"No clapping please"

[jkjoregon]

Today heard the Fayetteville NCAA track announcer say ' No clapping please" . Apparently the athlete in the High Jump didn't want it. :shock:

But I can see the point.

The rhythmic clapping to encourage the athlete is a staple at Hayward Field. And for the running events, the clapping should not cause problems ; rather would give the athlete a strong feeling of support.

But what about the field events/ technical events?

Some eventers seem to really like and encourage it - males generally more than females, and male long jumpers most of all. 8-)

For others, it seems to disturb their concentration. Rachel Yurkovich of Oregon occasionally tries to "sneek" a javelin throw before the crowd is aware.

[EPelle]

Some athletes actually initiate the clapping, and will stand on the runway (or apron) until the crowd gets into the groove.

[bad hammy]

As a fan I hate it, always have. Curse the day Willie Banks (or whoever) started it. But then I am probably in the group mentioned in another thread by another poster: "You guys and gals on this board are some old foggies (sp) and farts."

While I am biding my time waiting to go deaf I wear high-tech earplugs to meets. Also helps with stupid noise makers (cow bells, etc.), overly-loud PA systems, and the Hayward Field crowd during OT 800s.

[gh]

As a fan I hate it, always have. Curse the day Willie Banks (or whoever) started it. But then I am probably in the group mentioned in another thread by another poster: "You guys and gals on this board are some old foggies (sp) and farts."

While I am biding my time waiting to go deaf I wear high-tech earplugs to meets. Also helps with stupid noise makers (cow bells, etc.), overly-loud PA systems, and the Hayward Field crowd during OT 800s.

It predates Willie Banks. He just took the Stockholm crowd and ran with it one year.

[gh]

The athlete in question was Destinee Hooker. As one pressbox wag put it, nobody wants to hear "clap" and "hooker" in the same sentence. :roll:

[mrbowie]

Gary, you are too much, yet so accurate!

I think clapping is rude and selfish.

[Dutra]

Gary, you are too much, yet so accurate!

I think clapping is rude and selfish.

I agree. Screaming and yelling would be MUCH better!

I'm not a real big fan of the "quiet please" we get in sports such as Tennis. When a batter steps out of a batters box at a baseball game or the holder stands up out of his stance on a field goal attempt to complain to the officials of their respective sports that "it's a little too noisy for me to continue and if you don't I may storm off the field in a huff" I may consider some sympathy for those offended.

[croflash]

To me it seems like this depends on culture and origin of the athlete very often, a lot of Russian athletes would rather want to make their attempt when nobody is watching instead of asking for clapping and support.

Atmosphere and therefore "noise" is part of sports and it should be. There are some situations when the crowd should be quiet, but the general mood can't be positive if the entire stadium is muted.

[Walt Murphy]

The athlete in question was Destinee Hooker. As one pressbox wag put it, nobody wants to hear "clap" and "hooker" in the same sentence. :roll:

The spirit of Ron Reid lives on

[gh]

those were the next two words somebody uttered!

[mrbowie]

To me it seems like this depends on culture and origin of the athlete very often, a lot of Russian athletes would rather want to make their attempt when nobody is watching instead of asking for clapping and support.

Atmosphere and therefore "noise" is part of sports and it should be. There are some situations when the crowd should be quiet, but the general mood can't be positive if the entire stadium is muted.

When Charlie Dumas approached the bar in an attempt to become the first high jumper to clear 7 feet, not only was there no clapping, but you could have heard a pin drop. Pandemonium broke loose when he cleared the bar.

That, my friend, is atmosphere.

Of course, that was at a time before the "me" generation came into being, when those in the stands showed respect for the athletes and the sport, when people knew when it was appropriate to be demonstrative and when it was correct to shut the f--k up.

When I see some of these morons who know nothing about track and field waiting for any excuse to begin vigorous clapping because that is the only thing they can find to bring some attention to their sorry little lives, I feel like exiting the stadium.

[mrbowie]

By the way, to completely belabor the point, I blame it all on TV, which before the advent of the Internet, claimed and deserved the title of the "Worst Thing That Ever Befell Mankind."

Have you ever been to a sporting event, especially college athletics, where the TV camera is put in front a group of college kids and these youngsters are encouraged to act retarded, mugging for the camera?

This is some TV director's idea of conveying the flavor of the event. It is exactly this phony b. s. that makes people watching at home want to behave in a similar manner the next time they attend a game or a meet.

[tandfman]

What too often happens at track meets is that when tv goes live, the PA announcer tells the crowd to make a lot of noise because we're live. Totally pointless (and misleading, too).

[tandfman]

I'm not a real big fan of the "quiet please" we get in sports such as Tennis. When a batter steps out of a batters box at a baseball game or the holder stands up out of his stance on a field goal attempt to complain to the officials of their respective sports that "it's a little too noisey for me to continue and if you don't I may storm off the field in a huff" I may consider some sympathy for those offended.

Tennis is bad. Golf is worse. The ball isn't even moving when the so-called athletes have to deal with it.

[Dutra]

By the way, to completely belabor the point, I blame it all on TV, which before the advent of the Internet, claimed and deserved the title of the "Worst Thing That Ever Befell Mankind."

I think fans cheered prior to the 1940's but, since I wasn't around then, I cannot prove it.