For many of those watching at Lansdowne Road last Saturday evening, Samoa’s visit to face Ireland was not one of life’s great events.

As the game stopped for scrum after scrum and the evening cold descended on the ground, fans equipped with radios at least had the energetic tones of RTE’s Michael Corcoran in their ears while others with ref-links had referee Steve Walsh to provide his own version of a match commentary.

Those without either form of aural entertainment were possibly snoozing, some verging on hibernation, rarely disturbed with the notable exceptions of those several, desperate blasts over the stadium loudspeakers in an effort to artificially create “atmosphere”.

Razzmatazz

It would have been an undeserved kindness to have described the drumbeats during play as crass, while a verbatim reaction to the three serenades of The Fields Of Athenry – again during play – would venture into language unsuitable for family reading.

One must have some sympathy for the fans; after all they are already bombarded with music both pre-game and post-scores when any cheering, chanting or singing will be drowned out by the many-decibelled lungs of the stadium’s great sound system.

Such lack of trust in the fans’ own ability to get involved is the type of faux-atmospheric fluff usually found at US sports or, closer to home, tried by Saracens rugby club in London. However, even US stadiums with genuinely great atmospheres like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field rely on those in the cheap seats to generate that buzz unprompted by organisers.

On match day anything played over the public address during a match is the responsibility of the hosting organisation, in this case the IRFU. Accordingly, it is to Irish rugby’s governing body the question must be asked: who thinks playing music and sound effects during play is a good idea?

Are we on the path towards seeing “MAKE…. SOME…. NOISE!!!” pop up on the Lansdowne Road stadium’s big screen?

The Nature of Fun

Match atmosphere is a funny thing. It can be facilitated by the design of an arena or allowing sections of fans to sit or stand together. But it cannot be forced. It must be organic, created and owned by the fans themselves.

If one is told “You must have fun NOW” then by its very nature it is no longer spontaneous fun.

It has become an order.

A command.

It seems odd in a way that the public address system, by its very nature a form of mass communication, does not fall under the remit of the IRFU’s communications team. Instead it’s in the bailiwick of Irish rugby’s marketing folks.

Asked for comment on the practice of playing sound effects and music during play and whether it would continue throughout the autumn series and the 2014 Six Nations, at the time of writing the IRFU had not responded.

Improved Ticketing

On the positive side the IRFU went to great efforts to improve their ticketing policy for the 2013 autumn tests. A fan could get very decent seats to all three games for a half-reasonable price. This rethinking is commendable. But there is room for improvement.

European stadiums renowned for great atmospheres often have large areas at the ends in which can gather great swathes of unified support. Fine examples include the soaring Südtribüne at Dortmund, the ends of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Hill 16 at Croke Park and even the old South Terrace at Lansdowne Road itself.

Unfortunately, even leaving aside the tiny stand at the Havelock Square end of the ground, the Aviva Stadium was built to a more corporate-centric model where the goal is to put a huge gap between the lowest and upper tiers, generously filled with premium seating and luxury boxes. Thus the great unwashed sit above and below, sandwiching the well-heeled and (often) soft voiced who contribute rather less to the game’s atmosphere than they do to the match-day finances.

The Tree Line

Those who have been lucky enough to visit some of the world’s high mountain ranges will be familiar with the concept of the tree line, a virtually straight line above which lofty altitude trees cannot grow. At kickoff on Saturday there was something akin to a tree line midway up the upper deck of the South Stand. Why? Because the cost of the seats above that point was less than those underneath.

Even in the territory of the proleteriat, there was division.

While the atmosphere at the ground is not helped by the Lilliputian North Stand, it should be possible to get rid of that tree line. If the premium seats and luxury boxes cannot be moved, at least allow the upper deck to unite as one. Call it “One Price, One Voice” or some such.

Use that marketing savvy for good.

And let the phenomenon of music and sound effects during play be a short-lived, ill-advised experiment to be remembered in the same manner as New Coke, the Ford Edsel and James O’Connor being listed at fly-half.