Maximizing Crowd Impact on the Field

[bandkid]

I’m beginning to accept that I’m old. If I go to any football game I just want to watch football. Not see people or commercials on a Jumbotron. Only thing I want to see on a big screen is replays or an occasional graphic to fire up a crowd. Not have my senses attacked by ear splitting music or commercials played on the stadium speakers. Especially if it’s rap. I don’t want to stare at a mobile device and miss game action. But I get that the modern day game includes all that. Especially if the goal is to keep people engaged for the inevitable marketing of products.

A lot of high school stadiums now have LED field lighting that can be dimmed and controlled for any type of sequence. Maybe those will be a future enhancement of Indian Stadium.

FWIW, I don’t recall music being played at the college games as much as it was at AT&T during the championship. Alabama only played it before the game and during commercial breaks, and it was a way better playlist (Sweet Home Alabama, Dixieland Delight, Friends in Low Places, etc.). The Superdome only played music before and after the game. For that matter, I don’t recall AT&T playing as much music during the Cotton Bowl last year.

The professional stadium staffs need to show the bands more respect at the high school level.

 

[IndianFan]

All good ideas. The more ‘traditional’ among us don’t need or want all the extras. Give us a good team, a good band and a comfortable seat and it’s all good. But the cutting edge ideas can certainly be worked in and appeal to a lot of people that are not boomer age or just like all the extras. But it’s cool for everyone to also be able to relate to the basics.

I wasn’t around then but I’ve seen photos from the olden days (1940s?) where the men wore suits and hats and women wore dresses and hats to the PNG games. Those stands were full. Those crowds were ultra focused on the game with no distractions. Now that was a full blown social event in the community. Times change though but that was pretty cool when you think about it.

 

[Usedtocould]

The trick isn’t getting people to put down the phone. This is 2023. That’s not going to happen. The trick is finding a way to incorporate phone usage into the atmosphere of the game as a means of keeping fans focused.

I attended the Sugar Bowl over the weekend. Before the game, an announcement came over the PA system encouraging attendees to use the QR code they put up on every screen in the stadium to download a specially made app. When the app was downloaded, people held up their phones, and the flashlights in all the phones began flickering in coordination with the stadium lights and the fireworks as the teams ran out onto the field in the Superdome. At Bryant-Denny, the cheerleaders have started encouraging fans to hold up their phones with the flashlight on while they do the wave in the stadium with lights dimmed during commercial breaks.

It all comes back to fan engagement. The spirit groups and stadium staffs at the college and professional levels find creative ways to keep the fans fired up and focused on the field. They’ve specifically figured out how to incorporate smartphones into that process, knowing everyone has one and checks it every few minutes these days. They’ve brilliantly turned the fans’ biggest distractions into another means of engaging the fans. Add in a winning team or a good game, and you’ve got a recipe for a very amped up stadium atmosphere.

Now, how do you make phones a part of the experience at Indian Stadium? I doubt PN-G has the resources to design its own app, or that the lights in Indian Stadium have a dimmer switch. But, I bet we can put an announcement up on the jumbotron early in the game encouraging fans to take pictures of themselves and their friends wearing their purple in the stands and post them with a certain hashtag or a certain location tag on Twitter or Facebook. Then, we can have the social media gurus in the pressbox string together collages of the best pictures to be played on the jumbotron during a timeout in the second half of the game. Think of it as the poor man’s version of fans seeing themselves on the jumbotron live thanks to a sideline camera crew in a professional stadium.

100%

 

[Usedtocould]

Like the story of Kodak passing on digital photo technology

You have to move along with technology and the times to keep up

 

[Usedtocould]

Phone app with game facts -history- pictures programs
Down and distance stats
Bios
Game replays
Student run
Texarkana gameday could be passed by fan and student participation at PNG within a year or two

 

[bandkid]

Like the story of Kodak passing on digital photo technology

You have to move along with technology and the times to keep up

Exactly.

 

[Usedtocould]

I also wouldn’t be against Cherokee in the can (maybe even a different “sound”)
for when a TD happens and the band is qued up getting ready for halftime (home games)
Just ideas. some insta mob
Reactions/yells (what’s that term for when a crowd starts something seemingly spontaneously but planned) ?

 

[IndianFan]

The thoughts on keeping the crowd engaged is certainly ideal but speaking as someone who has been eyes deep in software and technology for a long, long time, and a person who has delivered information and content to PNG football fans for 20+ years, I’m relatively certain that technology and information is not the answer to solve all fan apathy or disinterest. Some people enjoy that but it’s ultimately all about the wins and the excitement that winning brings. Greatness attracts a lot of fans. The cool ideas of physically engaging the crowd with traditional and non-traditional elements will go a long way towards keeping the game excitement higher and add a bit of intimidation for the opposing fan benefit. It seems that there are some effective ways to do that with a high school crowd and stadium but, at the end of the day, trying to use every means to entice fans to go to road games or control the or attention is an expensive and tall order to achieve.

 

[rodney12345678]

All good ideas. The more ‘traditional’ among us don’t need or want all the extras. Give us a good team, a good band and a comfortable seat and it’s all good. But the cutting edge ideas can certainly be worked in and appeal to a lot of people that are not boomer age or just like all the extras. But it’s cool for everyone to also be able to relate to the basics.

