the wave

[thunderkyss]

ya win the game in their dumbass way or dont win the game at all. what a great fanbase

Whatever pisses you off the most.....

Look, it stupid to think we don't know what we are doing. Most of the fans in my section have been there for years. We're all PSL owners.

You go on thinking what you want while you're jerking off & watching the game on TV... switching to the other game during commercials, going to the bathroom & what not.

But if we see another game like that at home... an offense just waiting for the other team to catch up, I'll lead the wave myself.

 

[Craig.]

What about the guy who gets out of his seat and waves his arms down to quiet down the section? Or the guy who gets up and yells first down?

To be fair, it's usually the same guy.

 

[Porky]

I was watching the game with my girlfriend, and all the sudden I hear all this crowd noise. She's like what's up with the crowd? Meanwhile, my face is turning red out of frustration, and then I let out a string of expletives yelling at the IGNORANT fans thru my TV to STFU! I was almost positive it was some lame-ass wave althought they mercifully didn't show it.

If you want to do the wave, go to a dance club. Otherwise, if you cannot HELP the team while attending the game, stay the hell home. I swear if I could have come thru the TV I would have. Why the freak are you participating in something that was new when leisure suits were in? If you are that bored, stay the hell home. Some of us are actually interested in seeing the team win.

I even had my GF call her 18 yr old daughter who was at the game and I was screaming thru the phone - DONT DO THE WAVE when the Texans are on offense.

TRULY one of the absouloute most brain-dead and lamest things I have ever seen our lame fan base do at a game. You guys should be embarrased and taken to the woodshed for about 100 lashes, and your fan card has been hearby revoked.

 

[Arsenal]

When I go to a game. I will sit with my hands interlocked and between my legs while twiddling my thumbs. I will be bored and look side to with a lost look in my eyes. All because I shouldn't have fun at the stadium.

 

[gtexan02]

Sometimes I think fans forget that football is a serious business and that if you can't follow the rules, you shouldn't be allowed to be a fan. It should be enforced like golf in my opinion. A polite, quiet clap to let the team know you're "there" but nothing more. Anyone who cheers loudly at the incorrect times should be immediately escorted out.

Just because you paid for a ticket does not mean you have a right to be there. It is a privelage that you are being given to be allowed to witness football, not a right.


(Internet sarcasm, for those of you with defective filters )

I'm kidding, but seriously I think the reactions that I'm reading here seem a little overblown. This was never a close game, really. Football is entertainment, first and foremost. When they play obnoxious sounds over the loud speakers, or run the players on the field with fire, have women dressed in sexy outfits dancing, or have a giant guy in a bull costume walking around cheering its all for entertainment. Because thats the name of the game, when it comes right down to it.

I'm sure you could cut out a lot of the entertainment aspects to the game and actually improve the product on the field, but football is not just a business. Its also there to be fun.

My sound sucks on tv, so I wasn't able to hear the wave as clearly as many of you seemed to able to, but I highly doubt that it had that much of an impact on the game. The only reasons we were going to lose that game were turnovers (Schuab and Tate), and neither of those plays could possibly have been impacted by the wave.

Our fanbase seems a little hyperserious at times. Which is ironic to me because you can tell that the players think of it equally as serious business and fun.

Id much rather have an overactive crowd that cheers at the wrong time than an apathetic crowd like the Jaguars that needs tarps to fill their seats

 

[houstonspartan]

Sometimes I think fans forget that football is a serious business and that if you can't follow the rules, you shouldn't be allowed to be a fan. It should be enforced like golf in my opinion. A polite, quiet clap to let the team know you're "there" but nothing more. Anyone who cheers loudly at the incorrect times should be immediately escorted out.

Just because you paid for a ticket does not mean you have a right to be there. It is a privelage that you are being given to be allowed to witness football, not a right.


(Internet sarcasm, for those of you with defective filters )

I'm kidding, but seriously I think the reactions that I'm reading here seem a little overblown. This was never a close game, really. Football is entertainment, first and foremost. When they play obnoxious sounds over the loud speakers, or run the players on the field with fire, have women dressed in sexy outfits dancing, or have a giant guy in a bull costume walking around cheering its all for entertainment. Because thats the name of the game, when it comes right down to it.

I'm sure you could cut out a lot of the entertainment aspects to the game and actually improve the product on the field, but football is not just a business. Its also there to be fun.

My sound sucks on tv, so I wasn't able to hear the wave as clearly as many of you seemed to able to, but I highly doubt that it had that much of an impact on the game. The only reasons we were going to lose that game were turnovers (Schuab and Tate), and neither of those plays could possibly have been impacted by the wave.

Our fanbase seems a little hyperserious at times. Which is ironic to me because you can tell that the players think of it equally as serious business and fun.

