This is a thread I've been tempted to start for a while, but have held off just because I don't get to that many games a year, but I feel like now is the time.
I always used to love seeing the Flames play as a kid because of how wild I remember the crowd being at the Dome. The lights dimming, the pump up music, the crowd going wild as the Flames shoot out upon a goal, but lately I've found it's quiet and not very lively in the arena.
I remember reading this off season that they had hired a team to re-do the in arena presentation and after attending the Predators and Penguins game it is definitely different, but is it any better?
TNT is an okay goal song, but Hell's Bells as an entrance doesn't seem to get the crowd going. I figured the Predators on a Friday night and the Penguins would be marquee match ups, but half the arena wasn't even in their seats as the team came out onto the ice. Granted, both games were losses, but the atmosphere never felt like a tough barn to play in. Is it just me or is the music quieter this year too?
Last year I went to games in Denver and Vegas and came away thoroughly impressed with their arena presentation. The music, the jumbotron silliness (instant replays are actually awesome), the noise, etc. With the Flames we get "Pucko" and a blooper real of people falling on their head?
So is presentation in the Dome not up to snuff compared to other arenas in the league? Or is it just me? I really believe they need some new marketing bodies to breathe some fresh air into their arena presentation. Thoughts?
How people can't get pumped by hearing the opening strains of hells bells is beyond me. In high school they would pay that over the speakers during football games, and I would be ready to go and rip someones head off and jam it down the bleeding stump.
I've always found though that outside of the 2004 long run where the crowds and the sea of red were the stars that the dome is one of the quietest and least fan invested environments out of any pro sports venue that I've been to.
Maybe we need more banner raisings. You know like the Oilers. We could have a 1 millionth customer banner, a perfect servings of french fries raising. A banner for Randy the usher who totally scored in the janitors closet with Mindy from the ticket office, we could have him out at center ice watching the banner being raised, tears streaming out of his eyes as Mindy looked at him resentfully and Randy's old man gives him a open handed blammo across the back of the head.
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Sweet, another negative thread. Lets fill the front page!!!
Not my intention for it to come off as negative. Just sharing my thoughts and observations on what I've been experiencing the past couple of years and curious if anyone else had thoughts on the subject?
Agree? Disagree? Doesn't really matter, but I figured this could be a good discussion as I'm sure other posters have been to way more sporting events than myself. Is it as simple as the team needs to win more and people will become more invested in games? Or do the Flames need to do a better job of marketing and involving the crowd. I figure it's probably a bit of both.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Last edited by bax; 10-26-2018 at 03:53 PM.
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It's not you. The atmosphere at games is terrible. Has been for years. I've been to soccer games in Ireland with 3000 people that make more noise than people in the Saddledome. Want to start a chant? People look at you like you're an idiot. Standing up to cheer a goal? Better sit down or someone may yell at you. Anything outside of GO FLAMES GO spurred on by a mascot is frowned upon.
If you want an atmosphere that actually encourages fans to get involved from the opening whistle to the final, the Flames are not the club for you. Maybe Cavalry FC can fulfill that niche for you.
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I bet of the Flames had beaten the Penguins last night no one would have dreamed to suggest that the atmosphere at the Saddledome is different these days.
Posters are just reacting to a very bad loss, which happens.
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Yeah, it's been a pretty #### environment the last 10 years, I'd say.
Post 2004, it was great for a few years. Then it slowly devolved back into the dreaded "Library".
This might be a "Grinds My Gears" kind of statement, but I hate it when some drunk a-hole tries to start the wave when the game is tied 1-1 or we're down 3 goals. Time and place people!!!! /rant
Overall the atmosphere sucks, and sure yeah, winning would make it better. But fan enthusiasm is waning and I'm as hardcore as it can get (in my mind). I think what's missing in hockey is what Torts said the other day. Nobody hates the other team anymore, and it's taken that passion out of the game.
I bet of the Flames had beaten the Penguins last night no one would have dreamed to suggest that the atmosphere at the Saddledome is different these days.
Posters are just reacting to a very bad loss, which happens.
I'm really not, I can assure you. This has been on my mind for the past two seasons and I have had conversations about it with Flames fans in my circle. As i said in my original post I thought I would hold off after reading that they were doing a complete overhaul on the arena presentation this year.
Unfortunately it's still not very good in my opinion. My only comparisons are Vegas and Colorado so I would love to hear what other people think that have visited some other barns.
