Most sport that is allowed to be played these days is in an empty stadium and I know exactly what that feels like. One of our rugby cup games was moved at the last minute to the Kings Park stadium due to flooding if memory serves me right. Going back 30 years ago now so the grey matter has to be bashed from time to time to jiggle any recollections out.
It was midweek, raining and a night time game so we wouldn't have had many come along besides the ones that would be dragged along like girl friends,wives and family. In the changing rooms under the grand stand everything just echoed and the studs from the boots on the concrete made an absolute racket. Normally when the stadium is full you can hear like a droning sound which is all the people above you in the stands moving around and talking.
Social distancing celebrations.
On the field the referees whistle seemed to be louder than normal as the shrill sound was trapped inside the stadium. The footballers that are playing under these conditions normally wouldn't hear each other talk as the crowd would have drowned their voices out. Managers don't have to scream anymore and it just is not the same. Communication will be a lot easier to deal with and the teams should play better because of it.
A top sportsmen will normally block out the noise and concentrate on his or her game so it should make no difference on performance. A noisy home team crowd can be unnerving and intimidating for a visiting player as I believe it does make the home team play harder and more physical. It can also have the opposite effect putting too much pressure on them as well so I wouldn't say it is a massive advantage overall. I have witnessed crowds go silent as though they are not there especially the French and English when things are falling apart for their team.
As a spectator sport for tv though the crowd does add another dimension. The game comes alive and is just more interesting. I often have sport playing in the back ground and only turn down the sound if there is a band playing at a cricket match or something. The same two tunes being played too death constantly throughout the day is not my kind of fun and would love to shoot all the band members. That and the vuvuzelas are on a par and they do not add to the atmosphere as they are just a racket. Whoever invented those can join the band members at the firing squad.
I know much has been said in the press over the last few weeks about teams saying they will lose home advantage if they play at neutral stadiums. This is just total twaddle and an excuse to not play and save a possible relegation. Teams that have a poor record playing away from home cannot blame anyone but themselves and is all in the head. Matches at neutral stadiums are away games for both teams and the players just need to grow up.
The Germans showed everyone today what we can expect over the next month or two and it will take some getting used to. I have never been a huge fan of the Bundesliga so I will only watch the key match next week between Bayern and Borrusia as that is the league title decider possibly. Not having watched any matches up until now bears no interest for me except that one particular match. I love my sport but am not that desperate just to watch anything.
An empty stadium in the Bundesliga is not really empty as there are still around 500 people in attendance. Most of them are hidden away somewhere in the stands. A team has back room staff, the press, the television crews,security,medical staff, catering for everyone. This all adds up as this is all to make the event happen. This was the main reason why the Premiership wanted neutral venues as those people could assist with more than one match cutting down the overall numbers.
