Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay caught wind of six-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick’s claims that the NFL franchise used artifical crowd noise during a game at its former home stadium.
The Colts played home games at the RCA Dome from 1984 until 2007. Indy’s current home, Lucas Oil Stadium, opened in August 2008.
Belichick made his routine appearance on the “ManningCast” on Monday night as the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the New Orleans Saints. Belichick and was asked about measures he would take to simulate the crowd noise when a team he was coaching was preparing to travel to Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs longtime home set a Guinness World Record for stadium noise during a game against the Belichick-coached New England Patriots during a game in 2014. Fans registered the sound at 142.2 decibels, which is effectively louder than when a typical commercial airplane is roaring for take off.
While Arrowhead Stadium is widely regarded as one of the most intimidating places for opposing teams to play, Belichick used the discussion about crowd noise as an opportunity to take a jab at the Colts — and effectively at Irsay.
“The crowd noise at Arrowhead wasn’t as bad as when we played you with all the piped-in music at the RCA Dome,” Belichick told Peyton Manning. “When the crowd noise skipped, that’s when we knew you were piping it in.”
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Irsay described Belichick’s assertion as “fictional.”
“Reminder…’piped-in crowd noise’ myth —1000% fictional. And the ‘skip’ was TV broadcast. We get it, though…visiting teams couldn’t believe that 60,000 in an intimate domed stadium could make that much deafening noise! A credit to Colts fans,” Irsay wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The NFL eventually confirmed that the TV network that held the broadcasting rights for the 2007 game between the Colts and Patriots was responsible for the discrepancy. The game became known in some football circles as “audio-gate.”
The crowd noise seemingly increased when then-quarterback Tom Brady was at the line of scrimmage, before quickly becoming faint when the play in question ended.
“CBS has informed the NFL that the unusual audio moment heard that fans might have heard during the Patriots-Colts telecast was the result of tape feedback in the CBS production truck and was isolated to the CBS broadcast,” a league spokesman said in a statement at the time.
The Chiefs’ 26-13 win over the Saints on Monday night improved the defending champions’ record this season to 5-0. The Chiefs now enter their bye week, while the Saints prepare for an NFC South showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But, New Orleans will likely be shorthanded for the Week 6 contest, as starting quarterback Derek Carr deals with an apparent oblique injury.
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