I know it's a dinosaur song, but "Shot Down in Flames" by AC/DC is still my go-to music memory for our boys on the ice. That was a fantastic goal song and just made so much sense. Wish they would use it again.
But there are bigger fish to fry with 'Dome atmosphere. The crowds are noticeable and markedly dead. I think it's a mix of apathy/economics/corporate seats with lack of true fans/non-Calgarians cheering for the other teams, etc.
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Mandatory cocaine at security check, red bull replacing water in fountains, no bathrooms, soundtrack from Silent Hill 3 (metal scraping sounds) playing at full blast all night.
That will fix the atmosphere.
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I first visited the Dome in 1991 and it has always seemed quiet for Flames games other than from 2004 to 2009. It is definitely a Flames thing though and not a Calgary thing. When I attended the World Juniors in 1995 and the WHL finals in 1999 the place was absolutely rocking and I thought I felt the building shake.
If you are looking for an explanation it is likely a combination of a large number of corporate tickets and an inconsistent team. The 2004 run and the years following were an exception due to unexpected success getting the entire city excited with tickets still affordable enough to attract a rowdy younger crowd.
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I have been to the home opener in Chicago this year and other than the national anthem when the crowd was really loud, which they were famous for, during the game play it was no different than Saddledome.
Also went to the game in Edmonton last weekend, their atmosphere was no different than calgary, other than sitting with a bunch of no good fans making a bunch of no good comments
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It kills me to put this out. I live in Victoria and see a lot of Flanes games in Vancouver. Their sh*t fans are way louder and supportive than any crowd iv ever seen at the Dome. I think the whole thing is part of the culture problem in Calgary...or a result of it.
The atmosphere is awful, no doubt about it. There are several reasons for this including some blame I think the fans need to assume in terms of get off your ass and support your team. You’re a part of it. So help them out. But our fans are a little bit primadonna-like as well.
But for sure, the biggest reason the atmosphere sucks, is that the players don’t care. The team does not care. They honestly don’t. This core- does not care.
I’m not sure how you watch this team over the last couple seasons and draw a different conclusion. They play emotionless. They do not stand up for each other. They do not push back. They do not hit. They do not fight. They don’t stand up for their goalie. Their body language. Expressions. Actions. All of it speaks to people who are going through the motions and do not care.
This team doesn’t care. They want to get paid lots and then go party or do whatever 20 year olds do now. They don’t give a ####.
Fans feed off the energy of the team. Winning helps, yes, but so does- actual action. Like- something has to actually happen for people to cheer.
Here’s a list of things people do not cheer for:
-gliding
-sloppy passing
-dump and chase
-passionless push after a play
-other team scoring
-offsides
-icing
-missing the net
-inept powerplay
-never ending neutral zone play
-cycling
What people cheer for:
-goals
-hits
-fights
-saves
-actual things happening
-people who look invested
-hustling
So, since nobody gives a rats ass on the Flames except a small handful. What you get is a whole lot more of list 1, instead of list 2. So the fans clam up, and you can’t really blame them because it’s boring as hell, even though they could be louder- and then you have a quiet atmosphere.
That’s the NHL today. Stripped of passion, intensity, or most things that are worth watching are so infrequent. Year after year, it’s gettjng worse. But again the issue here is that this core and this team outside of Gio, Tkachuk and maybe Smith don’t care. I am absolutely convinced of that and I don’t think it can be fixed actually.
Like sure they may bounce back tomorrow, for a game, but certainly not consistently and certainly not for the full 60 minutes. It’s too hard and why bother? Guaranteed paycheques. Big ones. Sick! Skating? F that!
Last edited by Mr.Coffee; 10-26-2018 at 05:57 PM.
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It kills me to put this out. I live in Victoria and see a lot of Flanes games in Vancouver. Their sh*t fans are way louder and supportive than any crowd iv ever seen at the Dome. I think the whole thing is part of the culture problem in Calgary...or a result of it.
Yes, I made a special trip to Vancouver to watch the Flames play. I will say the crowd has a lot more fun and got into it more than the Flames crowd does. I will say that this is nothing new. My opinion is lose the organ, and get a different anthem singer. Perhaps a winning season and a playoff run will work even better. Look at what that did for the Blue Jays when they made the playoffs two years in a row. Everybody and their puppy dog suddenly became a Jays fan.
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Atmosphere at the Dome
