Six ways to make the ACC louder and more hostile

Let us turn our attention to noise.

Earlier this season, Ron Wilson was asked about the ACC crowd. It was after a game and the reporter wanted to know if Wilson could "hear" the fans.

Yes, he replied. Good or bad, you hear everything. He then offered an analogy: A hockey crowd is like a "sixth skater."

He's right. And that's precisely why his analogy made me wince.

Let's face it, on most nights at the ACC, the "sixth skater" is doing slow Figure 8's in the parking lot. It's wearing a blade guard on one skate and spilling hot chocolate down the front of its turtleneck. It's yawning and taking a nap in a snow bank.

Toronto's sixth skater may as well be in a body bag.

In other cities – Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Detroit – the "sixth skaters" really do provide a "home ice advantage." They raise a bloody ruckus. They intimidate visitors. They help build momentum. They give the five real skaters an invisible and enduring boost.

So what can be done to improve the ACC atmosphere? How can the building become more electric and less comatose? How can we make it louder for the Leafs and more hostile for their opponents?

Here now, six humble suggestions:

1. THE GREAT PARADIGM SHIFT

Just hear me out: Imagine if the cheapest seats were closest to the ice. Imagine if the real fans – the ones who arrive to watch hockey and not close a deal – were closest to the action. Now imagine how the mood would change inside the ACC with this inverted seating.

I know what you're thinking: This is a ridiculous idea! Why would the people paying the most money want to sit up in the nose bleeds?

But what if the nose bleeds were no longer just rows of tiered seating with questionable sightlines? What if the upper ring of the ACC was retrofitted into a series of open concept lounges with martini stations, sushi bars and cocktail waitresses in slinky outfits?

So the Purple section is now the Platinum section. It's full-service everything, free WI-FI, flat screens with rolling stock prices. Conference rooms? Sure. Leather recliners? Why not.

And now instead of missing the action between periods because they are clustered inside peripheral lounges, the high rollers can simply remain inside their permanent lounges to schmooze and mingle.

Meanwhile, down below, you suddenly have an arena jammed with real fans. You no longer have hundreds of empty seats. You have energy. And the Leafs finally have a worthy sixth skater.

2. PLANTING RINGERS

You know those fans that go to sports bars covered in blue face paint? The ones that hang out of moving vehicles after playoff victories? The ones that wear vintage jerseys to the office on game days and spend the entire afternoon bellowing, "LEEEAAAFFSS!!!" at puzzled co-workers?

The ACC needs more of these fans.

So here's the idea: A team of behavioural specialists spreads out across the city to track down the loudest, craziest Leaf fans they can find. Then these rowdy fans are put on the MLSE payroll and given season tickets that are strategically positioned throughout the building.

Now in every section, there is a ringer. There is a paid hooligan who is under contract to start a "Go Leafs Go!" chant. There is a fan that will stand throughout the night and loudly encourage opposition stars to do things that are anatomically impossible.

There is a leader.

3. LUBRICATING INHIBITIONS

What is the best way to create an electric atmosphere? In a word: booze.

MLSE? Do everybody a favour and immediately slash the price of all alcoholic beverages by 80 per cent. Don't talk to me about concession sales or profit margins, okay? You are the richest franchise in the league.

The least you can do is get us liquored up so we can help you win.

 

 

4. THE ILLUSION OF MAXIMUM CAPACITY

Let's say the inverted seating idea proves too radical or impractical. Here's the backup plan: Seat fillers.

Why don't we already do this? If the Academy Awards can manage, surely MLSE can master the logistics of temporarily swapping bodies during a hockey game.

You know how many people can't afford to see the Leafs play anymore? It's brutal. So what if a few hundred of these people, on a rotating basis, went to games on "stand by."

Usher: "Hey, look! Four people near the glass have just left with their BlackBerries. That's at least 7 minutes of game time. Go!"

Suddenly, there would be no more wide-angle TV shots that convey a pathetic wasteland of empty seats. Suddenly, the Leafs wouldn't have to glance up from the bench half-way into the second period and wonder, "Where the hell is everybody?"

5. UPDATING THE PLAYLISTS

Here's a $1,000 bet I'm willing to make with anybody: Next time you're at the ACC for a Leafs game, you will hear The Tragically Hip, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses or all three.

Don't misunderstand. There's nothing wrong with any of these bands. But how many times must we be exposed to "Fifty-Mission Cap" or "You Shook Me All Night Long" or "Welcome To The Jungle" until the capacity to rouse is reduced to zero?

I don't have any specific musical suggestions. Everybody has different taste.

But it seems to me, MLSE marketers should be able to survey Leafs Nation and draw up a new list of songs that doesn't require a time machine and/or mullet to be fully enjoyed.

5.1 UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGY AND CROWD BEHAVIOUR

If you've attended a Leafs game this season, you are no doubt familiar with the public service announcements that kindly ask patrons to crank up the volume.

Seriously. That's about it.

"1, 2, 3… Get LOUD!" "SCREAM!" "Make Some Noise!"

These PSAs arrive during stops in the action, usually when the broadcaster goes to commercial (which is why you rarely hear them when watching at home).

These PSAs are also the absolute worst thing the Leafs can do for atmosphere.

For starters, telling people to get loud assumes they are quiet. In other words, these PSAs are validating the conditional silence and creating a self-fulfilling prophesy.

But more important, these PSAs create artificial noise spikes. On a subconscious level, once a fan complies with the PSA, the default action is to sit on his/her hands for most of the night because suddenly the very act of cheering is now a direction and not an impulse.

You don't randomly tell people to get loud during a hockey game. You give them reasons to be loud from start to end.

6. BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER

The ACC is a multi-purpose facility. It has equipment suitable for rock concerts. It has a sophisticated system of sound distribution.

So here's a question: Why not just "pump" some sound effects – cheering, clapping, whatever – through the speakers as needed (like on Monday night)?

And here's an addendum to this point: In addition to the crowd effects, why not broadcast the play-by-play feed? You know, let Joe Bowen's voice thunder inside the building.

I've noticed something at various bars across this city. When Bowen can be heard, people pay more attention to what they are watching. They are more engaged in the game.

Anyway, these are my deranged suggestions. And thanks for raising the issue yesterday in the comments.

The Leafs are 3-1 over the past four games. They are the youngest team in the NHL. They really do deserve a half-decent sixth skater when playing at home.

MAIN PHOTO: ANDREW WALLACE/TORONTO STAR

 

Comments

[Kristen]

Vinay, I couldn’t agree with you more. Those are all solid suggestions.

Having more blue-blooded fans closer to the ice, could even help reduce the force of the blue-and-white disease on our boys.

[Leaf fan in Van]

My brother and I have been laughing at the Leaf in game "playlist" for the past 20 years! And each year nobody (Coach, GM, Anselmi) can answer who's in charge of the music?! I mean Peanuts Gang anthem??? Get real! And "Let me hear you say yaaaaaaaa" that song makes me sick to hear each night! Someone please kidnap the DJ at the ACC - for the love of GOD!

VM Replies: I need to figure out who is responsible for all of this. Stay tuned.

[Pyramid Power]

First, Vinay Menon is AWESOME! He is more awesome than Barney Stinson on 'How I Met Your Mother'. He redefines awesome, he makes it his own personal word.
Second, this blog was awesome!
Third, the Seattle Seahawks pump in noise to intimidate the living crap outta their opponents so we should definitely be doing the same.
Fourth, all suggestions here are awesome!
I will be back with more comments later. I am somehow weary of all this awesomeness.

VM Replies: Thank you, Pyramid Power. I really do appreciate the way you've enhanced this silly blog with your comments and participation.

[Fonzie;s uncle]

This is your best article yet. Seriously except for the piped noise and the Joe Bowen idea, all of these suggestions are viable. I also herby throw my ring into the hat to become a paid fan. Even while attending games with only my wife, I am usually the craziest fun around. I dont even really need to be paid, I will do it for a limo to the game, a free ticket and free beer.

[Geoff Read]

At the Bell Centre they do something cool for those of us who can't afford to sit in the lower rings - they have speakers that rebroadcast the sound from the ice so you can hear the skates grinding the ice, the bodies slamming into the boards and so forth, even up in the nosebleeds. It's, to borrow Pyramid Power's term, "awesome."

The ACC does lack atmosphere. I contrast it with Maple Leaf Gardens where you walked in and you could just feel the electricity in the air. I agree the corporate hacks who have the best seats are a big part of the problem. But I think the way to solve that problem is actually a lot simpler than you're (facetiously) making it: LOWER TICKET PRICES so real fans can actually afford not just to go to games, but to sit in the good seats. This will never, ever happen of course, but we can all dare to dream. Or maybe we should just have a revolution and put all the corporate types to the sword. That would solve the problem too.

I laughed at your music comment. Unfortunately, the disease afflicting the ACC's DJ seems to have infected the DJs at most arenas and stadiums in North America, where you hear the same crappy piped in tripe from city to city. The absolute worst, though, has got to be the Toronto Rock who play terrible music DURING PLAY. Talk about insulting your fans. The message was "we think you're too stupid to enjoy this game on its merits, so we're going to keep you artificially stimulated with loud music." I love lacrosse, but after I went to one game and endured that idiocy I never went back.

VM Replies: I didn't know they did that in Montreal. That is cool. You're right about the lower ticket prices. And you're right about it never happening.

[Nizam]

If want want the ACC to be loud, lower the ticket prices so the real fans can afford them. I have been a leaf fan my whole life but have never been to a game simply because of the cost

VM Replies: Yeah, Geoff Read just made the same suggestion. It's sad. I wonder how many other Leaf fans are in the same boat.

[John in Toronto]

MLSE priority is to sell advertising to the captive audience rather than do something to help improve the atmosphere. Every free second seems to be some ad. They really focus on the jumbotron so everyones watching that instead of the game. They have the worst timing - "on the count of three get loud" while Leafs are on penalty kill and then do an ad when the Leafs have some momentum to take the crowd right out of it. I don't like being told what to do so "on the count of three get loud" etc doesn't work for me. Its torture seeing the same stuff game after game.

[Simmer]

Solid suggestions, although I have a feeling the MLSE brass would be shocked to hear $14.25 wasn't the going rate in the real world for a 10oz cup of beer.

[Moe Green]

Great suggestions Vinay! It's just so depressing when the Leafs actually get more vocal fan support in the visitor's rink than they do in their own. I think that was the main reason I suggested the "Goose" nick in the first place - to get some noise into the building.

I don't know what it is about Toronto fans. I moved to the US before ACC was completed, but i did get to see a couple games at the Gardens and, as I recall, it was just as tomblike there. Surely other buildings have a similar proportion of corporate seating. Yet Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton crowds not to mention the raucous American rinks, put the fans at ACC to shame.

MLSE has to get their sickening, out-of-touch, money-grubbing tendrils out of all aspects of the operations involving all of the sports teams. It's the least they could do for the team and us fans. They left the Leafs and Raptors to professionals in the interest of eventual increased profits. If only we could convince them to do the same thing with ACC, maybe the Leafs could someday enjoy a legitimate home-ice advantage.

