The Noisy RCA Dome

Normally when two of the best teams in any sport face off against one another it's usually a great match. It's even more so when both teams are undefeated and former league champions who are playing an opponent they have had many memorable games with. So it's generally no surprise that these games are highly contested with the outcome often being decided at the very last minute. That's more or less what happened this past weekend in Indianapolis in a game between the Colts and the Patriots of New England. What was important was that going into the game both teams had undefeated records and so it was a preview of a potential post season matchup.

The Colts were likely the more popular team out there, even for people who don't normally even watch the Colts simply because the Patriots, in the wake of Brian Bilichek's 'cheating scandal' has come to have an aura of evil about it. Indeed that's how many sportscasters were choosing to tout the game; as a contest between good (the Colts) and evil (the Patriots). Well the hopes of many were dashed when the Colts lost after the Patriots managed to come back in the fourth quarter and get ahead of the Colts. Unable to do anything to counter it at the very end, the Colts walked the short walk home with their tail between their legs. They played well and nobody could fault them but still, there is that feeling of disappointment in them that they couldn't close out the game despite being ahead. In such cases many teams or athletes choose to indicate that they lost due to some sort of cheating.

Boxers have claimed to have been poisoned before matches as have some tennis players. Football teams have complained too. One recent complaint that surfaced however, didn't come from the losing Colts but rather from the Patriots and others who have played in the RCA Dome. Apparently a security guard working at the stadium mentioned to a cameraman at the game that the crowd noise when the opposing team had the ball was artificially enhanced in order to make it exceedingly difficult for the opposition to call in their plays or even think straight. I have attended games before though in open air stadiums and when the crowd gets loud it gets really loud but still, I can only imagine just how deafening it must be in an enclosed stadium. And though the Patriots haven't made a big thing about it, they aren't the first team to level this contention against the Colts. Teams such as the Steelers have also made accusations back in 2005 (following their loss) at which time stadium officials did admit that they did enhance crowd noise.

Now one can argue that this is a simple tactic meant to give a slight advantage to the home team because during their plays, the noise level would drop to very soft levels and when the opposition took possession, the noise was again deafening. Some may say that this isn't fair play while others argue it is a non-intrusive or non-direct way of affecting an opposition's concentration. I don't agree. I mean if Brian Bilichek can be fined record amounts for filming the signals of the opposing teams in order to 'counter' their defensive formations then teams that do perform feedback loops of crowd noise should be penalized as well. Now I'm no fan of Brian Bilichek but still, I think what's good for the goose is good for the gander as well. I mean I've heard of teams in domes adjusting overhead airflow ducts so that it blows wind against field goal kicks made by opposing teams. Now accusations like this just go to the heart of the matter. If you can't win fairly, is it fair to win dishonestly?

A team like my Redskins have not been a consistent team for a number of years though they go out and try every single year. I don't know if they have ever resorted to these types of tactics and I'm a little worried about what the answer might be. I used to think that teams would spend the week before a game reviewing the last game tapes of the opposition in order to understand their strengths and their weaknesses. The teams would then design plays or practice formations that would exploit these weaknesses and that would then help them to defeat their opponents. Now it seems more like they adjust the environmental controls within the stadium to give them an advantage, and that just strikes me as being.... juvenile. I can't think of any other word for it other than that. Juvenile. Are we all becoming so 'win-crazy' that we have to resort to cheating in order to pacify the fans and owners? I certainly hope not.