When the fall rolls around each year, Mary Farmer-Kaiser is like many Louisianans: She's roped into the fortunes of the New Orleans Saints simply because her loved ones care so much.
"I have a husband and a son who are all-in on sports, and so we watch a lot of football games — or they watch them, and my daughter and I end up listening in," said Farmer-Kaiser.
That led to this week's Curious Louisiana question: Farmer-Kaiser has heard TV announcers say over and over again that when the Saints play at home, the noise from the Caesars Superdome crowd is louder than a typical NFL crowd — and gives the home team a big advantage.
But is it really louder? And how do the Saints derive an edge from it?
Turns out, NFL teams do measure these things, though it doesn't seem anyone keeps much historical data. In the end, we couldn't find ironclad empirical data to support either thesis, but there are plenty of anecdotes and opinions out there.
In 2022, NBC Sports published a list of the highest decibel ratings recorded at NFL stadiums, and the Superdome ranked third with a loud recording of 136.6 decibels during a 2013 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The pain threshold in the human ear is considered to be 130 dB, roughly the equivalent of a jackhammer or an ambulance siren.
The only two stadiums on record with louder readings are Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, which hit 137.6 dB during a 2013 game; and GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, which hit 142.2 dB in 2014. That's equivalent to a custom car stereo at full volume or fireworks at close range.
Both of those fields are outdoors, making the Superdome the loudest indoor stadium in the NFL.
And over the years, the Saints and their opponents have noticed. Before Saints games, the team shows a collection of quotes on the video board about the crowd noise.
"Not only are you playing the Saints, you're playing the fans," said Brett Favre, Hall of Fame quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
"I know this: I've never been in a domed stadium louder," said former Saints coach Jim Mora.
Earlier this season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin added his name to the list of those who admire (or fear?) the Dome, saying, "When you go into that stadium, you know what you’re getting into. Those fans — they have that stadium rocking.
"There’s no windows in there. It’s like they go in and they lock the doors behind you, and it’s just like you and your guys going to battle, and you've got to figure it out."
So does the noise actually help the Saints? Those same opponents would say yes over the years, and the Saints lean into that, calling certain events — a delay of game or false start on the offense, for instance — "fan impact plays," giving the crowd its kudos while showing the decibel meter on the video board.
NFL offenses typically must operate with hand signals on the road so they can communicate through the noise, and it's not uncommon for a quarterback to cup his hands over his helmet so he can hear play calls through the headset inside.
When the NFL had to stage games without crowds during the COVID-19 pandemic, it allowed teams to pipe in noise of 70 dB — enough to ensure there was some ambient noise but not enough to affect the game like a crowd can.
And maybe the proof is in the pudding: The Saints, despite having some smaller crowds the past few weeks as the team left its fans disgruntled, are still 4-3 at home this season, making them 91-53 at home since Drew Brees and Sean Payton arrived in 2006. That's compared to 82-62 on the road.
So, in short, the Saints clearly have the reputation of playing at one of the NFL's loudest venues, and there's at least some empirical data to back that up.
As for whether it helps the home team? Well, if the crowd believes it's helping the Saints' cause, and the Saints believe it's helping their cause, and the opponents — like Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who had his career worst-passer rating in front of a raucous Dome crowd in Week 1 — believe it, then who's to say it doesn't help?
"We love the Saints," Farmer-Kaiser said. "We will always love the Saints, and we want to see them win, and if it's an advantage, then that's fantastic and all the fans need to show up."
