How can the New Orleans Saints upgrade their home field advantage with depressed crowd numbers due to COVID-19 restrictions? One idea Saints coach Sean Payton floated on Friday was to gift the 3,500 spectators in attendance with individual vuvuzela horns to bray throughout their upcoming playoff game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Vuvuzelas rose to prominence during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with South African soccer fans droning on as an endless bass tone buzzing beneath tournament broadcasts. Unfortunately, artificial noise makers of any kind remain banned per most NFL fan conduct policies.
It’s not the first far-fetched idea Payton has suggested to juice up the home crowd in this odd season. He also joked about quarantining 50,000 volunteers in hotels around the New Orleans area, though the logistics aren’t feasible for that plan. He’ll just have to make do like everyone else and find new ways to keep his team energized and ready for whatever Tom Brady’s squad throws at them on Sunday.
