Will Sport Have No Atmosphere?

How we’re feeling about the return.

While other countries have gone to extremes to ensure sport can stay in play – the German Amateur League used shopping trolleys to ensure social distancing in a recent soccer match – sport-mad Australia paused all games and is now in the process of navigating a return to the pitch. NRL bosses have been chomping at the bit and the code finally hit our screens last week weekend. If all goes to plan, the AFL won’t be far behind.

Behind closed doors that is.

There has been much debate about whether sport will be the same without the roaring crowd, the barracking, essentially the atmosphere. According to Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith, basketball, “can’t function without fans.”

Undeniably, the fans are a massive part of any game and this country is famously sport obsessed. “Let’s just say my pyjama top is an Eels t-shirt,” says THE ICONIC’s CEO, Erica Berchtold.

For Erica, and many other die-hard Australian and New Zealand fans, sport’s responsible for some of life’s most unforgettable moments. “Attending the Ashes at Lords in England was pretty special, as was going to the Soccer world cup in Germany in 2006 and the London Olympics in 2012. Probably my fave memory was watching Keiran Perkins on TV win the 1500m swim from lane 8 at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I love all sport – tennis, cricket, athletics, soccer, league, swimming… all of it.”

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“When I used to go to the soccer to watch Sydney FC play, I'd sit with my friends right near The Cove (the diehard fans section). When I go to the cricket though, (test cricket – I'm a 'purist'), I want to sit by myself. In the stands with my sportsears radio on, listening to the commentary whilst I watch the game.”

Will it be unbearable to not physically be in the stands for a while? “These days, the reality is that with small kids it's harder to get to the games live ... It's weirder for my husband as he'd sometimes go with his mates and sit on the hill at Leichhardt Oval and he's devo he won't be doing that for a while.”

While this crowd-less set up might be temporary, there’s something off about the canned cheering and underwhelming celebrations, but we’ll take what we’re given. Empty stadiums are a step up from no season at all.

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