Noise from Cleveland
Sunday afternoon was the perfect day for football in Cleveland and I was on-hand at Cleveland Brown Stadium. A couple quick notes outside of the Minnesota debut of Brett Favre.
The Browns are not known for a progressive game entertainment, so I have low expectations in terms of reviewing their non-football show. While producing entertainment is not a priority or the Browns they also struggled with some of the basics.
100 Yard Flag from the Cleveland Browns Home Opener
During their big player introduction they played a well-produced video the built up to a crescendo moment for the reveal of the 2009 Browns. However the timing did not line up with the players, so at the peak moment as the fans are expecting the home town heroes, they got 4 guys jogging to the field. A minute later after the moment had passed, the rest of the team erupted onto the field.
Minutes later an amazing presentation of a 100-yard long American flag suffered a similar missed timing. The huge flag was in position bunched in a long tube along the home sideline, then the anthem singers were introduced. They started singing….and about 30 seconds into the song the flag was unfurled. While it is possible this was planned for “effect”, if so, that’s a bad effect. If not, it was just a botched timing. The US Flag code doesn’t speak to when the flag should be unfurled in relation to the song playing, but this timing surely seemed off.
One more note from the game. I am one of those annoying iphone users, constantly on the look-out for new apps and toys. I found a cool app called WideNoise and used it at the game. The app does a live noise reading and posts it along with the location of the reading. I may be one of those nerdy users….but it’s cool.
just read 103.9db of t-rex noise here: http://widenoise.com/cGzh374 with #WideNoise
–Cudo
See more on US Flags in our Promotion Spotlight, and our options for large on-field flags in The Store on Gameops.com. And of course….Follow Gameops.com on Twitter for updates and noise measurements from a game presentation near me.
Jon Cudo is the Founder and Editor of Gameops.com and a 21-year veteran in game presentation and the most tenured mascot in team sports. His blog covers everything from game night promotions, site news, mascotting, book reviews and more. It's not "must read"....but it's close.
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Tags: anthem, browns, flag, twitter, us flag display, widenoise
Flag code does, however, dictate that the flag should never be displayed horizontally, the way the flag is presented often on field during events. And since in the football stadium the flag shows as upside down (military code for: Station in distress), the horizontal presentation is 0-2 on the legal line. The flag also shouldn’t be made from materials that can be easily soiled, or destroyed (like those awesome patriotic boxers everyone has, and any napkin used on July 4th). Or at least it did the last time I read it.
But, that app looks pretty cool. Hopefully I’ll be able to get one for the Blackberry.
Great thoughts Paul.
I am aware of the flag code you noted. I wanted to add that I have asked several military officers about these field displays, since it does display the flag horizontally. All have said it is acceptable since it’s done respectfully and for the purpose of honoring the flag to the large audience. Most teams (Browns included in this case) use military personnel to assist with the display.
It’s the same case with the “upside down” display. I just happened to be seated on the opposite side of the field, since teams display in these cases to the hard camera so the TV/scoreboard views are correct.
While you are correct that these do not meet the letter of the “law”, the military people I have spoken to (as well as teams who have talked to military officers) all agree it meets with the spirit of the code.
There was an interesting moment when they were gathering the flag following this display. It was clear it was touching the ground and there were people all around me murmuring about it. It’s not outrage at a desecration as much as it’s people noting “that’s not supposed to happen”. I found it encouraging that people noted it (the worst reaction would be people totally ambivalent to it).
On your final point, I am in 100% agreement. I boil when I see jingoistic Americans who think they are honoring the country by having a tattered and faded flag attached to their antenna or by wearing underpants, a shirt or headband with the flag pattern. As Bill Maher says, that is the least you can do for your country.
Thanks for your thoughts.
-Cudo
PS: The WIDENOISE app is really cool….worth the $2 for sure.