VM Replies: I think you were the one who first mentioned noise on Monday night (while you were doing colour).

[bob the bobbert]

Here's my suggestion. They can try winning. that will help. And nudity, lots and lots of nudity. Tasteful nudity mind you. So, each time the crowd raises the volume a point or two, a classy lady in each row removes an article of clothing. the noise would be deafening.

[Todd]

One other thing that will add to the noise level - a winning team.

Two examples, one in the Gardens, one in the ACC:
- the Leafs 93-94 playoff run. Remember the cheesy decibel meter they taped to one of the metal rails for the TV broadcast? Remember how loud the building was?
- the Raptors one and only playoff run. I was in the ACC for some of those games against the Knicks and 76ers. An hour before game time, the place was already going crazy, with people yelling, "Let's Go Raptors." Amazing!

When winning returns to the ACC, there will be more noise. Winning brings more interest in the actual game, and less interest in doing deals under the stands.

VM Replies: Good point. I was looking for one of those decibel-reading clips from the playoffs but couldn't find it on YouTube. If anyone has a clip, please send me the link.

[MAO239ca]

Hello again VM! At Monday's game, it was so bloody quiet inside the stadium, that the couple times I yelled "GOOOOOOOOSE" (from the purples, of course), I swear Yonas himself could hear me; I think I caught him turning around, lifting his mask and staring up at our section with a "Who the hell keeps yelling that?!?" look on his face.

Anyone who's ever been to the ACC since it opened knows you can hear a pin drop throughout. And there is no bigger frustration when, from the view in our glorious 60 dollar purple seats, you see half the platinums empty and no sign of them filling up even mid-way through the game.
And I'm sure it hammers home to the players even MORE that they are not players for a proud hockey town with an illustrious history, they are merely entertainment for a profit-mad corporation.
Real fans could prove otherwise...

VM Replies: Amen.

[Pat Hirtle]

Vinay,

A follow-up column on something that you wrote earlier this year, shortly after you began blogging for The Star - http://www.southshorenow.ca/archives/2010/101910/sports/index007.php .

My apologies, I've been meaning to forward this to you for a while now.

Cheers from Nova Scotia and GO LEAFS GO!
P~

VM Replies: Hi Pat. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for reminding me about the Leafs Memory Project. Your own recollection (in that link, everyone) was fantastic.

[Chris]

#3along with better product on the ice. Although story out of Ottawa this week that they want to ban leaf fans from the crowd because they ruin the experience for the sens fans. Maybe it's just the 'fans' that have the leaf seats, and the leaf fans from outside GTA should be bused in for games.

[Adam]

The Leafs should skate on the ice to the tune of American Steel - Mean Streak. Clean up the lyrics a bit and we'd be good to go. It'd create unity between the team and the crowd and start the evening off with a little hostility.
Also, why does everyone chant the goalie's last name to psych him out. Why not use his first name, the name his mother'd use when talking to him. I think it'd hit home more.

[Dan]

Firstly, MLSE should stop focusing on building up the Plantnium club and Executive Suites and stop giving people more reasons why they should not be in their seat watching the game.

Secondly, I miss the song they used to play after everytime the Leafs scored a goal.. now all they have is an obnoxious air horn! That song they played would at least pump up the crowd a bit. They should also refrain from playing that cheezy Leaf song before a game and that song they play after a win.

[TB]

Pretty simple really: bring in Toronto FC fans to show the lame fans that occupy the entirety of the ACC how it is done.

[AK]

How about we start cheering when they start winning?

[Shatter]

Funny how the Raptor fans, and TFC fans are considered some of the best in their leagues, and leaf fans are silent.

[John]

The raptor's games have a little bit of life in the ACC, but the leafs games produce only funeral type silence even when the leafs are playing a good game! I think the difference is in the fact that the Raptors have a fan base that is able to afford those lower bowl tickets where as the hard core leafs fans are stuck in the upper bowl while the suits dont even show up for the platinum seats.

[Lunker]

Lowering the ticket prices will do nothing but save corporate season ticket holders money. It's not the price that keeps real fans out of the ACC, it's the lack of availability to the general public. I'm sick of sitting at home seeing friends, who are Habs fans, sitting in front row seats they got through work. I also suggest the ACC institutes a NO TIES ALLOWED rule for Leafs game.

[Simon]

Now, nobody get mad, but I think that making beer more expensive in the lower bowl would get a better atmosphere. I've managed to score some reds every now and then, and the people beside me are happier to just drink and talk to the women in the stands then to get up and cheer. In the upper bowl, the situation is different, but in the lower bowl, if you made it harder for people to go get snacks and drinks every 20 minutes, then you would get a more cohesive cheering atmosphere.

[johnnyk]

Paint your face or make noise and they'll arrest you. They should just confiscate ties and Blackberries at the door.

[James Thomas]

In my job I travel a lot. I've been to hockey, football and basketball games all across North America and I love getting into the game. Only in Toronto (ACC and Rogers Centre both) have I been shushed by the ushers. One guy even told me that my yelling was preventing other fans from enjoying the game. I could understand it if I was cursing, but I was actually told that I was being too loud.

WAKE UP TORONTO! YOU CAN'T BE TOO LOUD AT A SPORTING EVENT!!

VM Replies: Wow. I just slapped my forehead.

[Fonzies Uncle]

One thing we could do is encourage people to openly mock cell phone and text messagers at hockey games.

[LeafsFAN]

Hey Vinay,

Awesome blog Indeed!
Yes, ACC always seems quite compared to other traditional hockey markets. But looks like conflict of interest here. Real fans can't afford tickets, MLSE can't afford them, and the "fans" MSLE can afford can't afford noise in finishing their deals.

