In March, sports without fans seemed too depressing. In August, sports without fans has been a godsend.
This past Friday, NBCSN had playoff hockey on for nearly 15 straight hours. The games could not have been more exciting, with the only exception being my Islanders calmly dispatching an overmatched Panthers team. The rest? Brilliance.
We had two Original Six 12-seeds knock out two teams with mega-stars in Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. What is this, March Madness? The Predators scored a goal in the last 30 seconds of regulation, only to get eliminated in overtime. The Canucks scored a late goal to force overtime, where they eliminated the WIld in only 11 seconds. Five playoff clinching games in one day!
Yet, none of those were the game of the day, which was the Leafs doing its best Undertaker sit up by scoring three goals in three minutes to force overtime, just one day after blowing a three-goal lead. They won in overtime to set up a winner-take-all Game 5. I love hockey!
As I overloaded on hockey, I never once thought about the lack of fans.
It’s the same feeling I’ve had watching empty arena NBA games as well as European soccer or Australian Rules football in empty stadiums. It doesn’t bother me. Most of the time I don’t even notice. In fact, there are some things I even like about.
You Hear The Players Reacting
The best part of sports without fans is you get to hear the players react to what’s going on during the game. In soccer, you hear guys yelling at each other or the refs. In basketball, you hear the bench guys going crazy for big plays. In hockey, I absolutely love hearing every guy on the ice screaming, “Yeah!” after a goal.
It also reveals how much these games mean to the players. When the Leafs scored that tying goal on Friday night, they celebrated like mad men as they should. Would it have been better with a full crowd of screaming fans? Of course. But that didn’t lessen the impact for the players on the ice. It still meant everything.
The lack of fans leads to unique moments that may get lost in a game with a crowd. For example, my Islanders were peppering the Panthers’ goalie to start the second goal and the [expletive deleted] dude stood on his head to make three ridiculous saves in a row. Without a crowd, the camera and announcers focused on the Panthers’ bench giving him a group stick tap against the boards in appreciation. It felt like junior hockey, and I mean that in the best way possible.
The Intensity of the Games Have Not Wavered
I was worried that the games without fans would lack the intensity that comes with 18,000 screaming fans. LeBron James even alluded to this back in March, when games without crowds first came up as a possibility. It was one of the reasons I was skeptical.
Yet on night one of the NBA season, LeBron’s Lakers played the Clippers in a game that had the intensity of a playoff game. The benches were live. The players were woofing at each other. The coaches were on edge. Any concerns I had were gone by the end of that awesome opening night doubleheader, and now I can’t wait for the NBA playoffs to start.
European soccer was a little more familiar with empty stadiums, which had been done in the past either as punishment against teams or to prevent further social unrest. From the first Bundesliga game without a crowd in May, there was no drop-off in the quality of play. As I watched the Champions League resume, the lack of fans was hardly noticeable as Real Madrid and Juventus were eliminated. Their failures still resonated.
It Only Works When I Know People are Healthy
There’s been a fly in the ointment when it comes to sports, and it’s been Major League Baseball. I must admit, I haven’t been able to get into it like other sports. That’s because the league has not properly addressed the entire reason why we don’t have fans in the stands -- coronavirus.
I watch sports in other countries without fear because their curves have been flattened and their testing protocols have properly caught the very few positive tests here and there. I have had no issue watching NBA, NHL, WNBA, and MLS games because those leagues produced secure bubbles. I’ve enjoyed Formula 1 and golf because cases have been isolated and those positive cases have been removed from the playing field before it can spread.
MLB hasn’t been able to do any of this. The Nats are my team. Before their first game, Juan Soto tested positive for coronavirus. They didn’t play last weekend because the Marlins had an outbreak. While the game itself is fine without fans, I can’t get into it because it feels like impending doom. Every morning I’m not checking box scores -- I’m hoping no one tested positives. With the Cardinals now in the second week of an outbreak, it feels foolish to keep trying.
What Will Football Be Like?
While I will thoroughly enjoy overdosing on the NHL and NBA playoffs over the next two months, along with more Formula 1, the Indy 500, multiple golf majors, and the Kentucky Derby, I am dreading the start of football season. It’s not just that the NFL needs a bubble to have a season and college football’s season won’t happen this fall.
What will football feel like without a crowd? It’s become obvious that American football may be the only sport on the planet where the crowd actually plays a role. The sound a crowd makes helps the home team’s defense and motivates the offense. In other sports, that motivation is helpful but players can create that energy internally.
