This came across Twitter today - apparently, air horns are going to be restricted at Montreal Alouettes home games. Hallelujah, many CFL fans immediately thought.

As someone who used to lead a group of horn-toting CFL fans at Argo games, I have thoughts too.

In case the tweet from @CFL_News disappears or is inaccessible, it reads

AIR HORNS NO MORE

There  will be less noise at Alouettes games at Percival Molson Stadium, no matter how enthusiastic the spectators are. 
They will no longer be allowed to  bring air horns inside. - @kevenbreton via @iciradiocanada

I’ve been to games in Montreal and have watched many more on TV, and the air horns are infuriating.

Well, SOME air horns are. The worst ones are this kind, that you pump to produce an earsplitting racket. (The kind that use a can of compressed air have always been banned, but these pump-action ones were frequently heard in Montreal)

pump air horn

A few Montreal fans have these, and whenever the other team is on offence, all you can hear is HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK. I believe this is the kind that the restriction is targeting.

TSN has already said that they’ve had to move their field-level microphones, which are supposed to pick up delightful crowd noise, to get away from the one or two fans who started bringing these things. Alas, more people kept bringing them and it continued to disrupt the TV audio.

So, I can support a ban on these. This horn requires hardly any effort and produces instant irritation - which I’m sure is why a few fans bring them. Somehow they REALLY come through on the TV broadcasts.

HOWEVER

There’s also this kind, that you have to personally blow - you might know this as a ‘vuvuzela’

vuvuzela

THOSE should be allowed. They’re a very traditional part of Canadian football, and you have to put some effort into making noise with them. You’re invested in the result. (And you might get tired of it quickly.)

And another thing

Sometimes you see actual organized quasi-musical GROUPS OF PEOPLE bringing horns into CFL games! Here are a couple you might recognize!

Argonotes on the field Rider Band

I hope the league continues to allow AND ENCOURAGER THAT kind of horn at the games.

update, may 23: the fan who apparently started the whole horn thing says he’s not backing down.