re: Death Valley vs. Autzen Stadium

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Great question. One would think.
What ticks me off is all during last year and leading up to the BCS game, and even right after the fans were crying for it badly. But the AD and Administration did not seem at all interested. They said at the time, that later on they would review the possibility. I think this is crazy, as the demand has far outweighed the supply for a long time now. If I have any extra friends that want to go to a game, I find it really hard to get tickets for them.

However there is a rumor going around that they plan to add 12k seats. I wish they would add triple that.

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The plan to expand Autzen is tucked away somewhere to be unearthed at some point in the next 5-10 years. (That plan is a legacy of the initial expansion.) As much as Duck fans want to see the stadium capacity extended, the AD doesn't have nearly as much money to work with as most think, and demand not being met in and of itself is not good justification for adding the seating. (Just because you have folks packing in standing-room-only seating does not mean you are ready to routinely sell-out 70,000 seats.) Further there are logistical problems with the city of Eugene - namely the fact that parking capacity is only decreasing these days. The city of Eugene would require the AD to figure something out to add parking if they wanted to expand Autzen.

I have been to actual games at the following schools/venue: Oregon, UT, TAMU,OU, LSU, Bama, Auburn, Miss St, Tenn, Florida, UGA, Ole Miss, USCe, Clemson, FSU, Iowa, Penn St, Michigan, ND, among others (Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, UH, etc, etc...)...I have not been to 4 major venues that are also mentioened among the best, tOSU, Nebraska, VaTech, USC...So based on seeing these 4 on tv and talking to several who have a REAL experiential basis of comparison, I'll include them also with that caveat...

They are all special in their own way. I "stratefy" them as follows for the in-stadium experience:

Tier 1 (Supreme): LSU, Florida, Penn State, TAMU
Tier 1A: (Almost Supreme) Oregon, Auburn, UGA, tOSU*
Tier 2: (Outstanding, but not as outstanding as they think they are for all round "electricity" for a huge game, but can still an awesome experience): Tenn, Bama, ND, VaTech*, Nebraska, UT, USC*
Tier 3: Great/Wonderful experiences: OU, Iowa, Michigan
Tier 4: Can't go wrong for fun: Clemson, Ole Miss
Tier 5: Everyone else

Been to Autzen, it's tiny and no where near as loud as TS. Now their Track Facility is legit.

therocketscientist, I just love your posts bro! You use real logic, intelligent argument and cleaver wit when you need to.
The way you broke down those groups was very logicality sound! However T-A&M should of been down to the second group, and UO up to the first. But I like your logic.

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but i LOVED Autzen and it is very very special. Think of it this way. You are the Spanish babe in the Miss Universe who is stellar, but Miss Italy is just flat out better. nothing to be ashamed of !

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You made me laugh my arse off with that one. Awesome post! How can I fight a post like that? Post of the month right there baby!
I am tempted to just admit defeat and smile at a great post like that...
However, 5 million Duck fans will linch me if I do not hold my ground, errrr I mean the 300 thousand, so I have to save my neck.

Lets bring another hotty into this shall we? Erin Andrews! We can all agree she fits the Miss Universe description. And she has been down on the field (which is my whole argument)at both LSU and UO. Now she is a UF Alum, so she might say the Swamp is louder. But I will pay pall a grand to anyone that can provide certifiable proof that it is her and she herself actually said this recently: Ask her, which stadium has been CURRENTLY the loudest stadium in college football between LSU and Oregon. If you can email or ask her, and get her to answer, I will paypall a thousand dollars to the first guy that proves that she thinks LSU is currently louder. And this has to be certifiable that it is her, and she really said this, and not asked 10 years ago, but currently. And by the way, I will give an extra grand if you provide her cell phone number too

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And I used the figure of at least over 100k. I know their were at least that many because that is the figure that Jerry Allen gave to their crews estimate of just that one Alum sponsored rally.

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With all due respect to Jerry, estimates of non-neutral observers of crowd sizes are notoriously unreliable. One man's 100,000 is another man's 20k. (Remember the "Million Man March"?)

The bottom line is that Auburn fans were willing to pay more for the tickets than Oregon fans -- that's a fact not in dispute, borne out by the balance of fans in the stadium, since all fans had equal access to tickets on the secondary market.. unless you know something I don't.

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Other Ducks have been simply quoting non biased reporters/ coaches/ or former players. If a reporter for Michigan who has also been to the swamp, the shoe, Death Valley, and Autzen, says nothing comes close to noise as UO, I will take him at his word.

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Fair enough, but the problem is that the number of neutral observers -- there I go again -- who have been at both stadiums in similar situations is very small. And yes, it is a fact that the noise on the field is much louder than it is on the stands.

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Therefor size or number of people does not always equal how loud a stadium is. Therefor is indeed NOT MATH!

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Nobody would ever accuse Michigan fans of being the "noise equivalent" of LSU fans. Not even Michigan fans. As they say in Ann Arbor, "Down In Front Is Not A Yell". And Michigan Stadium isn't built like either Autzen or TS -- it's a much shallower bowl, has no overhangs or decking to reflect the sound.

I submit to you that if you put 59,950 screaming LSU fans in Autzen, it wouldn't be the same experience as 92,000 screaming LSU fans in TS.

"Louder on the field" in terms of sheer decibel rating? Until we get truly scientific measurements with multiple calibrated sound level meters tended by independent observers, we'll never know.

I've never believed any "decibel level" reports from any stadium. You don't know how the scale is weighted, for one thing.

I won't argue with regards to the overall consistent loudness -- certainly not on defense -- because I haven't been at both stadiums. And neither have you, I gather.

