What If Cheering Was Banned At WNY Stadiums?
Clay Moden Published: June 22, 2021
The 2020 (21) Olympics are almost here and the games will be some of the most talked about and written about in history for more than just the competition. In a pandemic era, there are so many things that need to be changed or canceled. After COVID-19 pushed the Olympic games back a year, Japan has changed the rules and guidelines for fans in attendance.
According to reports from the Chicago Tribune...
Tokyo Olympics will allow local fans at 50% capacity for each venue — but cheering is banned. ... Organizers set a limit of 50% capacity — up to a maximum of 10,000 fans — for each Olympic venue, and officials said that if coronavirus cases rise again the rules could be changed and fans could still be barred all together.
That's right...NO CHEERING! Can you imagine how difficult that would be if those were the guidelines here in Western New York? Fans and the crowd add so much to the experience of competition. It's the reason canned crowd noise was used for NFL and other professional games in 2020!
It was just this week that it was confirmed there will be 100% capacity for fans at Highmark Stadium to see the Buffalo Bills play this fall. That's over 60,000 loud and passionate fans who will be as loud as ever when the Bills take the field.
Last year, when no fans were allowed inside the stadium, I had the honor and privilege to be the public address announcer for the stadium. Announcing after the plays were over, third doooooowwwwnns and touchdown plays seemed lackluster without any crowd response. Not to mention, and most importantly, the way The 12th Man assists the Bills when they are on defense.
The Olympic games are so exciting and I can't wait to see the USA compete! It is going to be so strange not to hear the fans rooting on the athletes! Just take a listen to the crowd in the video below and the roar that happens as soon as the starter gun fires!
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