By the way, idea of Joe Bowen's sound inside the ACC is just fabulous! I mean, instead of the goal horn, if ACC has Bowen saying "Holy MACKINAW! A cross ice feed from Kadri, and Kessel picks the top corner, 1 nothing Toronto".... that would be awesome!

I bet no one would be able to beat this kind of "goal horn"

[Chad]

sorry, but when the home team scores and you need to add ADDITIONAL noise to make it loud.....then your in serious trouble. the ACC is quiet, but not to the point where no one cheers when the Leafs score.

here's my suggestion: send those corporate guru's who are there for the schmoozing and not the game, across the way to the Real Sports Bar. certain spots in that place are set up nicely for that kind of crowd. then randomly give away the seats in the platinum section to some lucky people up in the purples.

[John in Toronto]

Watched the Leafs - Rangers game around Halloween in centre ice Platinums. The wives in the row behind us spent the whole third period in their $600 seats chatting about their halloween shopping at the dollar store!!! They didn't spend one second watching the action on the ice let alone do some cheering. One of my friends refuses to take free lower bowl tickets as he can't stand the non-fans sitting there. He'd rather watch on TV or get upper bowl tickets. [I'm not that principled. I'll take the free tickets]. I think we need more purple ticket holders sneaking down into the empty lower bowl seats to liven them up.

[TG77]

I am so glad this blog tackled this topic because it's absolutely brutal as a fan living in Vancouver now when I see the empty seats for the first 5-8 minutes of each period. I think it's virtually impossible to fix the problem to be honest. There is no way MLSE buys back the tickets from the corporations and you can't force the suits who truly don't care, to all the sudden become die-hard fans. This crap about making noise when they start winning...So if the Leafs were in the playoffs the last 5 years versus their current predicament, the ACC would be a mad house that teams would be afraid to come to?

I would love a no-ties and no blackberries policy but again, it's not possible to enforce. Maybe they can just make ads where an usher goes up to a planted fan who is dressed in a suit and tie and grabs scissors, cuts the tie, shreds the jacket and underneath is a 'superfan' with body paint or whatever as a way of putting the spotlight on the suits there to make deals and shame them into cheering. I have been there on company seats so I can't claim innocence in this but I wore my jersey in the office all day before the game and sure as hell didn't have my tie on come game time.

[Ari]

Living in Australia the past 10 years I haven't attended a Leaf game in quite some time, but I do remember the last game I attended. It was a pre-season game, can't remember the opponent, but it was tied 2-2 with about 5 mins to go in the 3rd. The crowd was getting a bit excited, then the game went to a TV timeout or something. What comes over the PA? The theme song from Sesame Street.

I thought, there it is. They *do* want to suck the life out of the building.

[Alex]

It's not just the ACC; it's Toronto in general. I've gone to Raptors games and been looked at like i was insane eventhough my cheering was G rated and fun. Leaf fans are the worst because most tickets are taken up by corporate suits.
It is also a culture. I went to a hockey game at the Blackhawk arena in Chicago and the crowd started cheering at the beginning of the anthem. This was when the team was bad.
It will never change in Toronto!

[Steve G]

I'm the farthest thing from a Leaf fan, but I really enjoy your blog, Vinay.

Lots of good points here, but I still get a kick out of the canned organ SFX that haven't changed since the 80's (maybe earlier?).

While a lot of the suit-related stuff is true, isn't it also a bit of a crutch? There's never been that kind of financial segregation at Jays games and it's always been a morgue relative to other parks, whether there's 12,000 or 50,000 inside. Bills games here are really a neutral site, but the 'atmosphere' here is shredded every time by the 716 media and fans. Raptor crowds always compare favourably to their roommates, but that's not difficult. BMO gets a lot of hype, but most of it's always in comparison to the other venues in town.

All the "real fans" in the upper bowl come up with here is "Go Leafs Go", "goalie's sur-name" (if it has 2 syllables) and the odd "bullsh*t". Even Nashville has a couple of unique, homegrown chants/songs. Hardly the stuff you hear on English terraces or in south Philly.

Perhaps we just don't do sports very well here. Or, as been pointed out ad nauseum in regards to the on-ice product, why change anything when you can't get a ticket, despite the outrageous costs attached?

[donm]

Thankyou! i agree with all the ideas.
the last time i went to a leaf game my wallet was gouged for booze and actually had someone turn around and get angry at me for trying to start some cheers. i couldnt believe someone was mad that i was trying to cheer loudly. please..let the real fans in already. im ashamed of our crowd

[Hopeless Leafer]

How about miking every bar in town during the game and feeding the sum of cheering right into the house system of the ACC?! Risk of expletives? Yes. Risk of the biggest, scariest, downright nasty crowd hockey has ever heard? Absolutely! Sadly this, much like any effort on MLSE's behalf to rejuvenate, invigorate or stimulate the sleepy home of our Leafer Nation is NOT going to happen. During a game last season, cheering loudly with my girlfriend in the golds (the second quietest section in the building), we actually had a patron one row down turn around and stink eye us for being too loud! In the face of such blasphemy we had no choice but to cheer louder! This is truly a frustrating reality that has no apparent end in sight...Bell Centre crowd made us look reeeeeeally bad...

[Amberherself]

I just attended my 2nd NHL game (the first was Leafs vs Bruins in Boston 10 years ago) at the Joe Louis arena (Nov 21st vs Calgary) and the fans were absolutely WILD! The energy was electric - everyone in the arena was going nuts. You couldn't help but cheer as loud as you can, boo the other team and get into the action.

This game was my husband's first hockey game and would love to go back - it doesn't sound like I'll be taking him to the ACC though :( Shame. Beers at Joe Louis are 8 USD, too!

