Bruce Arians on faux fan noise: It should have been louder Bruce Arians was expecting the artificial noise being pumped into the Superdome on Sunday to be much louder and more of a factor. Instead, Arians wished it had been amped up in the Bucs' 34-23 loss to the Saints, because it brought “absolutely no energy into the building." "There was no noise,” Arians said. "It was like a regular practice with no noise. We've practiced with a lot more noise than that. I was kind of disappointed. I don't think it was fair to the Saints to have it that low, because we could have a decent conversation halfway across the field to somebody. It's not a very good deal. It should be fixed.” With no fans in many NFL stadiums, the league is allowing artificial crowd noise to be pumped in up to 85 decibels. In a normal setting, the Superdome is typically one of the loudest NFL venues. It likely benefited TV broadcasts, which were able to pick up on-field chatter better, but for the excitement and anticipation this game brought, it wasn't felt inside the dome. “It felt like a scrimmage out there, but obviously it counts,” Bucs quarterback Tom Brady said. Even from the press box way at the top of the stadium, players could be heard conversing, especially during commercial breaks when the sound was entirely cut off. The Bucs had prepared for Sunday's game by pumping in tremendously loud crowd noise during their two training camp sessions at Raymond James Stadium. Arians hopes it's louder when the Bucs have their home opener next Sunday. “I would hope so,” Arians said. “My mom probably wants it louder all the time so she doesn't hear me cussing.” Eduardo Encina, Tampa Bay Times, published 14 September 2020