifetime. Its gotten to the point where I often decide to just stay home and watch the game on a flatscreen because I get so pissed off at the quiet fans around me that I can’t handle it, and it distracts me from the game itself.
I have a very simple solution that can make the crowd louder right now. And not “one louder”, but all the way up to eleven.
Start selling beer. Its a private school, and a wet campus. Hell, the campus has like 3 bars on it, and everyone is Irish. Just start selling beer, and immediately become the most intimidating home-field in all of college football.
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By Brian, '84 October 14, 2011 - 11:41 am
It’ll never happen due to liability issues.
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By SDI October 14, 2011 - 4:57 pm
At one point I think the NCAA had a regulation against selling beer at NCAA events. Not sure if that is still the case.
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By SDI October 14, 2011 - 5:54 pm
Apparently not:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125271416817105157.html
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By sagcat October 13, 2011 - 4:44 pm
I want to add another story from back in the day to counter my ’87 MSU story – during the ’88 Miami game (which I was lucky enough to see and it was very, VERY loud) 2 friends who were not lucky enough to get tickets were sitting at the reflecting pool and *could not have a conversation* over the crowd noise. So it is possible. And that was the 60k days.
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By Brian '84 October 14, 2011 - 11:44 am
Plus the stadium was almost full for another 30 minutes after the game . . . all hyped over what we had just witnessed.
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By Erik '04 October 13, 2011 - 7:23 pm
We already get enough people saying that Notre Dame stadium is just a copy of the big house that we should just copy them again and add a luxury box opposite the press box. Or we could make it look like Lambeau and have a ring of suites go in a U shape from the press box around the south end to the other side. Leave the North end open of course for a little TD Jesus action, but everything else will keep the sound in. PLUS, all the old money can go find themselves a luxury box to sit down in, leaving more outside seating for us common folk. The boxes themselves would pay for their own construction! Everyone’s problems would be solved, and you could even put in some video screens in the two corners.
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By trey October 14, 2011 - 9:55 am
Add an age limit restriction to the lower bowl, too. Anyone over the age of 50 is required to sit inside the enclosure.
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By Erik '04 October 13, 2011 - 7:26 pm
Also, if you want to see how loud that stadium can actually get, just watch any of the Irish Connection videos over on UND.com. They show touchdowns from the view of the sidelines, and the crowd noise is well demonstrated once that ball crosses the goal line. If people would just put the same energy into key plays on defense that they do into celebrating a touchdown, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
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By Marcus October 13, 2011 - 8:31 pm
I usually shoot the games in the south end zone (opposite the student section) and I will say the student section is not the problem here. It’s everyone else. Every time I go to get a fan reaction shot after a good play, all the happiness has run its course and everyone has already sat back down.
Meanwhile, the students are often going crazy. That being said, I also shot the Michigan game (apologize for bringing the bastards up), and had no problem because everyone was losing their minds practically the whole game. I agree with your suggestions, Poot, namely the one pertaining to the ushers. The students should lead the charge, but everyone else should be encouraged to join in.
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By Pat October 13, 2011 - 8:45 pm
I appreciate Swarbrick’s candor and that he acknowledged what many of us have known for years. It’s not that Notre Dame Stadium can’t get loud, it just hasn’t in earnest in many years.
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By John C October 13, 2011 - 9:27 pm
I went to undergrad at ND and was there for the ’05 USC game. I am now at Virginia Tech and went to both the Clemson game and the Miami game. Thought I’d give some background on VT, as I have noticed so far. One big difference is the number of students and where the students sit. The students are put in both endzones and spread along one side of the stadium. I think the students being spread amongst the public helps to get everyone loud. The Jumbotron is nice when it is showing replays (brought to you by some company). However, during most timeouts they play advertisements.
During the Clemson game, the crowd was average, probably because VT was getting dominated. The stadium emptied out with 5 or 6 minutes left in the game. Being competitive makes a big difference. When ND is back on top, ND stadium will be an intimidating place to play. Those other reasons PootND suggested would certainly help, but I think winning is most important.
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By AKMatt October 14, 2011 - 12:03 am
I went to grad school at VT back in 02-03. Does everybody still shake their car keys on 3rd downs? I was always impressed by how much noise that made. Lane Stadium does get loud for big games, but it’s full of drunk ass hillbillys, not yuppie douchebags and old farts. I don’t mean that to be derogative, most of my best friends in Blacksburg were drunk ass hillbillies (Blacksburg RFC). Anyway, you could get drunk as hell before a VT game, the cops didn’t care at all. I don’t remember walking home from a few of those games.
