[Greg Perkins]

Team 365 I have the utmost respect for you, and I'm not insulting you...so please don't think that.
I think "noisemakers" in general are obnoxious, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks this. FIRST says they're all about getting the public into the competitions, well how can those who have no idea about FIRST learn about it when you cannot hear a darn thing? Cheering and making noise are two different things, cheering is perfectly acceptable, however hitting objects is just creating white noise to the listener, it's a distraction.
I believe this is why FIRST banned noisemakers, however they still manage to pop up at competitions. Team MOE and TJ^2 are two of the most notable teams to recieve bad reputations for these noise makers. With MOE having their MOE Stix and TJ having thier 5 gallon water drums they've gotten stomped on.

It's just my $.02 and I hope it helps with the explanation.