Id much rather have an overactive crowd that cheers at the wrong time than an apathetic crowd like the Jaguars that needs tarps to fill their seats

I don't think anyone is saying that the country is going to collapse or that the world is going to end because some fans were doing the wave. Some of us were just frustrated that it went on too long and got a bit too loud, which may or may not have led to a false start on our part.

This is all fun and entertainment. No doubt. But part of the fun and entertaiment is winning and helping our team win whenever we can.

Who knows what could happen down the line if the stadium got a bit too loud while on offense and an advance in the playoffs could be on the line? That sounds dramatic, but, again, it's Football 101.

 

[Porky]

The point is knowledgable fans all over the NFL know when to get loud and bang their feat and clap their hands - and apparently one stupid ass fanbase does not. End of story.

 

[Mr teX]

Needing a bullhorn to sound off so people can get into the stadium for kickoff on time.....cheering for an opposing qb when he scores a winning TD to beat us.....getting carried away with crap like the wave when our offense is on the field...its just par for the course with our fan base which is why i don't like going to games. I mean it's crap like that that makes me really question the knowledge of our fan base at times.

I won't go so far as to call anyone stupid...but i just don't understand us sometimes.

 

[thunderkyss]

If you want to do the wave, go to a dance club. Otherwise, if you cannot HELP the team while attending the game, stay the hell home. I swear if I could have come thru the TV I would have. Why the freak are you participating in something that was new when leisure suits were in? If you are that bored, stay the hell home. Some of us are actually interested in seeing the team win.

I even had my GF call her 18 yr old daughter who was at the game and I was screaming thru the phone - DONT DO THE WAVE when the Texans are on offense.

TRULY one of the absouloute most brain-dead and lamest things I have ever seen our lame fan base do at a game. You guys should be embarrased and taken to the woodshed for about 100 lashes, and your fan card has been hearby revoked.

Then bring your ass out to Reliant & tell them to stop. Don't be sitting on your couch telling us how ignorant we are.

If you want to help the Texans win, be there & stop the wave.

 

[thunderkyss]

The point is knowledgable fans all over the NFL know when to get loud and bang their feat and clap their hands - and apparently one stupid ass fanbase does not. End of story.

We could have just got up & walked out... I guess that's one way of letting them know we aren't happy with what we are seeing.

I'd rather do the wave while they are on offense, that way I can still see Cushing knock the crap out of somebody.

 

[Norg]

i think this thread is another indicator of how the texans as a fanbase kinda sucks. fair play to aj for saying it in his piece because its a bit taboo.

yeah you pay your money so you can do what you want but theres plenty of ppl around the country doing the same and not doing dumb **** just because the offence is 'boring' (21 pts thru 3 q's against a very good D)

the team is winning and yet the crowd is still coming in late, leaving early etc so there goes that 'we're sick of losing' excuse thats been clung to by so many

we were 5-2 !!! last year excuse me if we know not to think to far ahead yet

 

[Double Barrel]

I'm tempted to lock this thread.

We are 5-3, 3-0 against division opponents, and a thread about the wave and clueless hometown fans is the biggest the day after a win?

Who cares.... If someone pays for the ticket....they can do what ever they want. Last time I looked, it wasn't illegal. I didn't see anything wrong with it, it was actually fun to watch and brought back some good memories.

You're right! You can even put on a Jaguars jersey and wave a teal pompom since it's your ticket! You go, boy!

When the coaches and players are making the get quiet arm motion (including Schaub who was probably having problems hearing the play the way he held his helmet) and they Scoreboard guys flash 'Quiet - Offense at Work' and the wave continues and gets louder for a few minutes, well, that is asinine.

I think the crowd noise might have had something to do with the flase start and I was yelling at my section to shut the heck up because we were on offense.

Jeesh...can you imagine this if we host a playoff game? For real???

[NASALLY VOICE] "Weeee'rrrrre juuuust haaaaving fuuuUn. Why don't you shut up you party pooooper!"

Seriously, folks, the key to having a homefield advantage:

1) Good defense

2) Hometown crowd that knows when to get loud (i.e. when our defense is on the field).

There is no other way a homefield advantage works. It's simple, so even the simpletons can comprehend it.

Do any of you remember the House of Pain? I do. We did not make noise when our offense was on the field. Other teams hated playing here because our fans were smart.

I just find it funny that the wave is turning out to be one of the most discussed topics coming out of a winning effort for the Texans. You can't make this stuff up.

yep. Our fanbase is suffering from some kind of post-traumatic stress disorder from so many years without a playoff team.

Reliant Stadium......home of the Anti-Homefield advantage

lol! Yep...hopefully it doesn't stay that way. Can you imagine NFLN and ESPN if we cost our offense a potentially game winning drive in the playoffs because fans wanted to do the wave?

When I go to a game. I will sit with my hands interlocked and between my legs while twiddling my thumbs. I will be bored and look side to with a lost look in my eyes. All because I shouldn't have fun at the stadium.

Winning not fun enough for ya'?

