Football Helmet Phone

Football Helmet Phone

At any football event, there is a huge noise all over, which is very much appreciated. The cheerleaders, the team mascots and various people get involved in getting the crowd into a cheering mood. The fake decibel meters and “Raise the roof!” messages displayed on the scoreboard only heighten the level of noise at big games. To add to the natural noise of the crowd, they are greeted at the gate by people selling whistles and other noise-making device which provides for great support to the home team, and lowers the spirit of the visitors. 
 

NFL League – an exception! 

The NFL league has never supported the noise made by the crowd, and very soon, they may come up with a way to protect the visiting teams from the undue commotion made by the home team fans. The visitors may be allowed a wireless communication channel via their helmets. 

Considering that there is no better way to control the great enthusiasm except by appearing as a dull person, the new commissioner of NFL, Roger Goodell, has a great idea – to place a microphone is the helmet of the quarterback, and speakers in the offensive player’s helmets, so that any unruly comments made by players can be heard amidst the great noise as well. Besides, the earpieces given to the quarterbacks’ permits them to listen to the coach’s instructions as well, but this channel of transmission is cut off for the final fifteen seconds of play. 

As already mentioned, noise is an inseparable part of the game and it is almost impossible to avoid the cheers and the enthusiasm displayed by the crowd. But the NFL League is an exception to this bit. Here, wireless communication through speakers in helmets is allowed to players of the visiting team. 

So why is that so? This is because noise plays an integral role in case of offensive remarks made by players of either team. The New York Times conducted a survey, which resulted in the conclusion that in case of noisy stadiums, more penalties, mainly for false starts, were reported. 

Besides, noise and NFL have never been hand in hand. In 1989, the league had introduced a noise penalty. This meant that if the quarterback so requested, the referee could give a warning to the home team that the crowd was causing disruption in the game. Then based on the events that followed, the referee could either grant a time-out to the home team, or call for a 5-yard penalty.