The "Old" Ralph was smaller which allowed for the crowd to get loud, and players and fans could get away with more stuff.
In the "New" Ralph, its a lot harder to get the place rocking, plus both the players and fans can't get away with things they used too.
I remember a "Beat "em Up, Beat "em Up!!" chant from the Old Ralph that helped get it going. Additionally every team had an enforcer back then, and fighting wasn't as forbidden.