The point is knowledgable fans all over the NFL know when to get loud and bang their feat and clap their hands - and apparently one stupid ass fanbase does not. End of story.

Sad, but true.

From AJ's column:

The bad:

•The fans. What a terrible showing today. Arrived late, left early, sat on their hands until some fools in the upper reaches of the south end zone started the 'wave' when the Texans had the ball on a key drive in the fourth quarter. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. The Texans had just forced a three-and-out and got the ball back in good field position with 11:35 remaining in the game. They had the lead (21-7) and the momentum, and were poised for a clock killing drive to put the Jags out of their misery. Instead, some geniuses decide that they're bored and start the wave which to my horror, picked up in intensity to the point where it caused Mike Brisiel to false start on a 2nd and 9 with 9:49 remaining. The stadium scoreboard operators frantically put up the "Quiet Offense at Work" thing on the big screen but it was too late. The clueless Texans fans/lemmings were having too much fun looking at each other and jumping up and down than to worry about what was going on with the game. One play after Brisiel's false start, Ben Tate fumbled and the momentum swung to the Jags who seven plays later cut the lead to 21-14. The Texans run a "Best Fans in the National Football League" segment before games to honor the home crowd (AC/DC's "For those about to rock, we salute you) complete with fire coming out of the chute where the players enter the field and fake crowd noise pumped in through the sound system. Best fans in the NFL? I don't think so. The Texans have a small core of great fans, but collectively they're far from the best in the NFL. What happened today was as dumb as it gets in terms of fans 'getting it.'

 

[Norg]

I have no idea what you're trying to get at right here, but ok.

im sayin there could of been a empty stadium there and our O would of still pitched 3 and outs

 

[thunderkyss]

What happened today was as dumb as it gets in terms of fans 'getting it.' [/B]

If you're thinking we don't get it.... then yeah, that statement is correct.

But I was at the game. I know the guys sitting in my row. I know the guys sitting in the row below me & above me.

We get it. So what happened yesterday, was not about the fans not getting it.

It was more about the guys on the field & on the sidelines not getting it.

 

[thunderkyss]

im sayin there could of been a empty stadium there and our O would of still pitched 3 and outs

And somebody (more than likely Winston) would still get a false start.

 

[Norg]

The point is knowledgable fans all over the NFL know when to get loud and bang their feat and clap their hands - and apparently one stupid ass fanbase does not. End of story.

Yes one day one day we will be like the steelers fans .......

but u know why that hasent happend yet ..... Cause we dont win on a constant basis

And i missed the wave : ( im on the part of the stadium were the sunlight is beaming down on me the hole game !!!!! so i cant stand to be in my seat all 4 qtrs or else i would bake so i go to the bar area and watch a few mins there and then go back to my seat and vise versa

 

[Ryan]

Biggest overreaction thread i've ever seen. And of all the things to nitpick about.

 

[thunderkyss]

Biggest overreaction thread i've ever seen. And of all the things to nitpick about.

It's been pretty easy to keep this one going though...

almost fun even.

 

[Double Barrel]

If you're thinking we don't get it.... then yeah, that statement is correct.

But I was at the game. I know the guys sitting in my row. I know the guys sitting in the row below me & above me.

We get it. So what happened yesterday, was not about the fans not getting it.

It was more about the guys on the field & on the sidelines not getting it.

That was an Alan Burge quote. He knows that fans did not get it.

The guys on the field? No man, it's basic stuff as a football fan.

You can argue until you are blue in the face, but if doing the wave and making noise while the offense is on the field is what you are trying to defend, then you are simply wrong.

NFL history, common sense, and fans of championship teams are on the opposing side. Good luck with that argument.

 

[thunderkyss]

That was an Alan Burge quote. He knows that fans did not get it.

The guys on the field? No man, it's basic stuff as a football fan.

You can argue until you are blue in the face, but if doing the wave and making noise while the offense is on the field is what you are trying to defend, then you are simply wrong.

NFL history, common sense, and fans of championship teams are on the opposing side. Good luck with that argument.

I'm saying I was there. I saw the wave, and I told the guy next to me, "we're on offense" He said,"we're going to go 3 & out anyway" paraphrasing of course.

No one was expecting the offense to do anything unless we had a really short field.

 

[Trail.Blazr]

I was yelling at my section to shut the heck up because we were on offense.

I can imagine how effective THAT was... lol

 

[TwistedGnarl]

I was watching the game with my girlfriend, and all the sudden I hear all this crowd noise. She's like what's up with the crowd? Meanwhile, my face is turning red out of frustration, and then I let out a string of expletives yelling at the IGNORANT fans thru my TV to STFU! I was almost positive it was some lame-ass wave althought they mercifully didn't show it.

If you want to do the wave, go to a dance club. Otherwise, if you cannot HELP the team while attending the game, stay the hell home. I swear if I could have come thru the TV I would have. Why the freak are you participating in something that was new when leisure suits were in? If you are that bored, stay the hell home. Some of us are actually interested in seeing the team win.

