Standing Up On 3rd Downs

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ZPI

ZPI

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At football games all across the country, stadiums are absolutely rocking on 3rd downs - attendees stand and are loud.

This is one of my biggest complaints about the gameday atmosphere at TCF Bank Stadium. The crowd shows up on some 3rd downs, but, quite frankly, the crowd is quite lacking on the majority of 3rd downs - no standing or making noise at all.

I know most Gopherholers are diehards that are probably on their feet every 3rd down, so this is more venting than anything. However, with all of the criticism directed at the student section over the years, I am curious to get other people's take on this.

At the end of the day, we are 3-0 with a night game against Syracuse coming up. Go Gophers!
 

Stand if the folks ahead of me are standing.

I like to stand and cheer but we have some pretty old folks right behind us. They sit the entire game. So if I can see without standing I try to be nice to them and stay in my seat. Sometimes I just can't help myself. They don't seem to mind. However, we make a lot of noise from the seated position.:)
 

MNSpaniel said:
I like to stand and cheer but we have some pretty old folks right behind us. They sit the entire game. So if I can see without standing I try to be nice to them and stay in my seat. Sometimes I just can't help myself. They don't seem to mind. However, we make a lot of noise from the seated position.:)
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Understandable. I'm not for interfering with the elderly or kids' enjoyment of the game. However, there are old people and kids everywhere and that doesn't really explain why the bank isn't as energetic as other stadiums around the country.
 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. We are in section 101 and there are a lot of sit on your hands folks around us. I think it will get more energetic as the team gets better though.
I hope at some point we can do away with the "Another Gopher First Down" as I think it's overdone.
 

MNSpaniel said:
I like to stand and cheer but we have some pretty old folks right behind us. They sit the entire game. So if I can see without standing I try to be nice to them and stay in my seat. Sometimes I just can't help myself. They don't seem to mind. However, we make a lot of noise from the seated position.:)
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Could we take a hint from Coach Kill and say "no more Minnesota nice in our house?" this could go for the fans too. I am 6'6" and very aware that I get in the way of other people behind me when I am cheering I apologize and keep cheering. There is no reason for everyone to not be standing on 3rd down (except if in a wheel chair).
 


AuEGO4 said:
Could we take a hint from Coach Kill and say "no more Minnesota nice in our house?" this could go for the fans too. I am 6'6" and very aware that I get in the way of other people behind me when I am cheering I apologize and keep cheering. There is no reason for everyone to not be standing on 3rd down (except if in a wheel chair).
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Good point on the "No More Minnesota Nice" take.
 

I stand on most 3rd downs. Today, during most the second half, some fans behind us were yelling at us to sit down, along with obsceneties each time. Made for a pleasant second half, especially for my wife. That is what decades of losing brings: bad fans that do not get it.
 

skoalvikings said:
I stand on most 3rd downs. Today, during most the second half, some fans behind us were yelling at us to sit down, along with obsceneties each time. Made for a pleasant second half, especially for my wife. That is what decades of losing brings: bad fans that do not get it.
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Wow! If you don't want to cheer during a game, why get tickets? Stay at home and get a great view of the game without being an a-hole to people who are trying to create a great gameday atmosphere. People like this will continue to be the problem with our fan base even if we win the National Championship. I guess you could look at it this way...at least those obscenities created some noise :)
 

Today was kind of a mess (at least for a while) as far as standing on 3rd down....3rd and 1...first down...3rd and 1...First down...3rd and 1...first down...after a while we stayed down.
 



I actually thought the crowd was a lot better than usual today about standing and making noise on third downs.
 

This might be the first time this topic has ever been addressed on this board. :rolleyes:
 

People around me today all stood on the majority of 3rd downs. I thought it was pretty decent today.
 

nokomismod said:
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. We are in section 101 and there are a lot of sit on your hands folks around us. I think it will get more energetic as the team gets better though.
I hope at some point we can do away with the "Another Gopher First Down" as I think it's overdone.
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I hope we do that cheer 30 times next week. :p
 



I'm glad that my section (as well as much of the home side of the field overall) are pretty good about standing on third down, as well as other big plays... without overdoing it. At one point today I did notice that on a big third down the whole sunny side of the stadium was sitting.
 


Section 109 today....my wife and I tried to stand on 3rd down and the crabby old men behind us were constantly squawking "down in front....sit down..." We gave up after a while. Sad.
 

AuEGO4 said:
Could we take a hint from Coach Kill and say "no more Minnesota nice in our house?" this could go for the fans too. I am 6'6" and very aware that I get in the way of other people behind me when I am cheering I apologize and keep cheering. There is no reason for everyone to not be standing on 3rd down (except if in a wheel chair).
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Unless Joe Biden is nearby. Then you're expected to stand up even if you are in a wheelchair.
 

