Empty Stadiums Really Can Produce Great Sport

6/25/2020

I just learned something about sports in empty venues: even without the fans roaring, the drama and the skill can be magnificent in front of the tube.

This is worth noting as major American sports prepare for unprecedented short seasons and makeshift playoffs.

None of this means any athletes should be playing. Covid-19 is raging, sparked by the cruel and intentional stupidity of Donald Trump. Athletes are probably setting a bad example just from their proximity, no matter the health protocols cobbled together.
To be continued.

But what I realized Thursday was that great athletes and great sports and great histories and great plots make for great viewing.

My little epiphany came during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City in London. I wasn’t even watching until I started getting pinged by my son-in-law in Deepest Pennsylvania, telling me that homeboy Christian Pulisic from nearby Hershey was starting for Chelsea.

The next ping told me Pulisic had scored. So I dropped my household chores and turned on the tube.

The replays showed the wunderkind, not yet 22, sharking two Man City defenders, putting pressure on them, forcing them into a dreadful giveaway, and then changing his gears several times as he corkscrewed the hapless Man City keeper into the turf and slipped a goal into the corner – a brilliant bit of opportunism, whether in front of a packed house in Stamford Bridge or an empty one. On TV, it was stunning.

The goal was also vital because Man City was one loss or one draw away from yielding its title to Liverpool after two straight championships. Liverpool was so far ahead this season that a title was inevitable, but now it might happen without Liverpool flexing a muscle except of course in front of their own TV sets up north.

The great soccer continued: Kevin DeBruyne, the red-headed Belgian with Man City, hooked a free kick into the left corner to draw the game. World level skill.
Raheem Sterling, the young Man City star who has been the spokesman for Black Lives Matter in British football, missed twice by inches.
Pulisic sharked Man City again but this time Kyle Walker slid on the goal line to stop the ball millimeters from the white line.
And then a seasoned City player, Fernandinho, let his left hand dangle to stop a shot in goalmouth, and was called for a red card. (Sour Grapes Dept: the very same act, uncalled, cost the U.S. a goal in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinal against Germany.)

Willian scored the penalty for Chelsea in the 78th minute and idle Liverpool would clinch the title – its first in 30 years.

Pinging in my phone from father and son in Deepest Pennsylvania followed by the TV views of fans lurching around Anfield Road at dusk, and a raucous Zoom montage around Britain of Red Devil fans in their red jerseys celebrating – the modern mix of Liverpool fans, white and black, young and old, male and female, even the odd dog. Some fans held up signs that said: “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the inspirational theme song of Liverpool for decades now.

One of the broadcasters noted that Liverpool has been revamped in the past decade by John Henry, the very same introverted owner who revamped the Boston Red Sox from a decades-long miasma of its own.
People who follow sports carry these legends with them while watching, and debating, even while sitting out off-seasons and [postponements during this frightening plague.

On this very same; day, in unusually hot England, close to a million people rushed to the southern shore, packing the beaches, breathing on each other at close range, just as they would be in a packed stadium.
Are we humans that eager to infect each other, perhaps mortally, at sports events, the beach, religious services, political rallies for the fragile ego of a dangerous president? Well, it would appear we are.

Now we are about to will American sports into close-order competition, with “rules” that seem ludicrous. (One of my favorite new conditions for baseball players on the road for the next three months stipulates that only close relatives will be allowed into players' hotel rooms.)

For the moment, a father and son in Deepest Pennsylvania celebrated a championship in England, performed by some of the best players in the world.

I watched. It was terrific. Now, heart in mouth, in this dangerous time, I await the Mets.