I even had my GF call her 18 yr old daughter who was at the game and I was screaming thru the phone - DONT DO THE WAVE when the Texans are on offense.

TRULY one of the absouloute most brain-dead and lamest things I have ever seen our lame fan base do at a game. You guys should be embarrased and taken to the woodshed for about 100 lashes, and your fan card has been hearby revoked.

If you are that angry, get out your wallet, buy a ticket, go to the game, and police everyone there on how to behave. Good luck with that, by the way, since by my count there were 70,000+ fans participating in the wave.

Until then, you can continue to spew your impotent rage at the television set and scream at your girlfriend's poor daughter while people who spend actual dollars in support of the team show up on gameday and do whatever it is they want.

To all of you who did not attend the game and are disparaging the 70,000 fans who attended the game and participated in the wave, you guys are superfans, right? You know better. The wave is ignorant. Etc. etc. You all know the 'right' way to support the team, correct?

Well get this. The Actual American Dollars which those 70,000 ticketholders spent go infinitely further towards supporting the Houston Texans than all of this whining and complaining on a message board.

My suggestion: put your money where your mouth is. If you are truly that appalled, get out your wallet, go to the game, and be that asshole screaming at the thousands of people around (enjoying themselves and having a good time) to shut up and sit down.

 

[Kthx]

This is just honestly not the right place to be complaining about it, all joke posts aside and people arguing for the sake of arguing I really doubt anyone who bothers to log into a forum and talk about Texans football all week would actually go out there and make an ass out of themselves as a fan. I mean put up some signs, pass out flyers at the front gate, make the cheerleaders wear pom-poms that say no-wave when we have the ball. I am just saying you are preaching the choir is all.

 

[gtexan02]

It sounds like some of you give yourselves too much credit in believing you're influencing the play of guys on the field.

The wave was what caused Mike Briesel to false start? How do we know this? What proof is there? How many false starts has Briesel had this year? In years past? And how many were due to sloppy play vs crowd noise?

The point is, home field advantage has a very minor affect on NFL football. The consensus is between 1 and 3 points, at most. Thats a combination of sleeping in your own house, not traveling, playing on your own field, more practice time, and also home crowd advantage--part of which includes noise.

In today's NFL in which the players have headsets which allow them to speak to the coaches and all teams should and are coached to deal with noisy environments, the affect of screaming fans is exceedingly minimal.

Does crowd noise lead to false starts? Yes and no. Noisy environments can definitely make it difficult for QBs to speak with their line, but well coached teams should never have a problem with this. A well coached team watches the ball, as Briesel should have done.

I honestly cannot believe so many people are calling out the fans for doing the wave when were up 14 points in the 4th quarter.

There is so much self-loathing and comparison to other fan bases. How many of you have actually ever been to away games? I've seen the wave at multiple NFL stadiums. I've seen it in Foxboro. I've seen it in DC. Why is it that only Texans fan are so self-insulting. We are worse to each other than other fan bases are to their rivals.

 

[Runner]

I'm tempted to lock this thread.

Wait a minute - I thought this was a light-hearted joke thread, parodying Internet tough talk and "I'm a better fan than you".

 

[b0ng]

This is a thing? Really?

who ****ing cares.

 

[thunderkyss]

If you are that angry, get out your wallet, buy a ticket, go to the game, and police everyone there on how to behave. Good luck with that, by the way, since by my count there were 70,000+ fans participating in the wave.

Until then, you can continue to spew your impotent rage at the television set and scream at your girlfriend's poor daughter while people who spend actual dollars in support of the team show up on gameday and do whatever it is they want.

To all of you who did not attend the game and are disparaging the 70,000 fans who attended the game and participated in the wave, you guys are superfans, right? You know better. The wave is ignorant. Etc. etc. You all know the 'right' way to support the team, correct?

Well get this. The Actual American Dollars which those 70,000 ticketholders spent go infinitely further towards supporting the Houston Texans than all of this whining and complaining on a message board.

My suggestion: put your money where your mouth is. If you are truly that appalled, get out your wallet, go to the game, and be that asshole screaming at the thousands of people around (enjoying themselves and having a good time) to shut up and sit down.

You know, that's going a little too far. If a person prioritizes their money differently than you or I, that's no knock on them or their fandom.

They have just as much right to ***** as we have for doing the wave.

I think they are way off base... it's not that we don't get it, it's not that we are ignorant.. that's the real argument, I think.

But this is no reason to get into a "real fan" argument. They'll lock this thread quicker than ****, because those never end well.

 

[RTP2110]

Well get this. The Actual American Dollars which those 70,000 ticketholders spent go infinitely further towards supporting the Houston Texans than all of this whining and complaining on a message board.

