The View From 331, er 244: NFL EDITION

[DoubleDee]

I experienced two firsts today, my first ever NFL game, and therefore also my first ever Buccaneers game. Bucs vs Jets at MetLife. I am a long time fan who doesn’t fly, so I figured we better go so close.
I wanted to touch on a few findings in relation to our Orange world.

I know it’s the NFL and there are big differences, so please don’t tell me that, I am taking that into account.

The concourses were wide and open. I’m guessing even with a full house, which it WAS NOT AT ALL, it would be much easier to get around than at the dome.
I happened to have club level seats which was a stellar experience. That’s the life.

Except….

I gotta tell ya, I’ll take Syracuse grab and go concessions all day over that bullskit. It was a half full stadium and the lines were slow as molasses. I mean bad.

In regards to fan experience items to steal from, when the Jets got a first down, the fans get involved. The announcer says “that’s a Jets…” and the crowd all yells FIRST DOWN!! It seems silly, but very engaging.

Also there was a guy there that seemingly was a regular, get every one fired up kinda guy in a white fireman’s helmet. He starts the whole J E T S JETS JETS JETS! Thing. I watched him from time to time. Imagine if we had a lone “fan” type of guy who could get everyone fired up? Maybe put him in a cowboy hat? Been done? (Please don’t bring up the failed attempt in the last couple of years with the kilt. That was not the same, and poorly executed.)

Another fan engagement item, which falls into the subject of taking care of ad recognizing long time fans, is the Fan Hall Of Fame. Today they introduced this years inductees, and they got to run out of the tunnel as their names were called. Minor, but something.

Last was the sound. I know we’re not the NFL, and I’m also sure the roof has a lot to do with our problems, but literally every word, every song, and every video was crystal clear sound. Like if GOD FORBID a cheerleader grabbed a mic I would have heard what she said. Speakers all around the perimeter at every level it seemed. Maybe that would help us versus all the roof hung speakers?

 

[RandomGuy]

The J E T S chant is pretty cool. Watched them beat the Pat's in 2010, and that was the best part. (Pat's fan)

Our sound system quality may have to do with the highly reflective room. Sound coming from one location, like a concert, should present less of a problem. With a bunch of speakers all over the place, wonky stuff is bound to happen. (Phase issues, dozens of different reflection rates all reaching your ears at a different time, etc...) A full house should help with absorption, but until then...

*AT&T stadium also has reports of poor sound. At 60hz, it has a decay time of 11.5 seconds. 1.5khz 7.5 seconds. (Thats insane) To combat these reflections, they turn down all the frequencies below 450HZ. Otherwise, the low end would be a garbled mushy mess, and nothing would be intelligible. Rooms have problems. Especially big ones.

Turn down all the frequencies below this on your stereo(because you have to) and then ask why it doesn't sound good.
And to your point? Yes. They added more speakers at every level. It doesn't solve the problem, but with the speaker closer to your ear? It masks it a bit so that things are more intelligble.

 

[DoubleDee]

The J E T S chant is pretty cool. Watched them beat the Pat's in 2010, and that was the best part. (Pat's fan)

Our sound system quality may have to do with the highly reflective room. Sound coming from one location, like a concert, should present less of a problem. With a bunch of speakers all over the place, wonky stuff is bound to happen. (Phase issues, dozens of different reflection rates all reaching your ears at a different time, etc...) A full house should help with absorption, but until then...

*AT&T stadium also has reports of poor sound. At 60hz, it has a decay time of 11.5 seconds. 1.5khz 7.5 seconds. (Thats insane) To combat these reflections, they turn down all the frequencies below 450HZ. Otherwise, the low end would be a garbled mushy mess, and nothing would be intelligible. Rooms have problems. Especially big ones.

Turn down all the frequencies below this on your stereo(because you have to) and then ask why it doesn't sound good.

This makes zero sense to me. However, maybe you should call Pete. You sound like you know what you're talking about.

 

[GeauxSU]

Get the popcorn, offseason View from 331!!

 

[RandomGuy]

This makes zero sense to me. However, maybe you should call Pete. You sound like you know what you're talking about.

I'm sure Pete is aware of the acoustic challenges of the Dome. Any musician that has played a bunch of venues through the house PA will tell you the same thing.

You can help it with absorption, bass traps etc. But WHY on EARTH would we want to destroy the crowd volume in the Dome? Thats our advantage, and what makes the place electric. To heck with that. The PA should sound a little better with a full house, anyways. The acoustics are good for crowd noise.

If you care? Its almost always the very long low frequency waves that cause the most problems. Let's say I was recording a Doom Metal band, and the guitar player came in with a huge, chunka chunka sound that shook your junk... COOL. The first thing I'm doing is turning down much of his bass in the mix. He'd probably want to punch me in the face. But if I didn't? He'd probably want to punch me in the face, too, because the recording with the band will sound like arse. (The Bass, kick and guitar become a garbled mess- one reason I play Strats/Teles) He'll thank me later. Even in a controlled environment, addressing the low frequency is a challenge. You can do it in a studio, but in a place like the Dome? Good luck with that.

I'm guessing the only solution is speakers closer to each crowd section. The acoustic challenges still remain, but the listener may be less aware of them. (What they did at AT&T) I presume we consulted a sound engineer, and it is what it is.

 

[Chip]

Did you have a nice view of the Antonio Brown show?

 

[dollarbill44]

NFL games can be a fun time. They are definitely interesting in how different they are from a college game, particularly games in the Dome. The stadiums are huge and they spend a lot of time and money on getting everything right when it comes to the fan experience. The club seats at Met Life are a nice way to watch a game. It's almost a country club type atmosphere.
I'm not a fan of the "1st Down!" chant. The first time I ever experienced that was SU at Rutgers during the GRob years. I think Schiano brought that in. I find it super annoying.
The fan hall of fame sounds like an interesting idea that could be good for SU to adopt to honor the long-time season ticket holders with stellar attendance. Maybe they could have an online nomination procedure and process to vet the applicants/nominees.

 

[David321]

I’ll take the value in the Dome over an NFL game any day. MetLife is a good time, but not better than the Dome. We can get ST for 6-7 games and still spend less than one at MetLife.

 

[DoubleDee]

I’ll take the value in the Dome over an NFL game any day. MetLife is a good time, but not better than the Dome. We can get ST for 6-7 games and still spend less than one at MetLife.

Oh for sure. Believe me, theres a reason we have never been to a pro game before. Not just because our team is in Florida. I have far more interest in college. This opportunity was a good one that fell in my lap to degree and did it for the boy. Plus we got to see Brady be Brady.

Did not see the AB thing as it happened. But it went around the section quick when someone saw it on social media.

 

[DoubleDee]

Our levels speakers at metlife were installed on the level above us fascia and pointed down on us. Seems like the section above that was similar. certainly works whatever it is.