Remember When The NFL Tried To Impose A “Noise Regulation Rule” That Penalized Teams For Crowd Noise?

Back in 1989, the NFL apparently stood for the "No Fun League." If you're like me, when you buy a seat to a sporting event, that's your seat for the night. You can stand up at your seat (some say seat rights go from the chair to the ceiling). You can yell from your seat. You can drink as many beers as you want at your seat. But back in the day, the NFL didn't think that the yelling and noise making by fans was necessary. So they implemented a baffling "Noise Regulation" rule that was passed by NFL team owners that would penalize home teams if they're fans were being too loud. And if the fans were too rowdy and rambunctious, the home team paid the price for it, as explained in this archived news piece about Indianapolis Colts fans disobeying the stupid rule: "In March of 1989, NFL team owners voted 21-7 to implement a new rule that would regulate noise at NFL games and come game day, Colts fans inside the Hoosier Dome came out screaming in displeasure. The rule called for a penalty to be levied against a home team if excessive crowd noise disrupted the visiting team’s play. However, fans would be warned by officials before any penalties were assessed. But if the excessive noise persisted, the home team would begin to lose timeouts. Once all timeouts were revoked, 5-yard penalties would then be assessed." How crazy is that? It really doesn't even make any sense, at least when you think about it today's sports world. Home field advantage is a huge factor across all leagues, and most of that has to do with home town fans purposefully making a racket to get under the skin of opposing teams. In the news story, the caption went on to explain that one particular pre-season game while the "Noise Regulation Rule" was in effect led to the Colts getting multiple penalties, as well as losing timeouts and yardage. Fans that were at the game were beside themselves, and Colts owner Jim Irsay (who still owns the team to this day) was rather upset as well: "With 4:37 to go in the third quarter, Broncos quarterback Gary Kubiak made repeated pleas to officials to quell the fans inside the Hoosier Dome. The Colts were eventually penalized with the revocation of three timeouts and yardage. Fans were none too pleased. Neither was Colts owner Bob Irsay who said football fans 'have a right to cheer and boo.'" What a weird time that must have been. Prior to the start of the season, the rule was more or less walked back (meaning never called), although the NFL officially moved away from the rule in 2007, mainly because it was such a difficult issue to officiate. But it the noise control was in full force in 1989, and as you'll see in the video below, Indianapolis Colts fans weren't happy at all about it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_1JhqTJD09/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link