My suggestion: put your money where your mouth is. If you are truly that appalled, get out your wallet, go to the game, and be that asshole screaming at the thousands of people around (enjoying themselves and having a good time) to shut up and sit down.

More fuel for the theory that with rising prices on tickets, parking, concessions, & PSLs, the Texans, and most teams, have priced out their most of their passionate and knowledgeable fans.

 

[thunderkyss]

This is just honestly not the right place to be complaining about it, all joke posts aside and people arguing for the sake of arguing I really doubt anyone who bothers to log into a forum and talk about Texans football all week would actually go out there and make an ass out of themselves as a fan. I mean put up some signs, pass out flyers at the front gate, make the cheerleaders wear pom-poms that say no-wave when we have the ball. I am just saying you are preaching the choir is all.

I swear, the main "cheer-leader" in our section was the main guy trying to get the wave going. He's normally the same guy who tells people to be quiet on offense. It's not that he didn't know any better, or any of the guys in my section & I know most of them.

We all know the proper "etiquette" But that wasn't the point.


Let me ask this way.

Imagine we were doing it during the Raiders game. We lost that game anyway, we won this game, so let's say it doesn't affect the outcome of the game.

We are telling (in my mind) those people on the sidelines that this offense laying down just ain't the Texans way. Stop trying not to lose, mix it up & try to win.

 

[rush2112mn]

Maybe the Texans need to run that Quiet Please ....Offense at work.....every time the offense has the ball.....they did start running it after the wave went around the stadium a few times.....

If you want to run the wave go ahead ..just do it when the Texans are on defense.

Anything...and I mean Anything that causes our offensive not to hear as well while plays are being called at Reliant is just wrong. You are helping the opposing team's defense...why? There is no excuse for that.

I think they need to run a message before the game too.......

 

[thunderkyss]

It sounds like some of you give yourselves way too much credit in believing you're influencing the play of guys on the field.

The wave was what caused Mike Briesel to false start? How do we know this? What proof is there? How many false starts has Briesel had this year? In years past? And how many were due to sloppy play vs crowd noise?

It's not like we are going to audible or anything.

 

[RTP2110]

We are telling (in my mind) those people on the sidelines that this offense laying down just ain't the Texans way. Stop trying not to lose, mix it up & try to win.

I understand your logic here, but I must ask, do you really think it will accomplish anything? Do you really think Gary Kubiak is going to look up and see the wave going around, and think to himself, "Oh ****, the fans are doing the wave; I better change up the play calling'.

You could make the same point more productively by just booing the offense after a three and out.

 

[Double Barrel]

If you are that angry, get out your wallet, buy a ticket, go to the game, and police everyone there on how to behave. Good luck with that, by the way, since by my count there were 70,000+ fans participating in the wave.

It's basic stuff as a fan. I don't think anyone is as angry as you seem to perceive - or as angry as you seem to be about it - but it's simple common sense stuff.

To all of you who did not attend the game and are disparaging the 70,000 fans who attended the game and participated in the wave, you guys are super fans, right? You know better. The wave is ignorant. Etc. etc. You all know the 'right' way to support the team, correct?

Nobody is claiming to be "super fan". But I know for certain who is not "super fan", and that is people that make a bunch of noise while our offense is on the field.

Basic stuff here, nothing that hard to comprehend.

Well get this. The Actual American Dollars which those 70,000 ticketholders spent go infinitely further towards supporting the Houston Texans than all of this whining and complaining on a message board.

Actual American Dollars can also buy Jaguars jerseys and teal pompoms if that's who you need to root for at the game. Because that is what you are doing when you cheer for the Jaguars defense.

Basic stuff here, nothing that hard to comprehend.

It sounds like some of you give yourselves way too much credit in believing you're influencing the play of guys on the field.

A few years ago the Texans used to keep a running tally on false starts and fumbled Center/QB exchanges that were a direct result of excessive crowd noise.

You are being naive if you think homefield advantage is not something tangible for good teams. NFL history proves it to be true, as does anecdotal evidence by old Oiler fans who were at the House of Pain in it's heyday.

I just hope our fans understand this simple stuff if we host a playoff game. Homefield advantage can make a difference. Just ask 7-9 Seattle last year when they beat the Saints. There is a reason that the Seahawks stole the "12th Man" idea from Texas A&M.

 

[cdollaz]

The wave is so tired and played. Are we gonna dump Gatorade on Kubiak if we win the division, too?

 

[infantrycak]

If your own team is telling you to shut-up you are wrong.

A few years ago the Texans used to keep a running tally on false starts and fumbled Center/QB exchanges that were a direct result of excessive crowd noise.

You are being naive if you think homefield advantage is not something tangible for good teams. NFL history proves it to be true, as does anecdotal evidence by old Oiler fans who were at the House of Pain in it's heyday.

I just hope our fans understand this simple stuff if we host a playoff game. Homefield advantage can make a difference. Just ask 7-9 Seattle last year when they beat the Saints. There is a reason that the Seahawks stole the "12th Man" idea from Texas A&M.