[jasontrent]

I love how everyone goes after the corporate hacks as the cause of all this. Well guess what. I've sat in greens and purples and in gold and platinum. And the crowd acts the same in both. You feel embarrassed to get up and shout for your team because everyone is so quiet. I rather go to another NHL venue and cheer for the Leafs there, and annoy the other 19,000 fans watching.

You suggest six ways. Only two are realistic and will actually have an effect. 1) Change the in-game entertainment, music. 2) Use ringers.

The problem with the in game entertainment is they are living in the glory days of the 1960s. Old music, old anthems etc.. I don't know the name of the godawful music they play at the end of the game, but even my 3 month old who's always awake would fall asleep to that. Get some decent DJ who knows how to mix a beat, and start pumping the place.

And using ringers is like lowering the price of beer, only cheaper. Simply put it lowers your inhibitions. If some guy has half his face painted blue, with a spiked wig and is screaming himself hoarse, suddenly you don't feel quite so stupid chanting for your team. And you want to do it effectively? Each game give a couple tickets out to the craziest and loudest fans. They'll come back for more of the same, and other people will catch on and try to do it as well.

[LT73]

Vinay... Nicely done my friend. It's about time someone said it. And by the way, I had the same idea of 'feeding back' the fans chatter and cheering through the speaker system. I envisioned a system of microphones and smallish (think Bose) speakers planted throughout the arena playing the sounds from the other side of the arena.
.
I actually get that at home while watching the game from within my home theater, and it's awesome. Makes me feel like I am in the crowd and adds a ton of energy to the game.

[Laura]

Great blog!
I am a Leafs fan who FINALLY attended a game last year with my husband. We sat second row in seats we paid WAY too much for from a scalper with some inheritance money. MLSE makes me sick and the suits even sicker. While sitting in our wicked seats we were shushed and given dirty looks for enjoying the game and getting into it.

[Kevo]

In the end it's the fans that make the atmosphere amazing. My favourite games to go to are the Tiger Cat games at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton. The streets around the stadium are shut down (which in the middle of a neighbourhood) for the game, and as you walk down the street you can see the stadium overhanging the road with fans on the streets and you can hear the stadium roar as you get near by (here's the view http://image04.webshots.com/4/5/97/99/114559799HLFNgr_fs.jpg). Then, once you're in, pretty much everyone is involved, even the old people don't mind fans yelling threats to fans of the opposite team.

It of course helps when your fan base is a bunch of blue collar workers rather than a bunch of business men in suits, and there's the fact that it's cheaper to go to and drink at the game.

[Al]

Vinay: 1, 3 and 5 have my support. Particularly 3.

Burke once said the place is quiet because the fans are watching the game so intently... I actually think this has a lot to do with it. I know when I go I am glued to the ice - I'll let out an "oooh" for a close call, scream at the refs and yell at players to stop being 'bums' (something about being at an arena makes me revert to a circa 1920's fedora-wearing, rolled-up-newspaper-waving patron of yore). But for the most part, I'm engrossed in the game.

So where was I going with this... oh yeah. More alcohol :) 100% agree!

PS - Also agree that the PA telling us to "make some noise" has the opposite effect - I specifically quiet down when those PSA's come on so I don't give them the impression that bushleague sh*t works.

[Vince]

A lot of what you've written here is absolutely dead on. I'm in Montreal on business and was talking to some staunch fans here and I complained about the lower bowl of the ACC looking like the backstop at Yankee Stadium. The seats are too damn expensive and so many people that have those seats are posers who pray for the playoffs to get on TV if the team scores a goal ! I agree: get one section for real fans.

Don't even get me started about the music. Damien Cox wrote about it last year, and here's the fact: the music at the ACC, whether for the Leafs or Raps, usually averages a past due date of 25 years. I mean, even the Buffalo Sabres were looping the intro of "Pump Up The Jam" by Technotronic 20 years ago.

In essence, the music at the ACC takes fans out of the game. It does nothing to build any energy and the only time they do anything with music is if the Leafs are ahead. A bit counterproductive and utterly useless.

[Andrew]

50 Mission Cap is untouchable. Turn in your Leafs citizenship if you can't get behind this song.

[Tom Jones]

The fans need to take ownership of the building when the Leafs are playing, they need to create an environment of energy and support.......Where other teams and their fans hate to come into because the home crowd will be behind their team.

So you want to inject life here is my plan:

1) Stop with the negativity and support your team.
2) Scream at the top of your lungs when a goal is scored, and wear your Leafs jersey with pride.

[leafland'r]

I can't comment on the on site environs. I have never been to a Leaf game. Ticket prices are not affordable. Yet, as an "armchair centreman" religously in front of the TV I now get a chance to sound off 'bout the empty platinum rows during much of the game... I HATE IT ! Thank you for listening.

[Brian]

The quiet arena isn't a Toronto Maple Leafs phenomenon. It's a Toronto thing. Concert audiences in this city take a while to warm up. And even then, they're going to make noise if there's nothing to cheer about.

See, Toronto fans aren't the brainless twits that cheer for the Canucks, nor the masses of children and teens who support the Sens in the distant suburbs of Ottawa.

Toronto Maple Leafs fans can and will be loud... for a winner. I was their when the playoff sweep against the Sens was completed. Couldn't hear myself scream. Actually could not hear the yells exiting my lungs.

As soon as an entertaining winner is iced again, there'll be noise.

Until then, the booze suggestion would help us be more like the Canuckleheads.

