IN the words of that classic Russ Abbott hit: "I love a party with a happy atmosphere!"

Live sport can be as much about the atmosphere in the stadium as the action on the field, as has been alluded to in this column before.

A sporting occasion with an exciting buzz on the terraces is certainly more enjoyable than one without.

And I have to be honest and say that I thought the Powergen Challenge Cup Final at Twickenham two Saturdays ago was something of a damp squib, mainly because the atmosphere at Twickenham Stadium was severely lacking.

I don't know if that was because one end of English Rugby Union's HQ was in the middle of a reconstruction or because there was an air of inevitability among supporters that Saints would defeat Huddersfield Giants.

But it got me thinking about my experiences at various stadia around the country over the years, bringing back memories of occasions never to be forgotten because of the involvement of the fans.

The best atmosphere I have been a part of was with the 15,000 Wolves fans behind the sticks at Wembley Stadium for the 1990 Challenge Cup Final with Wigan.

Wolves may have lost that final, but the supporters sang their hearts out from start to finish and towards the final whistle even BBC television commentator Ray French informed the worldwide audience: "That's the Warrington fans you can hear, not Wigan's."

Locally, of course, the last ever Wolves league match at Wilderspool Stadium and the first at The Halliwell Jones Stadium proved that you don't need to be in the biggest stadium in the world to generate a fizz of feverish excitement and passion.

And both of those top matches were beaten for atmosphere 12 months ago when Andrew Johns made his debut in primrose and blue colours.

Sticking with rugby league for the moment, I think Headingley is the best for noise. Perhaps there is a football influence with Leeds United fans doubling up to watch Rhinos, but the singing, chanting and sound of the musical instruments from the Popular side must be worth a couple of extra points to Tony Smith's players during each home game.

Football is obviously renowned for its match atmosphere but, other than to report on Warrington Town's games, I don't attend matches.

But colleagues tell me that it's particularly special to be part of the matchday experience at Newcastle's St James' Park and Everton's Goodison Park.

Old Trafford stands out for United fans and Super League Grand Finalists but what about the loudest set of fans on earth?

Well, apparently, they reside at Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club.

I'm told that despite Liverpool's defeat against Chelsea in the 2005 Carling Cup final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff council officials measured noise levels at the game and found that a maximum of 130.7 decibels was reached by the Liverpudlians, making them by far the noisiest fans and arguably louder than the Guinness world record set by the Broncos in the USA.