3 reasons why masks could lead to quieter Los Angeles Rams, Chargers home games
Masks are making a comeback in various sports across the country. Next week and for the foreseeable future, all fans will be required to wear a mask at the Sofi Stadium, regardless of their vaccination status.
The implications of the change have been outlined across the internet, but the specific implications for Rams and Chargers' home games have not. Here are three reasons why the mask mandate could hurt the Chargers and Rams' home-field advantage by reducing crowd noise.
#1 Quieter volume per fan
By now, pretty much everyone has tried to talk to someone else wearing a mask while wearing a mask. It is more difficult to understand the other person and clearly hear what they are saying in such a situation.
With thousands of fans likely to be screaming at the top of their lungs through a mask, decibel levels will naturally take a hit.
As such, visiting teams may have an easier time communicating on third and fourth down, when fans tend to raise the volume. That significantly diminishes one of the biggest aspects of having home-field advantage.
#2 Less turnout
With masks now required, some fans may not want to go and sit in a place for upwards of four hours while breathing through a mask. As a result, don't expect stadiums to be at full capacity in September. That will also hurt the crowd's ability to influence games.
As a result, the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers could find themselves in a more neutral field. That may result in a loss or more this season. Some tight games could only be a 'delay of game' penalty away from winning or losing.
#3 Less focused fans
Fans wearing masks are inherently less focused than those without. It is just one more thing to fiddle with. It could also trigger thoughts about Covid-19, work, or other such distractions that could lead some more casual fans to miss a play.
They could have been cheering their team on and helping disrupt communication, but instead, they could be distracted by a broken mask or one with ketchup on it now.
Any number of things can happen to a mask to distract fans from a game. Even just thinking about how much they don't want to wear one could cause fans to miss an NFL play on the field. Of course, one fan out of tens of thousands doesn't impact much. However, in combination with other variables ten thousand people would likely be grappling with, the noise levels could come down significantly.