[Ian K]

I had an idea that they install blue led lights all over the place in, at the bottom of seats, etc. that have 3 stages of intensity, the lightest blue would be reserved for the standard noise the ACC crowd makes. The middle level for the GO LEAFS GO chanting type of noise and the darkest (leaf blue) for when the playoffs come back to town (or we are cheering on Luke's Troops) and the place gets really rocking like we know it can. Just think, you could actually SEE and HEAR the passion. The place takes on this menacing dark blue tone and the crowd builds into a long roar. I think that would look cool.

Really though Idea # 1 is the best. Flip the seating. let the real fans get a sniff of the ice. Will neer happen though.. :(

[Chuck]

How about playing "My Name Is Jonas" by Weezer..? I always think of that song when I see Gustavson make a big save..

[Max Skull]

mostly great ideas! there are so many awesome leaf fans out there that we need at the games CHEERING on the team. I'm not a fan of the "make some noise" announcements. its silly. it would make more sense to have an announcement before the game encouraging fans to support their team throughout. im not interested in yelling because there are different coloured busses racing on a the screen between whistles. also broadcasting a fake crowd through the speakers is an interesting experimental idea but no broadcasters at the live game please!

[Ian K]

3 words...BLUE PATCH BOYS
We need a supporters section where a hardcore group of season ticket holders from the upper bowl can be seen and band together to get some atmoshpere going

[johnnyk]

I get how the ACC could be made louder. From what I hear its already pretty hostile in terms of value-for-money.

[Leaf shredder / Kid Delicious]

You want noise?? Bus in Habs fans.

[Captain Cornejo]

I agree on the booze-us-up for cheap idea. I went to one game (ticket holder couldn't go, tickets were up for grabs) and brought a friend along. My friend sat next to a lady who was nice and toasty before the end of the first period. She would dance around and cheer, nearly falling into the row in front of us numerous times. Yes, she may have been drunk, but she was more lively than any of us in that section. However my friend did not appreciate sitting beside a lively fan. Yet again, my friend doesn't understand why people are drunk and loud at sporting events. Now that, I don't understand.

Bring on the cheap booze!

[80s Leafs]

I just finished reading the Dimanno piece on Luke Schenn. The answer to making the ACC louder became obvious: Get the Bieb to sing the anthem every home game, and ensure at least 10,000 of the fans in the building are females under age 14. You want noise? You got it right off the bat!

[Sens-ible Bill]

Brian: "See, Toronto fans aren't the brainless twits that cheer for the Canucks, nor the masses of children and teens who support the Sens in the distant suburbs of Ottawa."
"Brainless twits" --- to me, name calling usually signals the lack of a rational argument or mature observation.
What's brainless about cheering for an excellent team like the Canucks?
As for Sens fans, my wife and I are darn near seniors --- who mostly sit in the 100 Level (lowest bowl) --- and we regularly see the arena filled --- for top teams and when Sens playing well --- with people of ALL ages, at ALL levels of the arena, including whole families.
Yes, the camera likes to show cute kids in Sens jerseys cheering their little hearts out. Does your antagonism stem from jealousy over the fact that in Ottawa, parents can afford to bring their kids to an NHL game, even in the lower levels?
Not every game, mind you. Though these seats are obviously cheaper and far more available than at the ACC, they are still expensive enough to force us, and others, to pick and choose which games we attend.
The difference is that if we don't wait to long to buy tickets in advance, we CAN get tickets down at ice level, without mortgaging our souls or giving up our first-born.
I believe tickets in this area average between $150 and perhaps $180 each, depending on the game. We paid $160 each to see the Canucks vs. the Sens, sitting along the side, 11 rows up.
We don't wear suits and ties --- actually we wear our team jerseys --- and all the schmoozing and deal making actually takes place ABOVE us, several rows up in the boxes, which are small rooms opening onto 16 seats cordoned off from from the regular seats in the upper rows of the ice-level section by a short stone wall.
We've even watched games from there, as guests and as part of a group who booked one such room. Frankly I prefer to sit further down on my own dime so I don't have to fight off the distraction of the borderline hockey fans partying back in the room where the food and drink are. Sure, I get my share of the goodies but bring them back to my seat. (g)
So make fun of Sens fans if you want, but seats are so available we can actually voice our displeasure when the team is under performing by going to the games less often.
Hard for Leaf fans to do that if they can't get near the ice to begin with unless they somehow score free tickets or pay a small fortune to a scalper.
No wonder so many Leaf fans (like Sabre and Penguin fans) come to Ottawa where they actually have a legitimate, won't-break-the-bank shot at decent tickets to see their team in action.

[Sens-ible Bill]

Pumping in and blasting out fake crowd noise?
Wouldn't that make the Leaf fans on hand a bunch of Milli Vanillis?
How would it look to the rest of the world (via TV) to SEEMINGLY hear the sound of thousands and thousands of excited fans coming from all those EMPTY Gold and Platinum seats?
Really, I don't think Leaf fans would like getting a reputation for HAVING TO FAKE IT.
I like (most) Leaf fans so I can't help offering serious advice: DON'T DO IT!
I have a feeling it could come back to haunt you guys in a big, and BAD, way.
That's just my humble opinion.

[Sens-ible Bill]

"Although story out of Ottawa this week that they want to ban leaf fans from the crowd because they ruin the experience for the sens fans"
Chris, can you give me a source for that story? I'm here in Ottawa and though I have seen references to it here in Leafland, I still haven't seen or heard that story back here in Ottawa.
So first, I'd really like to confirm that it's not just some urban myth going around --- you know, the kind that if people repeat it enough without checking it out, people start believing it's true.
Also I'd like to find out if it is based on some phony issue stirred up by some rabble-rousing radio talk show or online blog.
Because even if some relatively legitimate source put this out, I am pretty sure that the majority of us Sens fans think that's nuts. I know I do.
Unless it's some tongue-in-cheek plot to just rile up some Leaf fans. (g)

VM Replies: I think the origins of this are indeed tongue-in-cheek: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/smallbusiness/Leafs+buds+fans/3864110/story.html

[Sens-ible Bill]

Simmer: $14.25 for a cup (10 oz) of beer?
You've got to be kidding.
I don't know what a cup of beer costs at Scotiabank Place here in Ottawa, but I'm pretty sure it isn't that much.