Yup. Add in wasted timeouts. It is really obvious a lot of the time when noise causes a problem.

 

[badboy]

It sounds like some of you give yourselves way too much credit in believing you're influencing the play of guys on the field.

The wave was what caused Mike Briesel to false start? How do we know this? What proof is there? How many false starts has Briesel had this year? In years past? And how many were due to sloppy play vs crowd noise?

The point is, home field advantage has a very minor affect on NFL football. The consensus is between 1 and 3 points, at most. Thats a combination of sleeping in your own house, not traveling, playing on your own field, more practice time, and also home crowd advantage--part of which includes noise.

In today's NFL in which the players have headsets which allow them to speak to the coaches and all teams should and are coached to deal with noisy environments, the affect of screaming fans is exceedingly minimal.

Does crowd noise lead to false starts? Yes and no. Noisy environments can definitely make it difficult for QBs to speak with their line, but well coached teams should never have a problem with this. A well coached team watches the ball, as Briesel should have done.

I honestly cannot believe so many people are calling out the fans for doing the wave when were up 14 points in the 4th quarter.

There is so much self-loathing and comparison to other fan bases. How many of you have actually ever been to away games? I've seen the wave at multiple NFL stadiums. I've seen it in Foxboro. I've seen it in DC. Why is it that only Texans fan are so self-insulting. We are worse to each other than other fan bases are to their rivals.

Talk about perceptive! I just got this tweeter on my CB radio from Biesel that the wave did indeed cause his false start. "Yep did it. Eric started giggling & I thought at first it was about the crack er chop block complaints. Just the play before he said 'Brie, he does call me Brie, watch this I'm gonna go high and Wade is coming around & low'; but no he was looking in the stands at a wave. What's funny is in first quarter Matty, I do call him Martty, tried to blame that dumbass fumble on the wave; but you know he has an excuse for everything. I guess maybe he was right after all, cause I know I fell off balance and crossed the line."

I love getting them there tweeters on my CB! Makes me feel like I'm a part of the game. Now if Foster would stop tweeting me after every run saying "Did you see that one?" I could pay more attention to what is going on in the stands many of which looked empty to me. WOnder if there is an empty seat wave?

 

[houstonspartan]

It sounds like some of you give yourselves way too much credit in believing you're influencing the play of guys on the field.

The wave was what caused Mike Briesel to false start? How do we know this? What proof is there? How many false starts has Briesel had this year? In years past? And how many were due to sloppy play vs crowd noise?

The point is, home field advantage has a very minor affect on NFL football. The consensus is between 1 and 3 points, at most. Thats a combination of sleeping in your own house, not traveling, playing on your own field, more practice time, and also home crowd advantage--part of which includes noise.

In today's NFL in which the players have headsets which allow them to speak to the coaches and all teams should and are coached to deal with noisy environments, the affect of screaming fans is exceedingly minimal.

Does crowd noise lead to false starts? Yes and no. Noisy environments can definitely make it difficult for QBs to speak with their line, but well coached teams should never have a problem with this. A well coached team watches the ball, as Briesel should have done.

I honestly cannot believe so many people are calling out the fans for doing the wave when were up 14 points in the 4th quarter.

There is so much self-loathing and comparison to other fan bases. How many of you have actually ever been to away games? I've seen the wave at multiple NFL stadiums. I've seen it in Foxboro. I've seen it in DC. Why is it that only Texans fan are so self-insulting. We are worse to each other than other fan bases are to their rivals.

I have been to Foxboro. They are loud - wait for it - on DEFENSE.

I went to the Green Bay game when the Texans played there a few years ago. They are loud - guess? - on DEFENSE.

If you don't think home field advantage makes a difference in games, you are kidding yourself.

 

[gtexan02]

It's basic stuff as a fan. I don't think anyone is as angry as you seem to perceive - or as angry as you seem to be about it - but it's simple common sense stuff.

When people are using expletives and writing their posts in all caps about how awful and ignorant our fans is, I don't think its overreacting to think they are angry.

A few years ago the Texans used to keep a running tally on false starts and fumbled Center/QB exchanges that were a direct result of excessive crowd noise.

You are being naive if you think homefield advantage is not something tangible for good teams. NFL history proves it to be true, as does anecdotal evidence by old Oiler fans who were at the House of Pain in it's heyday.

I just hope our fans understand this simple stuff if we host a playoff game. Homefield advantage can make a difference. Just ask 7-9 Seattle last year when they beat the Saints. There is a reason that the Seahawks stole the "12th Man" idea from Texas A&M.

You can call me naive if you want, but like I've said, I've looked at the numbers and home field advantage in the NFL is real, but a lot more subtle than the majority of fans seem to believe. Its also extremely multi-factorial, meaning that loud home fans is only a small part of what makes home field advantage what it is.

