Down in front coming to a stadium near you?

Submitted by Goblue49120 on

There is a well known fact that in many areas of Michigan Stadium, Jumping up and screaming, and giving your friends a "high five" for a 10+ yard run would mean you would hear shouts of "Down in front!". I can remember the first time me and my brother did that on one of our trips up to Ann Arbor to watch a game. The awkward stares recieved by being the only two people showing a pulse anywhere other than the student section was creepy.

 

Here is a little gem I found on Yahoo sports dealing with the Kansas City Chiefs, and Arrow Head Stadium.

 

Re the new rules:

In practice, though, it might not be such a great idea, especially if the person responsible for coming up with the rules is an 85-year-old woman who teaches the 2nd grade and regards standing up as one of the evil things that young whippersnappers often do. Seriously, standing erect is the No. 2 item on the list of things that are prohibited:

• Standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans

Not only that, Pro Football Talk points out how seated fans can anonymously tattle on their upright counterparts:

The Chiefs also have set up a text-messaging system that allows fans who might be offended by behaviors like standing to report the situation to the powers-that-be.

 

I can see the down in front crowd salivating at the same ideas now.

Comments

mjv

July 2nd, 2008 at 2:24 PM ^

I have an issue with people who decide to stand for long stretches of time in front of me. As a student I stood entire games. The only problem with that was when I got ejected from the 1993 Purdue game because I wouldn't sit down in the student section. Where I sit now, if I stand up, I'm going to cause 90 rows of people behind me to stand up. Do I stand up on third downs or other key plays? Of course. Do I scream and cheer? Probably louder and more often than 95% of the other 111,000 people. But a guy who is my height (6'4") stands up in row 5, everyone behind me is obligated to stand up as well. That is my issue with folks standing in front of me for long stretches of games.

Blue Durham

July 2nd, 2008 at 2:44 PM ^

Even way back when I was a student, I did not understand many of the other students' need to stand. What does it accomplish? Does it really give you a better veiw from your seat? doubtful unless you are in the first few rows and need to see over the players on the sideline. Does it make your cheers or screams louder? Get the over-sized metallic dandilion out. Will it have an effect on the outcome of any play? don't think so. Does it neccessitate everyone behind you to also stand in order to see, thus needlessly aggrevating some people? Unquestionably. The need for some students to stand and require whole sections of the stadium to stand at length detracts from the game experience for other many fans; my parents for example. But well, I guess they didn't have a pulse and were kind of creepy as well.

Elise

July 2nd, 2008 at 4:03 PM ^

All logic aside, it's a matter of how it looks like you are supporting the team on the field. The idea is that when your team scores, everyone (who is able) jumps to their feet and cheers, so why shouldn't this exuberance be displayed at all times? Why only selectively stand and cheer when you could be doing it at all times?*

 Again... logic aside. The less-able folks wouldn't be too pleased with that argument.

*Assumes standee is actually cheering...

dex

July 2nd, 2008 at 4:06 PM ^

I felt like standing in the student section was way more comfortable than trying to sit in your 4 inches of space on the bleachers.

Goblue49120

July 2nd, 2008 at 7:50 PM ^

I went to my first few games in the student section, so maybe that conditioned me. I feel there is a difference between jumping up and cheering a big play vs standing during the play. Nothing is going on from tackle to placing the ball. As I said in my write-up. We jumped up and cheered a big play. Most everyone else viewed it with indifference. Oh hum... 1st down...yawn. The players deserved better than they were getting from the home crowd.