Fake Crowd Noise or Silent?
Happy Friday everyone!
Now that we are a year into the pandemic, I just thought I'd ask about this because I am genuinely curious.
Do you guys prefer hearing the sound track of the fake fans on loop? Or would you rather hear the sounds of the game and have it be basically quiet?
I am not sure if anyone else on this board is experiencing what I am. When I watch the games with the fake noise, my brain trains myself to recognize when the tape goes on loop and it's actually giving me a bit of a migraine. I watched the replay on the treadmill this morning and I honestly almost had to stop working out from hearing the looped sound.
I would imagine that these networks are curious about little kids watching the games and hearing bad words, but honestly, who cares?
February 19th, 2021 at 8:18 AM ^
Uncle Leo, Your gifted mind is haunting you on this one. Having grown up in the 80s watching sitcoms with laugh tracks, the fake crowd noise is right up my alley.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:14 AM ^
I also grew up with laugh tracks. But, unlike you, I fucking HATE them! They are so fake and cringy... My take - if your show has a laugh track, I will never watch it because it's a shit pile of a show. Granted, back in the 70s and early 80s, every show had one, so those can be graded on a curve simply because you couldn't get away from it. But since the 90s, if there's a laugh track involved, fuck off - I'm not watching the shitty, generic, trash collection you call a show.
So, yeah, I'm not a big fan of the fake crowd noise. The surreal nature of a silent gym, save for players/coaches yelling and shoes squeaking, is quite mesmerizing...
February 19th, 2021 at 9:40 AM ^
They should just use a laugh track during the games. Best of both worlds.
February 19th, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
Play the laugh track after misses by the visitors, and the "groan" sound after misses by the home team.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:19 AM ^
Give me the track every time. Even though I know it's fake, the game being so quiet is just so weird. I couldn't stand the Wisconsin game. I actually really loved the way the NBA managed to still create an interesting environment in the bubble which involved crowd noise, albeit much louder.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:20 AM ^
Not loving the fake crowd noise.
It would be better if it were appropriate for whatever's happening on the court...rather than the same noise over and over on a loop.
They should hire a DJ or a sound technician to operate the crowd noise.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:29 AM ^
Agreed. I could stomach it a little better if they came up with a much better system- I think the part that is giving me the headache is that every 5 seconds, you hear the sound of the lady scream and it is just bothering me.
It was the same with the first Lions game- within like 30 seconds I thought holy shit, they are doing the same thing over and over again on a 5 second loop.
February 19th, 2021 at 11:01 AM ^
I never noticed. My wife says I don’t listen though, so maybe she has a point.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:44 AM ^
Indeed. It's the loop of one volume of crowd noise that gets old really quick. That's how it felt in football as well.
February 19th, 2021 at 11:09 AM ^
Agreed. It isn't like there aren't a bunch of unemployed technicians in entertainment right now. Even a semi-competent one who can do something to turn the cheers off when nothing of note is happening would be better than the fake noise.
Comparisons to laugh tracks make no sense to me. At least the people doing the laugh track had a sense of what was going on during the show. I can basically tune that out. And if you read some of the production notes on the recording of shows back in the day, you can understand why live audiences just aren't always practical. (We are watching Barney Miller right now. Very funny show. Apparently routinely wrapped filming after midnight).
February 19th, 2021 at 8:22 AM ^
I'm about to just start watching games on mute anyways, announcing has gotten so bad...
180 fadeaway from just inside the 3pt line goes in = "great shot, that's really part of his game"
Wide open corner 3pt shot rims out = "he forced that, should've looked for another pass"
Whether or not a shot goes it does not determine if the shot selection was good/bad... Just like they will compliment a guy for being "really physical" if the refs miss a call.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:24 AM ^
That crew was particularly bad. The talking point last night was "Rutgers makes a lot of midrange jumpers." Every non three-point attempt became a midrange jumper. One step inside the line is a long two.
February 19th, 2021 at 11:44 AM ^
I was streaming the Rutgers game last night so don't know if that had any affect on the audio but at times it felt like the fake crowd noise was louder than the announcers.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:23 AM ^
Silent, no doubt. I don't get the headaches you do, but I just feel as if it is too fake for what is happening. Plus, when there is a "moment" in the game, they try and get the "moment" right with the noise, it just makes it worse.
Hearing the players talk, the shoes squeak, and just the game noises as if you are sitting front row is really unique. A little crowd noise, just talking in the background, but nothing you really notice, is the best blend for me.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:24 AM ^
I really don’t pay too much attention to it but with the crowd noise, even if it’s fake, it feels more “normal”. When all you hear is the ball bouncing and shoes squeaking in an empty gym it feels like you are watching noon ball at the Y. So give me the fake.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:24 AM ^
its real crowd noise, just borrowed from before VID. Its a nice reminder of the world before it went to shit.
February 19th, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^
The world is not that bad bud
February 19th, 2021 at 3:31 PM ^
No, the world was good from 4000 BC through OSUMC Wolverine's youth, but now it's bad.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:29 AM ^
The fake crowd noise is bothersome. I would prefer to just enjoy the game.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:35 AM ^
I dont mind the crowd noise, but I like hearing the Bench celebrating/cheering. Maybe lower the fake noise volume
February 19th, 2021 at 8:39 AM ^
I like fake crowd noise as much as I like canned laughter.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:34 AM ^
ha ha ha ha
February 19th, 2021 at 4:19 PM ^
Thanks. Now I hear it.
