Football minus crowd noise = a strange experience

There is a very strong chance we will see football, and for that matter, all sports played without stadium spectators for quite awhile. I’ve been in almost empty stadiums in the past watching Major League baseball, and I must tell you, it is a strange experience.

So, how will the players react? In my opinion, this will be a work in progress for them. Athletes feed off the roar of the crowd, that loud, enthusiastic chanting that helps them find that extra bit of energy to put the ball into the back of the net. That lovely noise will not be there, at least for awhile.

Footballer turned broadcaster Gary Neville put it this way in an interview with the Mail, “It’s going to be strange.It’s an awful experience when you’re used to playing in front of big crowds. The Premier League lives off the stadium experience. We are going to be playing behind closed doors for months and months and months, probably until next year. We have to get our heads around that. There is no way fans will be in the stadiums in the next 3, 4, 5, 6 months. At this stage, players don’t have any choice but to get their heads around it. At this moment in time, it would be accepted because of the situation we are in.”

Neville hit the nail on the head. Even for those of us watching on TV, we will have a different experience. However, I beg the match broadcasters NOT to add canned crowd noise to enhance the atmosphere. It would just be “fake noise,” and extremely annoying.

The “temporary new normal” will be an adjustment. Football will sound like a TV golf tournament for awhile, but at least it will be real and live!

Cheers, and stay healthy!

Gunner1953