On Tue, 10 Jan 1995, Greg Berge wrote: > The major factor in crowd response, I am more and more convinced, is whether > there is a band. 90% of fans are only going to cheer when there is a big play: > a goal, a big hit, an exceptional save. The band helps keep the casual, > facetime fans vocal even during periods of slow action. I'd add a couple of qualifications to the band issue: 1. If it's a good band (i.e., assortment of tunes, ability to carry same, etc.) -- there's nothing worse than a band that decides to start playing just as the PA announcer is trying to announce penalties and goals. 2. I think a well-orchestrated student section can be just as (if not more than) effective as a band. Visiting teams "hate" crowd noise more than music, and the student section seems to have the ability to get the old fogies (fogeys?) fired up between goals. FWIW. Debbie \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Debbie Somers NCAA Div III National Champs UW-Stevens Point 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91,1992-93 [log in to unmask] ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "The right to be heard does not include the right to be taken seriously." Hubert H. Humphrey