[Sens-ible Bill]

I recently mentioned attending the Canucks vs. Sens game in Ottawa and how there were fans for the Canucks, plus several other teams.
The two gentlemen from Toronto sitting beside us were amazed with their seats --- on the side, 11 rows up from the ice --- and the price they paid for them ($160 ea.) They informed us that there were no way they could get their hands on hockey tickets this close to the ice at the ACC and even if they did, it would cost them a lot more than $160.
Which reminded me of when my wife and I visited Toronto in August and in addition to a special trip to the ROM for the Terracotta Army exhibit, we took in a Jays game, with our oldest son, who lives and works in Toronto.
I'm not really a Jays fan, but the Yankees were in town and I wanted to see modern legends like Derek Jeeter and Jose Posada live.
We were somewhat disappointed with our seats --- about 25 rows up just past 3rd base. I wanted to buy early online but my son said the best seats (dugout seats or something like that) weren't available on line. So he made a special trip to the Rogers Centre box office, only to find they were no longer available there either. (Sold out, I believe, probably to Yankee fans.)
But what the heck, we settled for our $71 seats and watched Bautista put it out of the park.
Anyway, turned out there were Yankee fans scattered all around us, including a whole family to my right. Chatting with the mom I discovered they often came to Toronto to see their Yankees play because no way could they get, or afford, seats this close back at Yankee stadium.
So, I guess, as usual, everything is relative.
BTW, there were some young lads (late teens? early 20s?) sitting one row down and a few seats over from me. One guy was wearing a Yankee shirt with the name CANO on the back. Unfortunately for him, the Yankees in general (they lost) and Cano in particular, didn't have a very good game.
First time the hit ball went right over Cano's head at second base, I spoke out loud: "Who IS that guy playing second base? He's TOO short!"
No reaction.
Conveniently, just a few innings later, another hit happened to soar over Cano's head, just out of his reach despite his incredible leap for it.
"See! I told you that Canoe guy is too short."
No reaction.
I called Cano (Can-O) Canoe (Can-ooh) a few more times during the game but got no reaction from this guy --- though that NY family next to me thought it was pretty funny.
After the game, as he and his buddies were walking by, I told the Cano fan that he was a good sport, not once letting me get a visible rise out of him. He trned and smiled big time.
Once again, despite being in staid old Toronto, we'd had fun at a sporting event by interacting with those around us.

[Sens-ible Bill]

OK. Will try to keep this one short. Never saw a hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens, only concerts. 1976, Stones playing 2 back-to-back nights. As Ottawa music critic I'm down on assignment to cover both shows. First night, TO crowd, sitting on their hands. Stones NOT energized, fall into routine, almost ho-hum performance. Next night, crowd not local, all from out of town. Stones hyped. Loud and proud crowd takes them higher. Great electric performance. Mick: "How many here from Montreal?" THUNDEROUS response. "How many here from Ottawa?" Another THUNDEROUS response. Shouting, cheering, dancing at their seats far more fun than tepid applause the previous night. Thought it then, think it now: Come on Torontonians. Showing some emotion is NOT uncool, does NOT make you less than "world class." A superior attitude just makes it harder for us, the Rest of Canada, to show our love for you. It's true.

[Sens-ible Bill]

VM Replies: I think the origins of this are indeed tongue-in-cheek: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/smallbusiness/Leafs+buds+fans/3864110/story.html
Thanks VM. I know Mark. (I worked for The Citizen for over 30 years until health problems made me take long-term disability leave several years back.)
In columns like this --- Mark's humour columns as opposed to his business stuff --- Mark is DEFINITELY tongue in cheek. LOL
You should see if you can find the column he wrote (I believe it was him) when the Leafs were 4-0 and Mark was suggesting they were going to go 82-0 and we might as well just skip to the playoffs. Heck, might as well give them the Cup then. LOL It was DEFINITELY tongue in cheek and quite funny.
Again, much thanks.

VM Replies: Small world. Sorry to hear about your health problems. I hope you're on the mend. I'll have to track down that column tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Pyramid Power]

@Sens-ible Bill

Very interesting Stones story, and I can really relate to it.

I too have many many many stories to tell about Toronto and concertgoers and lack of noise and passion. I do not know whether that has changed now, but I somehow I really doubt it.

Will relate a few anecdotes here: saw U2 circa 1985 approx. in Montreal. Absolute pandemonium. Could not hear myself think, and came close to being a spiritual event for me and many fans there as strange as that sounds. Or was it what we had ingested? lol Can't remember.

Next night in Ottawa. Following the band. Big fan at the time. Another superb crowd, but not close to Montreal. Still very very excellent, and the band responded in kind.

Two nights later in Toronto. Good but easily the weakest of the three shows for crowd noise and passion and enthusiasm. Bono, The Edge and two other gents in U2 clearly surprised and disappointed and the show suffered as a result.

This pains me to say but it is true. Toronto fans be they kids at concerts to hockey fans to baseball fans just do not bring the heat in general. Not always but in general. It's horrible.