I wasn’t around then but I’ve seen photos from the olden days (1940s?) where the men wore suits and hats and women wore dresses and hats to the PNG games. Those stands were full. Those crowds were ultra focused on the game with no distractions. Now that was a full blown social event in the community. Times change though but that was pretty cool when you think about it.

me either i go for the game not all that music band is what i want to hear

 

[bandkid]

Bumping this back to the top of the stack now that next season is on the horizon.

 

[NHSBulldogFan]

I was, and remain, immensely proud to to see our crowd sizes start to grow again this season. We outnumbered the Brenham fans in the third round at least five to one. In both the quarterfinal and the semifinal, we sold out our side of the stadium and had fans sitting on the other side of the stadium. We brought upwards of 20,000 fans with us to Arlington. I think it's safe to say that PN-G's fan support is making a comeback.

I think that's tied to the increased success on the field. People like to root for a winning team. And I think we're going to continue to rack up big wins as long as Coach Joseph offices in Port Neches. That, in turn, means that our fan support will likely continue to grow during the seasons ahead, in my view.

With that in mind, I think it's appropriate to have a conversation about the ways we can maximize the fan impact on the games. It was clear as day to me that our fans impacted those last four playoff games. In particular, I'm convinced rowdy crowds chanting "de-fense" at the top of their lungs forced several false starts by the offenses of Brenham, Fort Bend Marshall, Liberty Hill and South Oak Cliff. It also seriously fired our boys up, and you only need to look at their social media to see how much they appreciated it. The same goes for the coaches.

I think our band impacted the game, too. Particularly in the Brenham and Marshall games, Mr. Wells and his staff seemed to get much more aggressive with the band while opposing teams were on offense. The Indian Band played the War Chant a lot more this season than it has in prior seasons, and the effect on the field and in the stands alike was noticeable. Francis Schroeder shared some comments Liberty Hill fans made about it on his Facebook last week.

College teams specifically curate their spirit groups and fan experiences to maximize fan impact on the games. If there's a high school fan base anywhere in the country capable of doing that, it has to be the Indian Faithful. So, now that we're in the offseason, what are some ways that we can do that next season?

There was alot of fans that went to AT&T that bleed black and gold...

 

[bandkid]

There was alot of fans that went to AT&T that bleed black and gold...

And I’m proud they joined us. Just as proud as I am of all the fans of other local schools. I saw logos from Nederland, Lumberton, WO-S, Memorial, Bridge City, Orangefield, LC-M, Hamshire-Fannett and more.

Southeast Texas really sticks together.

 

[IndianFan]

Everybody likes to watch a good team. Nederland will have more success again someday.

 

[IndianFan]

There was alot of fans that went to AT&T that bleed black and gold...

A good percentage of them probably have original purple and white blood inconspicuously flowing through their heart.

 

[1989NDN]

At AT&T, I sat in a section with fans from Nederland (a family of 6), and I met PN-G alumni from Houston, Dallas, Frisco, Greenville, and a 1965 PN-G graduate who had her daughter and son-in-law drive her to the game from a small town north of Dallas. It was great to see all the purple and white at AT&T...and the support from friends in Nederland. Success in HS football is cyclical. It will be Nederland's turn again soon. PN-G and Nederland are a lot alike. The talent pools come and go. When you get a talented group of kids and match it up with great coaching (Ethridge, Neuman, Burnett, Faircloth, and Joseph) you get a great season.

 

[NHSBulldogFan]

At AT&T, I sat in a section with fans from Nederland (a family of 6), and I met PN-G alumni from Houston, Dallas, Frisco, Greenville, and a 1965 PN-G graduate who had her daughter and son-in-law drive her to the game from a small town north of Dallas. It was great to see all the purple and white at AT&T...and the support from friends in Nederland. Success in HS football is cyclical. It will be Nederland's turn again soon. PN-G and Nederland are a lot alike. The talent pools come and go. When you get a talented group of kids and match it up with great coaching (Ethridge, Neuman, Burnett, Faircloth, and Joseph) you get a great season.

With our current coaching staff it won't happen

 

[NHSBulldogFan]

A good percentage of them probably have original purple and white blood inconspicuously flowing through their heart.

Indians marry Bulldogs all the time

 

[IndianFan]

Indians marry Bulldogs all the time

People move around too. Current parents may have attended PN-G schools, eventually moved to Nederland and put their kids in NISD schools. In that case they must change allegiance on the surface to support their kids who grew up as Bulldogs. The playoffs are good cover for those parents to fullfill their Indian Spirit voids.

 

[IndianFan]

People move around too. Current parents may have attended PN-G schools, eventually moved to Nederland and put their kids in NISD schools. In that case they must change allegiance on the surface to support their kids who grew up as Bulldogs. The playoffs are good cover for those parents to fullfill their Indian Spirit voids.

What did you expect from a PN-G message board.

More than a few of the opposite examples as well I’m sure. Ned grads moved into ‘enemy’ territory.

 

[bandkid]

Bringing this thread back up for those of y’all watching the Florida State-LSU game tonight. Florida State makes incredibly effective use of the War Chant and its various variants. It keeps the crowd on their feet the entire game. In my opinion, Florida State’s band, cheerleaders and mascot are the best in college football at maximizing the crowd factor in their games. The Doak is a very difficult place to play.

PN-G did a good job of playing War Chant at critical junctures last season, especially during the playoffs. The band’s aggression had an impact on the field. Would love to see more of that.