Liverpool fans celebrate -- after 30 years

bruce

6/25/2020 07:41:11 pm

george,

up here in the national security threat to the usa, this davies guy has received a lot of attention--attachment below.

just named rookie of the year, 19 and starts for some team called bayern munich.

also clocked at 22.69 mph which is the fastest in bundesliga history.

bruce
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonso_Davies

George Vecsey

6/27/2020 06:18:16 pm

Bruce, thanks for calling my attention to Alphonso Davies. GV

bruce

6/27/2020 07:08:04 pm

george,

he's the second canadian that i know of who was a starter for bayern.

owen hargreaves was the other.

think his father was english so hargreaves ended up as a starter with england.

believe he was cut from a team in canada but the deutsch saw something there.

doing it from memory so don't take the above paragraph to the bank.

bruce

Michael

6/26/2020 01:38:52 pm

Hi George: I’m really enjoying watching EPL & La Liga more than I thought I might. I’m glad they’re sticking to the original schedule. I prefer no enhanced sound but they do a decent job when I do hear piped in crowd noise. I hope they can keep it safe. Best to you & yours. Michael P.S. Forza Atleti & COYS!! ⚽️⚽️

George

6/27/2020 06:21:13 pm

Michael: soccer crowds are special...a different energy from other team sports, both good and bad. I think the piped-in noise helps for a background -- not sure if any teams have tried to engineer the sound in favor of the home side.

Alan Rubin link

6/27/2020 12:04:26 pm

George-a timely post.

I understand the financial need for teams to return to action, but is the risk to the players worth it? The Orlando Pride has withdrawn from the NWSL Challenge Cup due to many team members having tested positive.

Games in empty stadiums can still be exciting to watch, but the lack of crowd noise and interaction diminishes the experience. I had experienced this both as a player and a fan.

As a three-year starting goalkeeper for Lehigh University, home game crowds including substitutes, friends and other students that exceeded a hundred were the exception. The energy and excitement that they generated was always an inspiration.

However, I did not realize the powerful effect that a crowd could have until I played for the Mexican Aztecs, a semi-pro team based in Bethlehem, PA. All their players worked for Bethlehem Steel and Lehigh’s coach encouraged them to work out with our team whenever they could. They were a mixture of Eastern European and Hispanic players.

I became friendly with a Mexican-American who had previously tried out for the U.S Men’s Olympic soccer team. At a chance meeting on the street, he asked if I was available as their keeper had just been hurt.

The Aztecs played in the Philadelphia German-American League, which was several levels above the college soccer of the 1950’s. One car got lost going to a game against a Portuguese that was going to a higher professional league the following year and was loaded with talent.

We played the first half with ten players and it was amazing that we only lost 3-1. We had played in a 5,000-seat venue, but it seemed they everyone lined the field from mid-field along the sidelines, around the end-line and back up to mid-field on the other side. I had fans talking to me throughout the entire game.

It was amazing to feel the energy of the fans, who kept shouting encouragement to me as they sensed the constant pressure that I was under.

There is considerable “us-them” mentality that permeates much of today’s society, but good sportsmanship is alive as well as evidenced by the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

I will be eighty-five this August and have lived through many protest movements. However, today’s outpouring of support from the youngsters of my grandchildren’s generation and the one above them feels different. They are a broad coalition of various backgrounds that appear to have staying power.

I learned from a mentor in graduate school to look at a problem or situation and ask-“what makes sense?” Today’s youth seem to be doing just that.

George Vecsey

6/27/2020 06:25:33 pm

Alan, thanks for confirming what I think team athletes experience -- having a crowd for (or against) you. I know what a thrill it was to actually play a match in Met Oval in Ridgewood, Queens....a shrine, with the Manhattan skyline (and afternoon sun) looming behind the west goal. They actually had some locals wander in to see Grover Cleveland HS murder us. And I remember one match at home at Jamaica when the cheerleaders came out to cheer for us. (They were preparing for the upcoming basketball season.) One of my best friends from Jamaica was the captain of the cheerleaders; I remind her of their good deed way back when. GV

bruce

6/27/2020 01:45:43 pm

alan,

good post.

i was a decent baseball player before moving to 'fastball/softball'.

baseball was a lot easier.

there was one team in the league that had the mouthiest players and mouthiest fans.

the benches were about 10 feet from the first and third baselines with the fans directly behind each.

never failed to get the adrenaline going.

games that were sparsely attended with less fun. i usually got pumped up more in the opposition parks.

