Mike the Crowd

[CaBisonFan]

Being from the rock & roll band/recording studio business...a thought came to me about the acoustics in the Fargodome.

When it was built, the sections of seating were designed to separate the crowd. That's a common thing in convention venues. And make no mistake about it...the FD was not built 'for' the Bison. It was built 'because' of the Bison...meaning that they were used as a political lever to get it built. If this were not true the seats (among other things) would have been green and the configuration would have been different. Is it a bad building? Nope...not at all. Really...after seeing how people feel about the place, my attitude has actually become pretty good about the FD.

The acoustics are affected by the separation of sections...and the crowd has trouble with building momentum because of the physical separation. The sections are relatively narrow vertically, and they're separated by pipes, stairwells, etc. This is one of the main reasons why the great efforts of some are erased. The sound and enthusiasm die at the edge of each section unless 'everyone' is into the game.


OK...the building isn't going to change...but NDSU can change how the sound works in the building.

Here's what I thought of:

Hang at least one multi-directional microphone over each section. Then feed these mics into the PA system. Then play the crowd sound back to the crowd. It wouldn't be cheating because the sound is being made by the crowd. It's just dying in the echo chamber, and as I described, from section to section. It would even be better to have a speaker above each section to play it back into the crowd. It doesn't have to be a huge sound. Just enough to make the cheers and responses clear to each section.

Then as a special treat...turn up the crowd and band mics on the TV broadcast so that it's more exciting to watch.

Think this is unusual? Guess again.

[Twentysix]

I think that would not be legal. Having a megaphone in the crowd is illegal I believe.

Mic'ing the crowd for tv reasons would be fantastic though.

[THEsocalledfan]

Being from the rock & roll band/recording studio business...a thought came to me about the acoustics in the Fargodome.

When it was built, the sections of seating were designed to separate the crowd. That's a common thing in convention venues. And make no mistake about it...the FD was not built 'for' the Bison. It was built 'because' of the Bison...meaning that they were used as a political lever to get it built. If this were not true the seats (among other things) would have been green and the configuration would have been different. Is it a bad building? Nope...not at all. Really...after seeing how people feel about the place, my attitude has actually become pretty good about the FD.

The acoustics are affected by the separation of sections...and the crowd has trouble with building momentum because of the physical separation. The sections are relatively narrow vertically, and they're separated by pipes, stairwells, etc. This is one of the main reasons why the great efforts of some are erased. The sound and enthusiasm die at the edge of each section unless 'everyone' is into the game.


OK...the building isn't going to change...but NDSU can change how the sound works in the building.

Here's what I thought of:

Hang at least one multi-directional microphone over each section. Then feed these mics into the PA system. Then play the crowd sound back to the crowd. It wouldn't be cheating because the sound is being made by the crowd. It's just dying in the echo chamber, and as I described, from section to section. It would even be better to have a speaker above each section to play it back into the crowd. It doesn't have to be a huge sound. Just enough to make the cheers and responses clear to each section.

Then as a special treat...turn up the crowd and band mics on the TV broadcast so that it's more exciting to watch.

Think this is unusual? Guess again.

What he said. I officially give this idea TSF seal of approval.

[HerdBot]

I think that would not be legal. Having a megaphone in the crowd is illegal I believe.

Mic'ing the crowd for tv reasons would be fantastic though.

If its legal its a good idea. The Vikes used to do that and they pointed the speakers at the visiting bench. I used to hate McCombs as an owner but he was smart. He said its smart to exploit the domes obvious advanced ...noise. His theme was welcome to the loudest stadium in the NFL. It worked.

[Bisonguy]

I think that would not be legal. Having a megaphone in the crowd is illegal I believe.

Mic'ing the crowd for tv reasons would be fantastic though.

From the Missouri Valley Football Conference Procedures

a. Noisemakers. Artificial noisemakers shall not be permitted to be brought into or used in Valley football stadiums. Member institutions shall not
distribute or sell any item(s) that may be used as artificial noisemakers.
The intent of the rule is to prohibit activities that disrupt play or create
unfair advantage. Thunder sticks, cow bells and horns fall into those
categories. Non-prohibited activities include the following:
(1) Putting “make noise” on the video board
(2) Shaking keys on kick offs
(3) Drum cadence prior to and during a kickoff that is non-disruptive.

[THEsocalledfan]

From the Missouri Valley Football Conference Procedures

So, it appears legal? This is not a noise maker.

[moosbah]

From the Missouri Valley Football Conference Procedures

This being said, man do I miss the horns we used to make a hell of a noise with at Dacotah Field. Well......I guess I miss everything about Dacotah Field for that matter.

[Bisonguy]

So, it appears legal? This is not a noise maker.

If a band is a noise maker, I'd venture to guess that a PA system is a noise maker.

[THEsocalledfan]

If a band is a noise maker, I'd venture to guess that a PA system is a noise maker.

Seems gray to me. And can you think of a better team to piss off?

[Bisonguy]

Seems gray to me. And can you think of a better team to piss off?

Might be gray, but if the crowd noise was played while the ball was in play or prevented the visiting team from hearing their signals, that's a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty. Judging from some of the PA and video board usage, I don't know if I'd trust anyone to be able to shut the PA system down at those times.