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"Do Not Enter! Be Quiet! Sit Down!" Stadium Etiquette


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Share stories of stadium etiquette or those who ignore it.

Mine: At least she told us! 

Two years ago at Finals, a woman sitting across the aisle and one row up spent considerable time between corps telling all her seatmates that her son was soon to enter ther field with his corps and she planned to be unabashed in her vocal support for him before, during, and after his show.  Boy she did NOT disappoint!  I've heard plenty of "Mom Screams" in my life but this gal had lungs that challenged most steam locomotive, and a searing voice that rivaled the train's whistle!

I honestly thought the poor kid must have cringed under the onslaught of his corps-mates after she "showed her support".

https://pilotonline.com/entertainment/article_fc494171-90c5-5767-8780-16b91696a541.html

 

Edited by garfield
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A friend of mine is a professional music critic. He was so moved by a visiting orchestra's performance of a Bruckner symphony that he applauded following one particularly expressive movement. Another music critic who writes for a larger media outlet in the same city noted in his review that someone had disrupted the concert by applauding in the middle rather than waiting until the piece was concluded, as is the normal etiquette these days.

Mind you, when that symphony was written, it was still regular practice to applaud between movements.

 

As for stadium etiquette, I've noticed in the marching band world that Bands of America pays lip service to the idea that one shouldn't enter or exit the seating area during performances, but they do absolutely nothing to enforce that, at least not at their regional events. A week ago at their Canton competition, there was a steady stream of students and parents in and out all day while bands were playing.

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My only issue is people that leave/enter during performances. Beyond that, cheer all you want. If I wanted to wait until the end of a performance, I'd go see the Chicago Symphony, although people offer clap prior to the end there as well. I'm all about cheering when a corps, or members do something that moves me.

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what he said. Hell i had to judge over a chorus of cowbells yesterday, and i thought it was cool that parents actually showed up to support their kids. 

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A couple from back in the day:

1970s, I remember the "Muchachos Lady."  A woman... perhaps someone here knows who she was..... who would yell "GO, GO, MUCHACHOS!!!"... or something along those lines... before every one of their performances... or at least the ones I was at. LOL.  This woman was really loud. But I think the fans looked forward to hearing her. It was almost like it wasn't a Muchachos performance without her.

1992... DCI East prelims in Allentown. My wife, myself, and a friend of ours were there. Great show, and the big highlight for us was the chance to see Vanguard doing the Bottle Dance in their 25th anniversary "Fiddler" show.  So.... Vanguard's guard began the Bottle Dance... we all stood up to cheer... and a woman behind us reached up and pulled me and our friend down into our seats, and told us,  "Sit down!!! We're trying to watch the corps!!!"   Not kidding here.

So, our friend... who honestly is one of the most laid-back people any of us will ever meet... takes an extreme situation to set him off... turned around to her and growled, "Lady, if you ever touch me again I'll kill you and everyone with you!!!"  :w00t: So... we all stood back up and continued cheering the Bottle Dance, this time without interruption. :laughing:

Edited by Fran Haring
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Hoot - Holler - Cheer - Clap - Boo - Bloo whatever ...I don't care...I am actually a fan that sometimes gets a bit disruptive when I'm moved by something either visual/musical or both...I don't boo though and haven't really heard much of that in quite a number of years now anyway...

If someone gets to their seat just a little late (the performance is just beginning) I don't mind that much either...I can't recall people leaving mid-performance, but I'm sure it happens...

Believe it or not the most disruptive thing that gets me upset is corps staff during a performance...I'm not going to mention any specific corps, but they can be the most disruptive to me and others during performances (not every staff)...This has affected me numerous times because I'm sitting in VIP/premium seat sections and the staff either stand behind or along side me in the aisle. 

Conversation by corps staff BEFORE the corps performs does not bother me, but I do recall this season that a particular woman was irate against several staff members behind her and told them so...unfortunately a few of the staff people didn't take the high road which made the situation even worse as she was even nastier for the staff that came after them...In my opinion she was definitely overreacting for the most part, but seemed to hold on to a sense of entitlement because she was a paying ticket holder...

Two years ago at Allentown, a few folks in the crowd got upset at one of the box judges for being too loud with his commentary...he was very cordial and tried to explain that he got really excited just like everyone else etc...it was a very professional response and he quieted himself down a lot.  The funny thing about it is he was not disruptive to me at all and I was sitting right next to him.  

It seems to me that what one person might find disruptive...another doesn't and vice versa...

 

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I used to love on the old videos and recordings where it sounded like a fist fight between the cheering of the fans and the power of the endings of shows. My rookie year at Madison in 1997 is so fun to listen to that crowd just growing in volume, and us returning the favor.

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32 minutes ago, Liahona said:

Hoot - Holler - Cheer - Clap - Boo - Bloo whatever ...I don't care...I am actually a fan that sometimes gets a bit disruptive when I'm moved by something either visual/musical or both...I don't boo though and haven't really heard much of that in quite a number of years now anyway...

If someone gets to their seat just a little late (the performance is just beginning) I don't mind that much either...I can't recall people leaving mid-performance, but I'm sure it happens...

Believe it or not the most disruptive thing that gets me upset is corps staff during a performance...I'm not going to mention any specific corps, but they can be the most disruptive to me and others during performances (not every staff)...This has affected me numerous times because I'm sitting in VIP/premium seat sections and the staff either stand behind or along side me in the aisle. 

Conversation by corps staff BEFORE the corps performs does not bother me, but I do recall this season that a particular woman was irate against several staff members behind her and told them so...unfortunately a few of the staff people didn't take the high road which made the situation even worse as she was even nastier for the staff that came after them...In my opinion she was definitely overreacting for the most part, but seemed to hold on to a sense of entitlement because she was a paying ticket holder...

Two years ago at Allentown, a few folks in the crowd got upset at one of the box judges for being too loud with his commentary...he was very cordial and tried to explain that he got really excited just like everyone else etc...it was a very professional response and he quieted himself down a lot.  The funny thing about it is he was not disruptive to me at all and I was sitting right next to him.  

It seems to me that what one person might find disruptive...another doesn't and vice versa...

 

I love sitting by judges!

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If someone is engaged in the show and responding to it, I'm fine with a whole lot.  

If someone is boorishly hooting at any pause for the sake of hooting...ugh.

If someone is just chattering on with their neighbor about whatever crap with no attention to the show...get out, you can do that in the souvie stands.

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