It is going to be loud inside CenturyLink Field on Sunday evening — not just any kind of loud, but ear-splitting, world record-setting loud.
When the Seattle Seahawks welcome its rival San Francisco 49ers this weekend for Seattle’s NFL home-opener, 67,000 screaming fans will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for crowd noise.
The current record is 131.76 decibles, which was set on March 18, 2011 at a soccer match in Turkey. Seahawks fans have once hit 112 decibles, according to the team, so they’ll have to turn it up if they want to make the record book.
If you happen to be going to the game, here’s a little a trick to help the 12th Man increase the volume level: smartphone apps.
All you need to do is download a noise-making app — Crowd Noise App, Air Horn Sound, Noisemaker!, for example — and stick your phone in the air during the game.
Some of you — particularly evil 49ers fans — may think this is cheating. But according to Guinness’ guidelines, “any external instruments may be used by spectators to assist in generating a louder volume.” Guinness does prohibit venues from producing mechanical noise, but there’s nothing in there about individuals using electronics.
If you’re curious about exactly how loud the crowd is getting on Sunday, there are a few apps out there that record sound levels. Here are two good ones, based on reviews and ratings:
SPLnFFT Noise Meter (requires microphone)
Sound Meter+ (though it only records up to 130dB)
Now, the decibel reading on your app won’t be an exact measurement of the sound level based on Guinness’ rules. The organization requires the sound level to be measured with a Class 1 precision measuring noise level meter that is placed between 1.5 and 1.6 meters above the ground.
So, my recommendation is this: Leave the sound measurements to the experts, fire up a noise-making app and yell. The first of three official attempts to break the record will be during the 49ers’ first offensive possession, so make sure you’re in the stadium at kickoff, smartphone in hand, vocal chords ready to be used, eardrums ready to take a beating.
Go Hawks.