February 19th, 2021 at 11:45 AM ^
Homemade gravy, canned gravy, or gravy in a jar?
February 19th, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
It's like the canned cranberries which come out perfectly molded to the container when opened.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:44 AM ^
A few years back I had a friend that played G league (it was D league back then, prior to Gatorade sponsorship) and one of the road games they played was in a college gym with no fans, due to a scheduling conflict. He said everyone hated it, once you get used to playing in front of a crowd, the lack of noise sucked..... So I'm guessing the players, for the most part, would rather have canned noise on a loop, over no noise.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:46 AM ^
It's funny- I play pick up ball in leagues and when it's quiet, I do way better. When the smallish crowds start screaming and stuff, I freak out.
Probably why I never made it in the NBA.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:32 AM ^
That was 100% the reason.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:48 AM ^
SOME of it has to do with the fact I'm 5'8 and not super athletic.
But that's just a small portion of the whole story.
February 19th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
it never stopped spudd webb, doug flutie or paul kariya
February 19th, 2021 at 1:10 PM ^
Those dudes are CRAZY athletic lol
February 19th, 2021 at 8:46 AM ^
The first sporting event I watched since the start of the pandemic was some European soccer, without any artificial crowd noise. I loved being able to hear the communication going on between the players on the pitch. It is an aspect of the game (in any sport) that the average fan misses out on. I know the foul language is a big downside to it, but I think we have missed a good opportunity to learn more about the game by hearing the communication between players in the games.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:48 AM ^
The MLS bubble thing over the summer didn't have any crowd noise, just a mike'd up field. I thought it was cool as hell to hear the coaches and players communicating and reacting to the other team in real time.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:47 AM ^
i absolutely despise the fake crowd noise as it's currently presented, to the point where i've been watching long stretches of the games on mute.
as has been pointed out, if it was somehow tied to the action i'd almost get it. instead, it's literally just white noise - in an office environment, if you want to make things harder to hear you install a white noise system. that's all this does.
February 19th, 2021 at 11:13 AM ^
My band instructor in junior high played a sample of white noise for the class from a synthesizer, & it was just a hissing noise, the representation of all sounds. I thought to myself: shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Pretty underwhelming demonstration.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:58 AM ^
If it's done well I don't mind it. Last night it was awful.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:12 AM ^
Agreed. Last night was particularly loud and distracting. Not sure if it's an FS1 thing or if it's actually played inside the arena, but I felt like last night was much worse than normal.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:00 AM ^
No fake noise,please.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:04 AM ^
I'm fine with the fake noise (silent is weird as hell) but for the love of God STOP BLASTING IT LIKE IT'S THE GREATEST CROWD REACTION IN THE HISTORY OF CROWD REACTIONS ON EVERY FUCKING PLAY.
That's what drives me nuts.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:31 AM ^
This is my take as well. I watched for a bit last night and it was just blaring at the same level regardless of what was happening. Either tone it down a bit or produce it better.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:09 AM ^
Trick question. The correct answer is real fan noise.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:09 AM ^
I like hearing the sounds of the game: the communication of the players of the court as well as the cheers from the bench. Both if which are normally drowned out during regular games, so this is a silver lining of pandemic basketball.
February 19th, 2021 at 6:31 PM ^
Is it weird that I like the sound of all the shoes squeaking?
February 19th, 2021 at 9:17 AM ^
The crowd noise was less than ideal. If they changed the intensity based on what was happening it would probably be much better. As it was it just sounded like a less annoying version of a vuvusela swarm.
The real problem was the constant foul whistles in the 2nd half that were a load of shit. My ears hurt more from that unnecessary BS than anything else.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:18 AM ^
Dang, you are "Curious Leo"!
February 19th, 2021 at 9:21 AM ^
Who cares what the fans think? All about what the players prefer. Mute it if you hate it on TV and read the closed captions or something.
I don't think they were pumping it into Crisler until after the Oakland game.
Watching on TV, seemed like part of the issue vs. Oakland was that for the players, the totally "dead" atmosphere made it more difficult for them to get into the game, and then I remember noting that I heard the fake noise for the first time in the Ball State game a few days later.
Who knows if it is a mental trick or has made any difference, but if the players like it, keep doing exactly what they want.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
Uh, well, it's a message board, and we aren't players. That's why I'm asking.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:30 AM ^
Not a big hoops fan anyone so i've watched very little this year as I don't like watching without crowds. I watched a bit last night and I was really distracted by the loud and constant fake crowd noise. I don't mind a little here and there, but constant fake noise really turned me off.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:34 AM ^
I wouldn't mind it if they would just turn the volume knob down from 11 to something like 5. I was quite disturbed by it when Michigan was shooting free throws. The artificiality of it was fully on display - no home crowd will be that shrill and annoying when home free throws are attempted. And like a few others, I really appreciated hearing snippets of communication on and off the court when they didn't add fake crowd noise to the mix.