49ers coach Kyle Shanahan recently referred to the constant, steady wall of artificial noise at games played in empty stadiums are a “form of human torture.” He elaborated on that position during a Wednesday session with reporters.
“I think it’ll be a huge adjustment for everyone out there,” Shanahan told reporters. “You don’t realize just what constant noise is like. It’s not about being loud or too low. It’s about just constant. I mean, usually when the play starts, you get to hear the pop and you get to hear football. When things aren’t going on, you can have conversations with people and stuff.
“So just the constant noise, it’s a little tough to deal with, but fans won’t be having to deal with it. That’ll just be us. So hopefully we can make sure that doesn’t affect our game, which it shouldn’t. It’s more about just the irritation of it and you embrace it and realize that that can’t affect you unless you let it affect you and you just go back to playing football.”
The fake noise in empty stadiums will be in the range of 70 to 75 decibels. But it never takes a break, like the vuvuzelas that simulated the sound of a billion mating locusts during the 2010 World Cup. It will be a constant irritant, and the players and coaches and others in the stadium may never get used to it.