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By Brad October 14, 2011 - 6:31 am
Thats also a function of the area/geography. My wife is from that area, and up in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, it is still perfectly socially acceptable for grown adults to get drunk in a parking lot at the local Wal-Mart for no good reason. There are definitely a good amount of people who like to get out there and have a good time, and the tickets are cheap and relatively easy for anyone to get.
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By AlDogg October 13, 2011 - 9:52 pm
If 210 bucks is keeping so-called grad student fans away, they should be ashamed of themselves. Realize times are tight, but that is a horrid excuse.
The problem of ND Stadium is simple, most are there to take part in an ‘event’ not a football game.
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By Zac October 14, 2011 - 3:24 pm
Sounds like you’ve never been a grad student. I’m an ND alum and a grad student at texas now (with similar ticket prices), and as much as I want to go to UT games I can’t justify the ticket prices… especially not since getting married (and also because UT’s games always seem to conflict with ND’s). Having to pay $200+ all at once is a pretty big hit to the monthly budget (consider that that’s about what I paid for food every month before getting married…).
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By Joe Magarac October 14, 2011 - 5:43 am
For the home crowd to get loud, three things need to happen:
1. More drinking. As a young kid, I went to a night game against Miami in the early 1980s. Back then, ND had bars in the dorms and was less politically correct (I remember seeing a deer head in a dorm window with a sign saying “Buck’s a Stag, Kosar’s a Fag”). Anyway, the students were so drunk that they stormed the field in the first quarter. Yes, that sort of thing is why they cut down on night games. But the stadium was loud.
2. ND used to offer season tickets for close to half the seats in the old 60,000 seat stadium. The people that had them went to games week in and week out, such that they didn’t look around and take it all the pageantry in and spent more time watching the action and cheering. Yes, this created an access problem for the thousands of people who didn’t have season tickets. But it helped make the stadium noisier.
3. Dumb down the student body and alumni. Again, back in the 1980s ND was full of wild Irishmen maybe a generation removed from mill jobs in places like Toledo and Buffalo and Pittsburgh. They behaved in ways that many of us today would consider unseemly. But the games were loud.
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By Pat October 14, 2011 - 8:15 am
Joe, good points all around, but I especially love your third point, even though it is anecdotal. There’s certainly been some social mobility amongst the Notre Dame faithful over the years. But like we’d like a tough, blue-collar football team, it would be nice to have some rowdy, blue-collar fans in the stands. Generally, the atmosphere is too polite, see Notre Dame-Navy. It’s like the place CONSTANTLY defending its reputation, to the point of overkill. It’s okay be out for blood (figuratively…mostly). When we score TDs, we need more than the token golf clap. When our defense is on the field, audibles should be nearly impossible for the opponent. Notre Dame Stadium shouldn’t be 80,000 people that mistakenly believe they are at Mass.
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By Joe Magarac October 14, 2011 - 9:43 am
It would be nice to have some blue-collar fans in the stands, wouldn’t it? But I fear it will never happen; you can’t unring the bell. The ads for Mercedes that NBC plays over and over again when you watch the games online tell you a lot about the ND fan demographic these days. And I’m an example of it – my grandparents grew up dirt-poor in Slovakia and weren’t too much better off over here, but here I am a lawyer just two generations later.
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By SDI October 14, 2011 - 11:07 am
Agree with Pat and Joe. Your third point is perfectly on point. I didn’t go to ND, but went to a small Catholic college out west and a Catholic high school. Prior to the 90s both of my schools were full of kids from big working class Catholic families. As the schools gained reputations for their academic prowess, and as college admissions got more and more competitive, the demographics of both schools became more and more wealthy. My kids attend a public charter school, and we are seeing the same thing there. Better test scores, richer kids, richer kids, better test scores. Wealthier parents, higher expectations, less rowdiness allowed, different culture and college experience.
As far as the stadium goes, I would do whatever possible to get as many students as possible in the stadium. I would also spread them out a little more to hopefully enthuse some of the down in fronters. I would also seriously look at building a whole bunch of suites on either side of the press box and then do what is necessary to market those seats to older wealthier fans. Stock them with flatscreens and wine and cheese or whatever it takes. Maybe give them better parking.
Then with the additional revenue from the suites you can afford to lower the prices of the remaining tickets.
I would also make sure that USC, Michigan, and any other big rival games are always at night.
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By Jeremy October 14, 2011 - 11:43 am
I took some SEC/Texas friends to the MSU game this year, and their nice way of commenting on the environment was that it was “classy.” As in, my friend from Texas was the only yelling “cheaters” every time MSU held Lynch and when we finally got the game-sealing pic at the end of the game, he tried in vain to start the chant, “Go home, Sparty.”
Seemed like well-deserved, good-natured ribbing to me, but the fans around us would have nothing to do with it. Of course, the fans in front of us were busy chatting about life and not even watching the game. Seriously, do that in a sky box or at a bar.