But I recall quotes from Mississippi State players, who were on the field at the first game after the expansion in 2002. And they said the noise wasn't as impressive as they expected. At the time, some of us were attributing this to the expansion itself changing the configuration of the bowl; the noise wasn't hanging like it did in the pre-expansion era. Of course, you won't see these quotes in the Oregon media guide. Not sayin, just sayin.

As for making "friends" for more website hits, oh yeah, that's what I'm about. Busted! I make a bloody fortune off that web site. Google Ads owes me $3.57 so far.

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T-A&M should of been down to the second group, and UO up to the first

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Beleive me, i had to hold my breath to rank them at the tier 1 level, as i hate their brand of pep squad-like "traditions"...BUT, honestly speaking, they have amazingly-unified cheering in their stadium, and it is a LOT larger than Autzen, and since they added the huge "Zone" section, it is just flat out louder than Autzen, and at least as spirited.

O, O...is right!

Autzen is a loud stadium, but small. Because of it's size it isn't going to be ranked with the top stadiums in the NCAA. I have been there, it's designed to "hold in" the noise well. It is very very loud though, you can't argue that point.

The atmosphere at TS and Autzen were much different experiences.

For the last several seasons, ESPN has touted Duck field as the loudest, hands down. It probably has something to do with our schedule on CBS, but you guys definately deliver the noise. I would be curious to see what the CBS guys had to say.

Either way, what we have here is the best of the best. I would be willing to bet a 70/30 crowd in Dallas. Bet we make the most noise when it counts! And our fans have a habit of chanting S-E-C S-E-C ...... It will be loud and clear on ABC!

therocketscientist, you're very intelligent and seem to be very unbiased. So I tend to believe you.
However I think you and many others are entirely missing my point, and the point several other Ducks are trying to make(from our quotes). I think its cool that you have been to both, as I have not. However, have you ever been down on the field, not after the game, but during it at Autzen? As you know, Autzen does not rise up very high compared to many, and esp at the ends. Thus, if any single fan were sitting in the middle of Autzen and also Death Valley the next week, I would not doubt Death Valley(or TS as you prefer to call it)would appear to seem louder from that fans prospective. That Sir, is not my argument. My argument is very specific! My argument is what the reporters, such as ESPN keep on beating the drum about. Its ON THE FIELD where the game is actually played where it is the loudest. To me, that is all that matters as it all comes down to can it rattle a QB from thinking? Can it make his whole team not be able to hear his audibles? How many false starts does it cause? And much more... See my point?

As I said earlier, and if you were there, you know, there may not be another deep pit where the field sits like Autzen. And it may be the tightest distance where the stands are compared to the field. It may also be the tiniest room of a field, VERY small. As said before, the fans hang almost over you. Its the opposite of UG for instance where the fans are so far back and you have that hedge thing. And it is on this special field, this small pit, that is unlike all in college football. And while I am greatly impressed if any LSU fans have been to Autzen, the simple fact is, they have never once been down on the field during a live game.

This ear crushing experience on the playing field, is why ESPN and other cannot shut up about how loud it is. That is why I said, ask Erin Andrews because she has to spend the whole game down there, and not up in the press box. So to any press, or person, who has not actually been down on the field, I am throwing your input out, for this debate. TS may indeed be louder in the stands, but not down on the field. I know TS rocks still, and is very irritating to opposing QB's, but Autzen is even more.

That is why our home record is what it is. Look back to our home record this past century. Then look at yours. I do not have any stats on me, but I would be very appreciative if someone could pull up stats of any time this century where it compared false start penalties between the two stadiums opposing teams. That sure is a good indicator. So while, I really would appreciate the views of Erin Andrews(because she has been covering a lot of our games recently), I will take anyone's view who has been down on the field recently. Heck, just look up what Lane Kiffin had to say about Autzen. He has been down on the field much, and that was only as a assistant coach at USC some years ago before he went to the NFL and Tenn. Adrien Petterson has also played at UO and says the Big 12(which includes T-A&M)does not even come close. And I could go on and on and on listing quotes of former players or coaches that have seen it all and quote you them saying no place is as loud as Autzen. Take the reporters from the Big Ten have been there, and they think its a whisper compared to Autzen and they have experienced full well teams like Penn St. And speaking about Penn St. They may indeed have a amazing seating stadium experience, as does LSU. But down on the actual field the sound is a different beast. And unto UO, there is no compare.

As I already posted at the start of this thread, for overall stadium experience(pageantry, tailgating ie. the whole thing) ours is pathetic. But for one specific point, and one point only, I do stand. Our playing field for opposing teams has the loudest playing environment not in a spike mode, such as as one top play being made, but consistent loud as in every time the opposing offense takes the field and all game long. (consistently loud). I have provided national rankings previously to support my case. I have provided credible quotes from those actually on the field who have experienced both stadiums and were down on the playing field. And I have provided logic as to why that is. One person said previously, this debate might need a sound meter to determine. Well, UW has the record of loudest decibels for a game. However that was many, many years ago and they currently are not even remotely close to what they were before. Also, that was just one spike peak sound moment. And we had the second recorded one. So it looks like science too backs us up, only, we are #2, but if you look at reality, UW has not been at that level for many, many years. So we can easily throw them out, as that is not currently how it is up there with our rival. Oregon has only gotten better, as is way more consistently loud.

Of course I am on a LSU blog, so this debate may have too much bias in it. But look at it this way. LSU is like unto Ms. Texas. Texas is known to produce some of the finest looking women for Ms. America and such. And you are like unto Ms. Texas. She is smoking hot, jaws drop much, and men cannot think there is a woman more pretty. And right when every one thinks Ms Texas is going to be declared the winner, out walks Ms. California. I rest my case. (btw, most of our cheerleaders are women that came from Cali).

Now, there is nothing to be ashamed about, as your Damm smoking hot. But trump Ms California? Not a chance. But you did a good job trying