You quote the Saints Seahawks playoff game for last year, so lets look at it in detail. Your post implies that you believe that loud fans is what caused Seattle to win that game.

Lets look at the two things that fan noise can directly affect. Penalties and wasted timeouts.
NO was called for 7 penalties. The 6 listed in the play by play are
1. Defensive holding/pass interference x2
2. Intentional grounding x1
3. Illegal block/holding x3

No false starts. No illegal motions. No delay of game.

As for timeouts, NO called 1 in the 2nd quarter that set up a touchdown on the next play. This may be due to crowd noise, but more likely due to changing a play based on defense. Net effect was a TD for NO anyway.
The 2nd timeout was during a seattle series while on D and the 3rd was an injury timeout.

In the 2nd half they called their first timeout on defense, their 2nd on their 2nd to last series in the 4th, and their final timeout during seattles final series to try and buy as much time as possible.

Now, I don't have gametape so I'm just going by play by play, but it sure seems as if crowd noise did not have any tangible affects on the NO Saints.

If you look at recent NFL statistics, the home field advantage is just not all that impressive. And home field advantage encompasses so many things like where the players sleep, how far they travel, how much practice time they get, how familiar they are with the field, the weather, and finally the crowd. Even the crowd component is fairly mixed with stadium noise only being part of the issue.

Check out some articles if you want to read up on it more. This is just the first I've found that is linkable. There are whole segments of psychology that research this stuff. If you're more interested in the academic papers I can find those for you as well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/partone/081121

In basketball if I'm sitting behind the basket, I'm waving my batons and shouting at the opposing team to try and distract him, but I don't really believe that its having an effect. Because I've seen the stats. I know that there is only a miniscule difference. It sure feels like my cheering impacts the player when he misses, but its a false impression. There are many, many more factors not being considered.

I'm not trying to discount home field advantage and good crowds. Even 1 or 2 false starts can be drive killers and that can shave points off an offense. Football is a complex game where one misstep and change the entire momentum of a game.
However, years of games have shown that in the NFL, home teams only gain about 1-3 points of an advantage over their visiting rivals. And so much goes in to that advantage, that the tangible effect of loud fans is difficult to quantify.

The point is, when up by 14 points against a hapless offense in the 4th quarter, I just don't see the wave as a big deal. I actually find the wave fun whenever I've been able to do it.

And its just so sad to me to see "fans" of the same team going after each other for not being good enough. They make it sound like if you don't wear a certain jersey or cheer a certain way or stand a certain amount of time, that its your fault that the team loses. And thats just depressing.

Because football is first and foremost a source of entertainment. Its supposed to be fun. If the Texans win or lose its on them, the coaches, and the other teams.

 

[thunderkyss]

I have been to Foxboro. They are loud - wait for it - on DEFENSE.

I went to the Green Bay game when the Texans played there a few years ago. They are loud - guess? - on DEFENSE.

If you don't think home field advantage makes a difference in games, you are kidding yourself.

& we get it right most games as well. Roughly 60,000 of us are season ticket holders. But you think you "know" more, or "know" better than the rest of us who have been doing our job week in & week out.

We didn't care this time. Why was this time different than all the other times?

Why did we "get it" against Pittsburgh, or against Oakland, but didn't get it against the Jags?

There's more to it than what y'all are thinking.

It was in protest more than anything.

 

[gtexan02]

I have been to Foxboro. They are loud - wait for it - on DEFENSE.

I went to the Green Bay game when the Texans played there a few years ago. They are loud - guess? - on DEFENSE.

If you don't think home field advantage makes a difference in games, you are kidding yourself.

I'd love to debate this with you, but it seems you're mind is made up after being to two away games.

I don't know what to tell you. Ive been to a game at Foxboro this year, and they are loud on defense. And they cheer occasionally on offense as well. Yes, even when their team is at the line.

The idea that an entire "fanbase", on average, is going to be less intelligent than another one is pretty unrealistic, dont you think?

We're talking about the summed, average intelligence of tens of thousands of people. Why do our fans feel so inferior that they believe we are so much less intelligent than other fans?

Every NFL fanbase (with the exception of maybe the Packers) is probably pretty comparable in football intelligence when you account for market size.

Texas is a major football state. Its something we get exposed to at a very young age. High school football and college football here are big deals.

Why would we be less football knowledgeable, on average, than a city like Boston?

I just don't get this inferiority complex that our city has. Our fans are great and just as good as other fans, stop telling yourself otherwise.

As for the home field advantage part of your post, you seem to be missing the point of mine. I'm not saying it doesn't make a difference, I'm saying that the difference is only 1-3 points (depending on the time period you look at), and those 1-3 points are attributable to many factors associated with "home field"--not just crowd noise.

 

[TwistedGnarl]

Thanks for the rational thoughts, gtexan. For all of the comments here accusing other fans of being stupid, uninformed, etc. This is the most thoughtful comment I've seen.

