Will Games Without Fans Reduce Home Field Advantage?

JD_KaPow

JD_KaPow

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If the season is held with no fans in the stands, one might expect the biggest on-the-field effect to be a reduction in home-field advantage. Over the last five years, home teams have gone...

2015: .539
2016: .579
2017: .566
2018: .602
2019: .518

Interesting: HFA was way down last year. I'd expect it to look more like last year's .518 than the usual higher numbers. And of course teams like Seattle that enjoy substantial noise-related benefits in home games may get hurt worse.

Conveniently, Dallas goes to Seattle week 3. Could be a substantial advantage (or lack of disadvantage) to have empty stadiums through that game.
 
Doomsday101

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JD_KaPow said:
If the season is held with no fans in the stands, one might expect the biggest on-the-field effect to be a reduction in home-field advantage. Over the last five years, home teams have gone...

2015: .539
2016: .579
2017: .566
2018: .602
2019: .518

Interesting: HFA was way down last year. I'd expect it to look more like last year's .518 than the usual higher numbers. And of course teams like Seattle that enjoy substantial noise-related benefits in home games may get hurt worse.

Conveniently, Dallas goes to Seattle week 3. Could be a substantial advantage (or lack of disadvantage) to have empty stadiums through that game.
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HFA is not just fans it is not having to travel.
 
JD_KaPow

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Doomsday101 said:
HFA is not just fans it is not having to travel.
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Agreed. I'm not saying it would disappear. HFA includes a lot of things:
Fan noise interfering with offensive execution.
Officials (influenced by fans) making close calls in favor of the home team.
Travel-related factors, including fatigue.
 
elcowboi

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acr731 said:
I gotta know....... if there are no fans in the stands to watch the games, will Zeke still do his stupid moronic 'feed me' routine?
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Yes, because unfortunately people will still watch him on tv.
 
CouchCoach

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The no fans idea sounds like a decent fall back, until it happens. Years back, when NBC thought about a game with no announcers sounded like a good idea too, until they did it.

The ratings are not dependent as much on fans of a team as fans of the league and would that get boring to a lot of football fans? If college ball doesn't come off and they take over those slots with as many as 8 games a weekend, is that better or worse? Does that end up being more of what a lot don't want?

When you take into consideration the finished product of a game, how effective will games without fans be? Would the ratings end up being better or worse?
 
CouchCoach

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I do think if they're going to try this without fans that they suspend the language filter and rules and we get to hear them trash talk and cuss each other out. That would add a little to the game with some well placed "Yo Mama's".
 
Cowboy4ever

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I don't see a world in which there are not at least some fans in the stadiums this year. There re things that can be done to limit the exposure possibilities. And there is no way anyone that goes to a game doesn't know and acknowledge the risk involved. Games will be played and the stadiums will be full (ish).
 
aikemirv

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glimmerman said:
Florida is in phase 2. By 4th of July the state will be open. I figure some states will be the same or better.
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Yeah my only fear is that the NFL views itself as so woke and self righteous that they feel they know better than the individual states and make a league rule!
 
zerofill

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acr731 said:
I gotta know....... if there are no fans in the stands to watch the games, will Zeke still do his stupid moronic 'feed me' routine?
Click to expand...

It doesn't actually bother me... when he is running like we expect him to. It bothers me when he is stuffed 10 times, and then finally makes a first down.
And it doesn't need to be something he does every friggin first down. But, if he is running like a machine like 2016-2018, I will let him do it every play for all I care.
If he is running like last year... put that spoon away! lol
 
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