Now that the Jazz-Lakers playoff series has moved to Utah — where the deer, antelope and D-Will play — it promises a different tenor.

That's not to say the Jazz will necessarily win tonight's or Sunday's game. Rather, it merely guarantees a change. That's what happens when you move from the Staples Center to EnergySolutions Arena. You go from a place where removing your sunglasses is demonstrative, to one where painting your face and waving an inflatable woman seems OK.

So yes, it's going to be rowdy.

ESA is, after all, considered the loudest place this side of Cape Canaveral.

A place where seldom is heard a discouraging word — as long as you play for the Jazz.

If you play for the Lakers, well, you're likely to hear some things that don't entirely make anatomical sense.

Asked if ESA is really different than any other arena, Lakers forward Lamar Odom nodded.

"I think so," he said. "I think their fans are fierce. It's incredible."

Exactly how fierce and incredible?

Fierce enough that sometimes they step over the line that separates spirit and boorishness.

"We'll be looking forward to the hostile environment," said Odom.

Just like looking forward to a tax audit, right?

Judging the loudest crowd is subjective. Sacramento was said to have the most raucous fans a few years ago. Golden State media devoted hours and pages to detailing the fanaticism of its audience, last year.

Salt Lake has long had a reputation as a tough place to play. That's in part due to configuration. The seats slope steeply to court's edge. Those on the front row are close enough to smell Mehmet Okur's aftershave.

Another factor is the concrete and plastic construction.

The place was built quickly and economically. A theater, it's not. Consequently, sound ricochets off the walls, down the halls and across the ceiling.

But it's not just the quantity of cheers in Salt Lake, but the quality, too — or lack thereof. ESPN's Ric Bucher proclaimed Jazz fans "vicious," attributing it to pent-up Mormons. Though it was a fairly offhanded remark, intended to be humorous, Bucher later apologized.

But things can also take on a more ominous tone. Last spring, Golden State's Stephen Jackson accused the Jazz crowd of racial taunts. Whether that's true is debatable, considering none of the Jazz players said they heard any such language. Still, it was a disturbing complaint, something for which no honest sports fan would want to be responsible.