Let's assume that the crowd noise was completely responsible for the false start penalty. This seems fair enough to me.

First, the stadium was not loud during this. It was certainly not dead quiet, but to characterize the stadium's noise level as 'loud' during the wave incident is just not accurate. In fact, it was a whisper compared to what the Texans offense is likely to experience during ANY road playoff game in the NFL.

If this offense cannot play through that low level of crowd noise, then many of you will soon have plenty more to complain about than an unruly home crowd.

 

[unabated]

I thought it was nice to see the wave in Houston again, we need a little firing up and whether it was on Offense/Defense doesn't really matter. It may be stupid or foolish, it may be the wrong time to do it, doesn't really matter to me... just good to see a bit of spirit... Our seats are on the sunny side of the stadium so the wave was about the only circulation happening in that stadium.

 

[Porky]

All I am saying is let's make the home field a home field advantage. I've been a football fan longer than many of you have been alive. This is not complicated stuff and was taught to me when I was knee high to a grasshopper. And ya, I was ticked when I clearly heard loud crowd noise during plays by our offense.

I honestly think that all season ticket holders should be given "instructions" on how to be a good fan of their team. It seems that a majority of our fanbase needs to take remidial fandom 101.

As to TK who keep complaining about the offiense, I don't get it. We had no AJ, Casey may as well have been out, and by the way we were playing the best D in the league over the past few weeks. They are on an absouloute roll and didn't even allow a first down until almost Q4 against Baltimore. The Texans scored 7 on the opening drive, and should have hung 27 on them but for a rare miss by Rackers.....and you are complaining and saying you were bored? ROFLMAO.

WTF??????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[False Start]

Its actually kind of cool to have the subject of the wave as the most heated debate on here, rather than how bad the team, and coach sucks, lol. That's when your team is actually doing something good. I could get used to this.

 

[thunderkyss]

As to TK who keep complaining about the offiense, I don't get it. We had no AJ, Casey may as well have been out, and by the way we were playing the best D in the league over the past few weeks. They are on an absouloute roll and didn't even allow a first down until almost Q4 against Baltimore. The Texans scored 7 on the opening drive, and should have hung 27 on them but for a rare miss by Rackers.....and you are complaining and saying you were bored? ROFLMAO.

WTF??????????????????????????????????????????????

I'm not complaining about the offense, I'm complaining about the bland offensive play-calling. run, run, pass, punt. All I'm saying is mix it up a little bit... run, pass, pass, punt. Pass, run, run, punt....


It's not difficult to get my attention.

 

[badboy]

Its actually kind of cool to have the subject of the wave as the most heated debate on here, rather than how bad the team, and coach sucks, lol. That's when your team is actually doing something good. I could get used to this.

"Enough about a silly wave. Let's get back to talking about me!" co-signed Mario Williams and Kareem Jackson.

 

[BullNation4Life]

If you want to know how a home team crowd is suppose to be while their team is on offense, watch the Colts at home. You can literally hear Manning calling out the plays and the audibles at the line. Everybody in that stadium that is a Colts fan is quiet while Manning is at the line. When the defense is on the field, loud as hell....

It is truly crazy just how quite their crowd gets when Manning is working the offense....

 

[False Start]

If you want to know how a home team crowd is suppose to be while their team is on offense, watch the Colts at home. You can literally hear Manning calling out the plays and the audibles at the line. Everybody in that stadium that is a Colts fan is quiet while Manning is at the line. When the defense is on the field, loud as hell....

It is truly crazy just how quite their crowd gets when Manning is working the offense....

Great point.

"Enough about a silly wave. Let's get back to talking about me!" co-signed Mario Williams and Kareem Jackson.

 

[Kthx]

http://gotitans.com/goForum/showthread.php?t=76448

Apparently the wave has hit another town, 10000 dead, 25000 missing.

 

[gtexan02]

If you want to know how a home team crowd is suppose to be while their team is on offense, watch the Colts at home. You can literally hear Manning calling out the plays and the audibles at the line.

This is an interesting point because Manning relies on vocal ability at the line more than any other QB in the NFL. And how many false starts did the Colts of old get on the road? I'm actually curious because they were such a well coached team recently, that I wonder if their road vs home penalties were different. Just counting back the last 4 years, the Colts are 25-7 (3x 6-2, 1x 7-1) at home and 24-8 (1x 4-4, 2x 7-1, 1x 6-2) on the road. The "quiet" at home didn't seem to make much difference, although its difficult to analyze in depth without knowing the line spreads for each game.

But a 1 game difference is not a statistical significance. Especially when you consider that the Colts play in a dome and indoors, and how much that aspect of home field probably means to them.

When the defense is on the field, loud as hell....

It is truly crazy just how quite their crowd gets when Manning is working the offense....

Good "Colts pump in fan noise" and see how much respect you have for their fans after that. They're notorious for creating a false sense of fandom