The National Football League is reportedly considering a league-wide policy that would allow for the sounds of fans to be pumped into the stadiums during the pandemic.
“Sources: NFL is now considering a league-wide policy that would enable fan sound to be heard in stadiums,” ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter shared Wednesday on Twitter and Instagram. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
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Sources: NFL is now considering a league-wide policy that would enable fan sound to be heard in stadiums.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2020
Fox announcer Joe Buck and SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen (via Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia) discussed back in May how the Fox network planned to add virtual fan and crowd noises to the broadcasts games. The clip was noted by the Bleacher Report. (RELATED: Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio Says He Doesn’t ‘See Racism At All In The NFL’)
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“It’s pretty much a done deal,” Buck shared. “I think whoever’s gonna be at that control is going to have to be very good at their job and be realistic with how a crowd would react depending on what just happened on the field.”
“It’s really important,” he added, before he shared that networks were also planning to put “virtual fans” in the stands so when you see a “wide shot” it will look like the stadium is full, instead of empty.
The league has given each team discretion how to handle attendance at home games. The Kansas City Chiefs announced this week that it would allow 22 percent of capacity at Arrowhead Stadium due to the coronavirus, per bizjournals.com.