I remember going to Jays games back in 2004, and being by far and away the loudest at those games. Would do this for fun just to tease my young daughter at the time: wait until the silence became so acute you could hear fans talking from far, far away. Would then bellow at the very top of my leather lungs, "Let's go Jays!" and other cheers.
My daughter of course was embarrassed, but other fans threw me looks as if to say, 'You should be ashamed of yourself,' and looked quite annoyed too. It was as if I was disturbing their reverie. Weird. Sad.

I disagree with piping in artificial noise btw. Seahawks allegedly do it, and other NFL teams including the Colts apparently do this. Why not? How could it hurt? It might damage Leafs fans reputations, but our reputation can't sink any further at the Air Canada Coffin imo.

I have one other suggestion for Toronto the Good and its denizens. Get a major buzz on BEFORE going to the games. I used to along with friends. Madness ensued. Smuggle in booze if possible if that is what you need to lose your innate, weird unfathomable Toronto-centric inhibitions.

I remember getting fairly tanked before a Leafs-Philly game at Maple Leaf Gardens. As the first period ended I went to buy myself, and my brother-in-law at the time, beers at the concession stand. Guy at the concession stand saw I was feeling 'groovy'.

He refused to serve me even though my behaviour was fine, he simply made the judgment call that I looked a little too gone. His call. I freaked out and really went off on him. Security swiftly called, and I led Maple Leaf Garden guards on a wild wild chase all over the stadium at top speed as I did not want to get kicked out of the game. Eventually nabbed and tossed out of the stadium. Pitiful. No cell phones back then so my relative had no idea what had happened to me.

One more tale. I can remember trying to bring my own food into the Skydome many years ago. Not allowed and this was pre-911. Made a big stink of that, wrote to this newspaper about it in the Letters to the Editor section, called the Skydome, asked the ushers at the stadium who said I could not get into the game with my food why I was not allowed to do so. They said it was club policy. Found out later of course that the Skydome simply wanted to make more money, and there was some sort of agreement in place with McDonald's. Just pathetic.

Toronto sports fans: GET BUZZED BEFORE YOU GO TO THE GAMES AND GET LOUD AND PROUD! PUT YOUR GAME FACES ON! THE PLAYERS FEEL IT AND RESPOND TO IT!

[Pyramid Power]

I hope you have had success contacting the people who run the music at the ACC, and make the ridiculous decisions on what to play Vinay. Should be fantastic to hear what they have to say for themselves, and how very old they likely are. LOL

That beer cost just stuns me man. Amazing. Horrifying. how the price has increased since I moved away from my beloved hometown of Toronto.

Many posters here have commented that Leafs fans can bring the volume and excitement with a winning team. That is certainly true.

I remember the '93 Cup run, and regularly haunting the front of the Gardens for tix by any means necessary including scalpers. Went to see the amazing game where Cujo went wild for the Blues, and the game went into double OT before Killer won it in dramatic fashion. One of the loudest most intense and tense games I have ever been to. Maybe the best. And making friends with fans in standing room. We were doing wild high fives and dancing together after goals, and having great fun starting 'Go Leafs Go' chants.

Not quite as wild in '94, '99 and 2002 during our other recent conference final runs, but perhaps that is just my memory of events.

My point here is that, yes, we need a winner to bring out the true fire in a Leafs fan. But first we need the team to get to the playoffs, and be a contender.

If we can get a sixth man going as they do in Montreal which really does intimidate our enemies that sure would help.

Toronto native Michael Cammalleri has said one of the big reasons he signed with Montreal after being spurned by Brian Burke and the Leafs was because of their amazing fans.

He went from the funereal silence of L.A., then Calgary and the mausoleum out there to Montreal and he loves it there. His performance last year scoring the most goals in the playoffs of any player shows what an energized crowd can do for one guy let alone a whole team.

Once again I will say to the keep a stiff upper lip Anglo Saxon Toronto the God denizens of the ACC - if you can't lose your inhibitions naturally just cheering for a team you like then get swakked before the game!

DRINK UP TORONTO AND GO LEAFS GO!

[80s Leafs]

Playlist to get ACC crowd going:

Mony Mony - Billy Idol
Here for a good Time - Trooper
Shook me All Night Long - AC/DC
Footloose - Kenny Loggins
Old Time Rock n' Roll - Bob Seger

Wait, that's the playlist from my wedding 17 years ago. Sorry.

[Sens-ible Bill]

@Pyramid Power
You're right about Montreal and its concert fans. I always loved going there for concerts. And yes, I considered Ottawa a close second. As a music critic in the '60s, '70s and '80s, I heard from a lot of artists and performers how they'd been puzzled by a surprisingly staid reception in Toronto.
I could never understand it.
BTW, I think I figured out those Leaf fans who stand and wave frantically at the TV camera when the play enters their end. Wearing Leaf sweaters instead of suits, and sometimes face-paint and blue-and-white wigs as well, they're obviously your average fan to whom landing in the Platinum seats is a rarity and an achievement akin to scaling Mount Everest. No wonder they want to be seen and have their accomplishments recognized.
I won't be attending tonight's game (Saturday) at Scotiabank Place due to being under the weather for so long I never got around to getting tickets. So if the seats we would have bought down front aren't occupied by Senator fans, I hope a couple of Leaf fans get a chance to see hockey up close. They can rest assured they won't have to sit amongst suits and their snobbish wives. Which is probably why we DON'T call these prime seats Platinum seats. You DON'T need a Platinum credit card to sit there.
And the way my poor Senators have been playing, if they, as has been their habit of late, don't play their best and the Leafs do, well then, the Leafs COULD win. A possibility to look forward to after basically coming up empty --- except Kessel's gift set-up --- last night (Friday) in Buffalo.
Take care my friend-in-hockey (and concerts).