At the same time, my friends were very impressed with the student section. It’s definitely a problem with access to tickets, whether it’s price or not. What they need to do is take all the tickets for the opposite end zone and put them on sale, first-come, first serve two days before the game. The fans are that are willing to wait in line for hours will be loud.
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By tim October 14, 2011 - 10:49 am
As a usher I haven’t experianced other ushers telling fans to sit down or quiet down as long as it is done without profanity or abuse of the fans around them.There are no bigger ND fans on game day than ND ushers!They travel from 24 states to watch the team they love and cheer for.”GO IRISH”
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By tim October 16, 2011 - 10:19 am
May I add that as a usher I have never been told by a supervisor to tell fans to not cheer as loud as they can or to sit down during game play.I hope they can hear the Irish fans all the way to LA.
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By Sad Warrior October 14, 2011 - 10:49 am
Free Beer and a Jumbotron are the only needs for louder fans. Yeah! Free Beer!
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By Frank Henninger October 14, 2011 - 11:08 am
It’s 1957 and I’m a grad student, ex-St. John’s cheerleader in Madison Square Garden. I could be very, very loud. I’m standing in the Navy Hall at a pregame prep rally when the festivities begin. I’m cheering at the top of my lungs, and I CAN’T HEAR MYSELF. That’s the kind of loud I was excited to experience at ND. That season at a game the guy next to me tells me he’s never before heard anyone else as loud as himself until me. Then he tells me he’s a grad student and an ex-La Salle cheerleader. We cared about ND football (still do), and we showed it with noise. Back then the grad students’ tix were, I think, free. I know I was very poor; doubt I could, as a grad student, afford today’s prices.
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By IrishGuy23 October 14, 2011 - 12:14 pm
The Washington game in 2009 was absurdly loud. Same for the Michigan game in 2002.
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By John T. October 14, 2011 - 1:05 pm
I hope every person from game next Sat. has to see the doctors for sore feet and NO VOICES. I can’t make it to the game so I’m hoping not to hear Tom Hammond or Mike Mayock on my TV, just load crazy fans.
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By alli October 14, 2011 - 1:45 pm
Two words: FLOGGING. MOLLY.
Irish drinking songs on the PA solves All The Problems.
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By Jack October 14, 2011 - 3:13 pm
There’s a little bit of truth in what everyone is saying, but much more that seems just wrong-headed. Yes, the stadium is less intensely engaged than in the past, but:
1) Most of the reasons are due to tradeoffs made for the clear betterment of the university as a whole, so deal with it;
2) The noise level reflects the quality and importance of the play on the field and does not create it, so it may rise to the occasion when called forth again; and
3) Drunk assholes, rude assholes, and inconsiderate assholes do not make for a better experience; they won’t remember it and everyone else will wish they could forget.
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By Brawling Hibernian October 14, 2011 - 5:26 pm
I had forgotten about that ’88 Michigan game and how loud the place got. To me, what makes it more amazing is that was only 59,075 fans making that much noise…with no jumbotron. You don’t need gimmicks, you just need fans with a reason to be excited.
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By Jack October 14, 2011 - 6:15 pm
Exactly,
Check out youtube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MvgpTuz3y4
I was a lucky freshman and we didn’t need to be stoked on alcohol or manipulated by a TV screen to know how to react. Same thing today. Just give us great plays in an important game against quality rivals where it means something and you’ll get this.
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By devin October 14, 2011 - 11:32 pm
I’ve sat all over the stadium and by far the best spot is next to the students everywhere I’ve sat has had its differences it really comes down to the old people and as in my case at the USF game some fat turd that easily took up 5 seats bitching at me for standing up I’ve been to quite a few games and that was the first time I’ve ever encountered that, and he killed the environment around him those kinds of people are the problem, not the students. I’ll be there doing my part GO IRISH!
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By Deguelo October 16, 2011 - 4:11 pm
If these grad students who can’t afford to go to the games or worried about South Bend winter heating bills , well all I can say is they must not be Business Grad students and if they are shame on them. the smart ones buy the season ticket package and sell 4 games, triple their money at least and party their rear rends off cheering on the Irish vs. USC. My God it’s basioc capitalism.
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By Murph October 16, 2011 - 9:52 pm
The main reason the stadium doesn’t get louder is because (at least for the big games), the only people who can get tickets are 75 year old alums who have a few grand to drop on the Sorin Society. As a young alum, I had a couple years when I couldn’t get tickets to a single home game through the lottery (specifically in 2005 & 2006). Guess who stands all game and cheers the loudest next to students, that would be young alums. Don’t make the ticket lottery a complete money grab, and maybe more will be able to attend games and cheer.
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