[Mr.Sir]

That is slightly different to putting the players off as was posted above.
 
Still, crowd noise is crowd noise; it is up to the players to figure out how to deal with communication and any other issues it presents.

 

[9pintube]

I could do without them, SORRY!  

 

[nickosiris]

Don't bother me at all, I have to say. They are the signature sound of this World Cup, and have sometimes been the only interesting feature of some of the opening games.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

"The sound level of the instrument has been measured at 127 decibels"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuvuzela
 
Earplugs have been selling out and there's a shortage of them. I hope there's future lawsuits in the brewing.

Damn, that's loud! That will surely create problems for people on the stadium. I am sure it affects the players as well. But what puzzles me is why viewers who are not there and simply watching the games on TV complaining that the vuvuzelas are too loud and irritating. I mean that what volume control is for people - turn down the volume a bit if the vuvuzela sounds are too loud for you. I don't know which channel you are watching the games on, but I am watching CBC and I can still hear the commentary just fine with the volume way down. I guess if you are watching in a noisy place or with good speaker system, that may be a different story, but from my small, built in TV speakers, the vuvuzelas are in no way bothersome. BTW, some people on the net are complaining that the sound give them headaches. That's just laughable - I bet they are blasting the TV at full volume without even realizing it.

 

[drewfus420]

I find them highly irritating and would be going nuts if I paid for tickets to a game and had to hear that racket for 2 hours.

 

[Head Injury]

This Wikipedia image says so, so much:
 

 

[Stradius]

I don't particularly watch soccer so it doesn't bother me personally but having passed by people watching it, I sometimes wonder how they can enjoy it with all that noise going on.

 

[nickosiris]

The only irritating noise I've noticed at the WC so far has been Jonathan bl**dy Pearce.
 

 

[krmathis]

No irritation - since I shy away from the World Cup whenever possible...

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Quote:

No irritation - since I shy away from the World Cup whenever possible...

Just because Norway failed to qualify......

 
There has apparently been a discussion by the Scottish Football Association about banning them in Scotland if they become a craze here to. But I would be favour of them as they would drown out the foul language, abuse shouted at players and referees and sometimes sectarian singing by some 'fans'.

 

[71877]

The vuvuzela doesnt irritate me, but its a shame that it blocks all the other noise from the crowd

 

[Prog Rock Man]

I heard the English fans singing during the game with a former colony.

 

[Happy Camper]

I'd much rather hear the S. Africa songs. The horns are too much and drowns out all other spirits.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Just because Norway failed to qualify......

 

 
Did not know that - so that is obviously not part of it...

 

[stewtheking]

For various reasons, I think it would be foolish to ban them from the games (mainly the 'cultural heritage' aspect), but they do sound bloody awful. There have been various conversations about using filters to block the noise, and various prattling morons saying 'it'd be totally impossible, it would sound unnatural'. More unnatural than a swarm of bees watching the game? I think not.
 
The obvious solution (at least for the viewer at home) would be to apply the filter, but ONLY to the microphones picking up crowd noise. It wouldn't be 100% effective, but it would at least cut down on the drone. Then the commentators' voices could be added to the mix AFTER the filter has been applied.
 
Maybe I'm missing something.