thebluefood Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Awhile ago, I made a thread about RFK Stadium, a place that is near and dear to the hearts of many Redskins fans and is known by friend and foe alike as a place with excellent home field advantage. By the time the Redskins left for Landover, though, the stadium, and the team, was a shell of its former self. Many in the thread said the stadium was a dump and when the Redskins were down, there was nothing special about it. This got me thinking: what separates great sporting venues from average ones as far as home-field advantage is concerned? Virtually every stadium is rocking and rolling when a team is doing well, but are there any venues/fanbases that can give the home team a boost even when they're doing poorly? If there are, what separates them from the rest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinfan2k Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 All stadiums are the same but some actually may help keep noise in like RFK. Seattle does the same thing. It all depends on the crowd and how loud that they can get. Fedex was one of the loudest it has ever been since i have been going there but the superdome last year was the loudest stadium i have heard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSkins561 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Would love to see Dan Snyder hand out Burgundy and Gold Vuvuzela's at Fed Ex for fans to use while the D is on the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Ugh. The vuvuzela is the worst thing to happen to sports since the wave. Watching the 2010 World Cup was a nightmare. It sounded like South Africa had a killer bee infestation. Besides, the Redskins have a band that can actually play music. God forbid we drown them out with those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I've always maintained that home field advantage was overrated outside of college sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I've always maintained that home field advantage was overrated outside of college sports. Not true unless you striclty mean the fans rattling the opposition. Being home = less travel and more comfort which results in more W's. But yes, in very few situations does the crowd really do much to the opposition. But there are certainly occasions where they will the home team to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Not true unless you striclty mean the fans rattling the opposition. Being home = less travel and more comfort which results in more W's. But yes, in very few situations does the crowd really do much to the opposition. But there are certainly occasions where they will the home team to win. That's what I meant. I don't think the OP was talking about off the field factors such as travel, home as opposed to hotels, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d0ublestr0ker0ll Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 The Skins fans at the 2005 Cowgirls game were so awesome that it was virtually like giving our team injections of adrenaline and steroids (without the exploding-heart side effect). I think crowds have a major effect on optimism, drive, and the like. If the places were empty it'd be a pickup football game with a small fraction of the emotion you see in the NFL. Crowd size, the particular passion of the fanbase, and noise preservation of the venue can have an effect on the contest. The Redskins play the 'girls at FedEx in the playoffs, bet your ass Romo sits to pee's calling early timeouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 The Redskins fanbase has been cited as one that generally has shown up, even when the team has largely been mired in mediocrity for the past 20 years. I think overall there are cities which are more passionate about sports than others, and the perception is that the passion those fans bring can give a solid home-field advantage. Philly comes to mind as an example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 The Redskins fanbase has been cited as one that generally has shown up, even when the team has largely been mired in mediocrity for the past 20 years. I think overall there are cities which are more passionate about sports than others, and the perception is that the passion those fans bring can give a solid home-field advantage. Philly comes to mind as an example. Yeah, as much as I hate the Eagles, those fans show up for their team, win or lose. They said the Vet was a horrific place for opposing teams to play because of 1.) The painted concrete they played on 2.) The insanity of the crowd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointyfootball Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 A good team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhead36 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 A good team. Ding ding ding. RFK had great home field...because the Skins were so good back then. Didn't help us much post Gibbs I when we sucked. FedEx was rocking in our late 05/07/12 runs. It was a mausoleum when we were sucking every other year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I was at the 2005 and 2012 late-season Cowboy games and it was unreal. I think knowledgeable fans help (being loud and quiet at the appropriate times). Really though, I think it's all just a matter of circumstances. I don't believe that a particular stadium (playing at RFK over FedEx, for example) gives a team a better shot to win a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I third the "A good team" The Seahawks sucked in 2011 and our awful team went up to Qwest field and got a win, including some key points late in the 4th quarter. Somehow the 1984 Bears came into RFK and won a playoff game. At Virginia Tech, I have seen where the home crowd rattled a team so bad it practically won the game (2003 game vs #2 ranked Miami comes to mind) but also where it didn't matter all (2005 game where #3 VT got blown out by Miami) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Ding ding ding. RFK had great home field...because the Skins were so good back then. Didn't help us much post Gibbs I when we sucked. FedEx was rocking in our late 05/07/12 runs. It was a mausoleum when we were sucking every other year. I keep hearing that, but even when the team was bad in the 60s and mediocre in the 70s, we were still selling out. How do you explain the consecutive sellout streak that began before Gibbs? I'm not saying we have the "greatest" fans in the world, nor do I think that everyone is "loyal" to the team when times are hard. But by and far, I think we support them even if the stands don't show it. Tickets are sold and the one's who were always there, will always be there. Every fanbase has their fair-weather fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 what separates great sporting venues from average ones as far as home-field advantage is concerned? Everybody likes to talk about Seattle having this incredible home field advantage... While I do think they do have the best home advantage in the NFL, it don't mean jack if your team isn't winning. We went to Seattle in 2011 and kicked their tails with the likes of Rex Grossman and Anthony Armstrong. If the advantage was that good, they wouldn't have let us go there with that team and beat them. Now to bring it to the DC area. Look at the Wizards and Caps. When those teams are winning, the Verizon center rocks. When they are losers, it's ho hum. So yeah, I just think the key to a home field advantage, is just to be winners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 So, is there even such a thing as "Home Field Advantage?" Are there places that are constantly rocking, for better or for worse? If not, what separates a good fanbase from a poor one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 A good, covert listening device system to steal plays from the visiting team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 So, is there even such a thing as "Home Field Advantage?" Are there places that are constantly rocking, for better or for worse? If not, what separates a good fanbase from a poor one? The Boston Garden in the 80s has that reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 The Boston Garden in the 80s has that reputation. But the Celtics were consistent winners in the 80s, weren't they? Or are you referring to the Garden when both the Celtics and Bruins were playing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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