Can a football team do that? Will it feel right with fake crowds and piped-in crowd noise? Is it even worth it during a pandemic to play a sport seemingly made to spread a contagious virus?
Thankfully, those aren’t questions I need answered today. I got playoff games to watch.
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This past Friday, NBCSN had playoff hockey on for nearly 15 straight hours. The games could not have been more exciting, with the only exception being my Islanders calmly dispatching an overmatched Panthers team. The rest? Brilliance.
Yet, none of those were the game of the day, which was the Leafs doing its best Undertaker sit up by scoring three goals in three minutes to force overtime, just one day after blowing a three-goal lead. They won in overtime to set up a winner-take-all Game 5. I love hockey!
As I overloaded on hockey, I never once thought about the lack of fans.
It’s the same feeling I’ve had watching empty arena NBA games as well as European soccer or Australian Rules football in empty stadiums. It doesn’t bother me. Most of the time I don’t even notice. In fact, there are some things I even like about.
You Hear The Players Reacting
The best part of sports without fans is you get to hear the players react to what’s going on during the game. In soccer, you hear guys yelling at each other or the refs. In basketball, you hear the bench guys going crazy for big plays. In hockey, I absolutely love hearing every guy on the ice screaming, “Yeah!” after a goal.
It also reveals how much these games mean to the players. When the Leafs scored that tying goal on Friday night, they celebrated like mad men as they should. Would it have been better with a full crowd of screaming fans? Of course. But that didn’t lessen the impact for the players on the ice. It still meant everything.
The lack of fans leads to unique moments that may get lost in a game with a crowd. For example, my Islanders were peppering the Panthers’ goalie to start the second goal and the [expletive deleted] dude stood on his head to make three ridiculous saves in a row. Without a crowd, the camera and announcers focused on the Panthers’ bench giving him a group stick tap against the boards in appreciation. It felt like junior hockey, and I mean that in the best way possible.
The Intensity of the Games Have Not Wavered
I was worried that the games without fans would lack the intensity that comes with 18,000 screaming fans. LeBron James even alluded to this back in March, when games without crowds first came up as a possibility. It was one of the reasons I was skeptical.
European soccer was a little more familiar with empty stadiums, which had been done in the past either as punishment against teams or to prevent further social unrest. From the first Bundesliga game without a crowd in May, there was no drop-off in the quality of play. As I watched the Champions League resume, the lack of fans was hardly noticeable as Real Madrid and Juventus were eliminated. Their failures still resonated.
It Only Works When I Know People are Healthy
There’s been a fly in the ointment when it comes to sports, and it’s been Major League Baseball. I must admit, I haven’t been able to get into it like other sports. That’s because the league has not properly addressed the entire reason why we don’t have fans in the stands -- coronavirus.
I watch sports in other countries without fear because their curves have been flattened and their testing protocols have properly caught the very few positive tests here and there. I have had no issue watching NBA, NHL, WNBA, and MLS games because those leagues produced secure bubbles. I’ve enjoyed Formula 1 and golf because cases have been isolated and those positive cases have been removed from the playing field before it can spread.
MLB hasn’t been able to do any of this. The Nats are my team. Before their first game, Juan Soto tested positive for coronavirus. They didn’t play last weekend because the Marlins had an outbreak. While the game itself is fine without fans, I can’t get into it because it feels like impending doom. Every morning I’m not checking box scores -- I’m hoping no one tested positives. With the Cardinals now in the second week of an outbreak, it feels foolish to keep trying.
What Will Football Be Like?
While I will thoroughly enjoy overdosing on the NHL and NBA playoffs over the next two months, along with more Formula 1, the Indy 500, multiple golf majors, and the Kentucky Derby, I am dreading the start of football season. It’s not just that the NFL needs a bubble to have a season and college football’s season won’t happen this fall.
What will football feel like without a crowd? It’s become obvious that American football may be the only sport on the planet where the crowd actually plays a role. The sound a crowd makes helps the home team’s defense and motivates the offense. In other sports, that motivation is helpful but players can create that energy internally.
Can a football team do that? Will it feel right with fake crowds and piped-in crowd noise? Is it even worth it during a pandemic to play a sport seemingly made to spread a contagious virus?
Thankfully, those aren’t questions I need answered today. I got playoff games to watch.
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