A legitimate physics question: How much quieter will Neyland be with towels?
In decibels, how much will towels waving in the air absorb fans' yelling before it gets to the field?
There will also be a net less noise generated. Every fan waving a towel is not clapping--which is the loudest, sustainable-over-four-quarters noisemaker fans possess. That's why NFL towel waving began (in Denver, actually) and continues most effectively in outdoor, cold weather stadiums--everyone has gloves on, so their clapping is already muted!
When the Saints (twice) tried to break the record for loudest indoor stadium, they handed out 75,000 towels. They failed both times.
Seriously--towel waving decreases the amount of fan noise heard on the field, and noise is the only home field advantage we fans can generate.
Visually (according to studies made on basketball arenas and free throw shooting), only if you have fans waving objects in the same direction simultaneously is there disruption. In a football stadium, you could only use it in field goal situations since it would be just as disruptive to our guys as theirs.
C'mon Volnation. Let's tap into our inner Oak Ridge and add some science to our passion--instead of muffling it.