I am torn on this. I used to always stand on 3rd down back in the Metrodome but now in TCF there is an old gentlemen behind me that needs a cane to climb the stairs so I find myself standing on some of the bigger 3rd downs but not all of them.
 

Roger That...

DarrenTheGreek said:
I am torn on this. I used to always stand on 3rd down back in the Metrodome but now in TCF there is an old gentlemen behind me that needs a cane to climb the stairs so I find myself standing on some of the bigger 3rd downs but not all of them.
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Darren's right...it's good practice to know who you'll impact or not behind you when standing.

Whether you stand or not, make NOISE when it can make a difference.

Mrs. Billd and myself are the extreme. Lord knows the people directly in front of us hate us. Every year we see people move further down or to the sides. Our commitment is not to move so we can be avoided (and we like our original seats).

Coach Kill knows it's crowd noise that makes the 12th Man. Whether you can stand or not, make the noise.

BTW, it was fun today. Bring on the Orangemen!

Go Gophers! I Kill I Trust!
 

BillD/Darren - I sit near you both. If the non-student fans had your approach to the game and other fans the stadium would be loud, fun and basically without incident. Our section was a little better yesterday than UNH game.

Next Saturday night should be a nice step up in atmosphere. Morning start times really dampen enthusiasm.

Winning solves a lot of problems. I think as Coach Kill and his staff continue to change the culture eventually we can make the TCF Bank Stadium a great atmosphere.
 

I agree with a lot of posters here. Know your surroundings. There are oldsters and kids around us.

You can make the same amount of noise without standing. The players on the field don't know whether you're standing or not.

I stand when I can, yell every time.
 

highwayman said:
I agree with a lot of posters here. Know your surroundings. There are oldsters and kids around us.

You can make the same amount of noise without standing. The players on the field don't know whether you're standing or not.

I stand when I can, yell every time.
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Oh C'mon! It's freakin 3rd Down - Stand up!! No more Minnesota Nice!
 

highwayman said:
I agree with a lot of posters here. Know your surroundings. There are oldsters and kids around us.

You can make the same amount of noise without standing. The players on the field don't know whether you're standing or not.

I stand when I can, yell every time.
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Parski1 said:
Oh C'mon! It's freakin 3rd Down - Stand up!! No more Minnesota Nice!
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HIGHWAYMAN 1
PARSKI 0
 

Well than, do what Coach Kill says: "No more Minnesota nice". If someone tells you to sit down tell them to take a long walk off a short pier. BWY ... Section 143 is pretty good
 


Players on the field know if you are standing or not . . . it is not difficult to see 30,000 people simultaneously getting up and out of their seats before a 3rd down play. Furthermore, you can feel the crowd supporting you . . .

Standing makes a big difference. I would assume somebody would be more apt to cheer if they had to stand to see the game. Would a recruit want to see people sitting all game or standing up and cheering?

WMU had 18 3rd down plays, according to one post. They had 84 total plays vs 68 for gophs (not entirely sure if special teams is included in this stat). So . . . for about 21% of the WMU offensive plays and about 12% of the entire game people were standing. Now people are getting upset at this? Are people just too lazy to support their team?

As far as being concerned if a kid can see . . . I recall being a child and going to the Target Center and Metrodome and loving it when the fans around me got excited and were standing and cheering. It is not difficult to stand on a folding chair or, even easier, a metal bleacher and at least get a partial view . . .

There is a reason why home teams always have an advantage . . .

SUPPORT YOUR TEAM

on a side note: I stand every 3rd down . . .
 

It's Brewster's fault. That first season 95% of the fans stood up every 3rd down. You fail enough times you stop doing it.
 

Last game two others and myself stood on every 3rd down and I ended up with a coke on top of my head from another MN fan. Interesting to say the least.
 

I sit in the first row of section 112. We had security down our way 3 times. Once for a lady sitting on the wall, once for some guys heckling the opposing players on the bench, and once more, but they wouldn't exactly say what we did wrong. Talk about a buzzkill.
 

GOPHER.NATION. said:
Players on the field know if you are standing or not . . . it is not difficult to see 30,000 people simultaneously getting up and out of their seats before a 3rd down play.
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I'll flat-out say you are dead, dying, dead wrong. If the players on the field are looking up into the crowd before a play:

1) I don't want them on the field;
2) They should be benched on the next play until the game the next week;
3) They need to go back to elementary school and take a lesson on "paying attention to what is important".

Kill and Claeys would rip any player looking up into the crowd before any play a "new one".

They look up into the crowd after a play is over, and everyone has jumped up. You, like many here, are reading way, way too much into the standing part. It's 99% about being LOUD and 1% about standing...and I may have over-estimated the standing part.
 

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