it's too bad the 'what makes sense crowd' didn't in 2016.

bruce

George

6/27/2020 06:30:12 pm

Bruce: talk about crowd presence: summer of 54 or 55, neighborhood team played in the NY Mirror softball tournament in Queens. First inning, I hit a 2-run homer over the LF fence (fresh ball, had to last all game.) I paid for it. Local urchins in Kew Gardens Hills tossed pebbles at a yooge target -- my backside, quite large in those days, as I squatted to catch near the chain-link backstop All game -- go into crouch, get pinged by pebbles. (We lost)

bruce

6/27/2020 07:14:11 pm

george,

i'm not puzzled by the home team advantage, but i fed off the energy of the opposing teams' fans more than the home side.

i was good at football and baseball, but my skating was very ordinary so that was my level.

never played a game of basketball until i hit high school.

good rebounder and that was about it.

of course, we were all expected to be excellent in basketball because of james naismith, eh....

bruce

Alan Rubin link

6/28/2020 03:52:29 pm

George- cheerleaders at a high school soccer game. Wow! At Teaneck HS, the soccer team always had a much better record but the girls went for the football players.

My three best friends were football players and were the only ones who made the scholastic honor role each quarter. Almost the entire soccer team did.

Teaneck opened each season at West Point against their freshman team. It had been against the JV for years, but Army decided it looked better if we beat the freshman team. It was an all-day event with a tour of West Point and dinner with the Cadets.

The locker room was at the field house, which was large enough to have indoor baseball practice.

A win there always set the tone for the season.

Alan Rubin link

6/28/2020 05:19:10 pm

Bruce—You bring back fond memories of my softball days, which started at about age eight in the PS 187 school yard in Manhattan's Washington Heights. It was located just above 187th Street on Fort Washington Avenue. It was not until many years later that I learned that the school number did not have any relationship to the street number.

Once the weather permitted, notice that I did not use the term “warmed up”, we would be out there by 7 AM Saturday and Sunday morning. The teams were filled on a “first come” basis and the winning team stayed on the field. The player who was the last one to hold the bat closest to the knob had first pick and then the captains alternated.

I lived across the street and my mother was instructed to bring lunch if I was not home by 1 PM. We had to start early as the high school students took over the major of the three fields on Saturday afternoon, but we could still use the other smaller ones.

Sunday was different as the late sleeping college kids cleared everyone out for their afternoon money games.

It was difficult playing on concrete. An un-taped ball was rare and it was almost a religious experience to use an brand new one.

My mother could never understand why the outside of my sneaker soles wore out, but the concept of sliding on cement was foreign to her. I was not averse to come in under a tag by keeping my body off the ground with my hand and the side of a sneaker.

When I was able to play on grass fields with dirt infields, sliding seemed so un-challenging.

I played baseball in both JR and SR high school, but I never enjoyed it as much as softball. I was a 10.4 100-yard sprinter with a strong arm, so I was always trying to stay out of the outfield. Catching and third base were my favorite positions since that was where much of the action was.

Today, softball is mostly a women’s game on the professional and elite level. This was not the case in the 1940 and 50’s when there were many professional and industrial men’s leagues, both slow and fast pitch.

I played in fast pitch summer leagues until I was about thirty-five. I played for years in the Teaneck leagues along with my previously mentioned best friends from high school.

One summer I played on a super-fast-pitch league in Central Park. I was invited by a co-worker when he learned that I was playing in the Teaneck league. Saturday's his team played a double header for money. Each team had a backer for a fixed amount, a $200, 300 or $500 game. Opposing positions would decide what they wanted to bet and the difference was covered by the backer.

Since I was new to the team, I only played the second game. I always made money since they only lost the first games. I did not bet if I was not playing.

Most games were 1-0, 2-1 since the pitchers were paid and super, super fast. I always swung at each pitch since there were almost always strikes. The first two swings gave me enough timing to be able to get on base with a blooper. I dropped out after about five games as it was not the kind of softball that I enjoyed playing.

One I went into the retail business, it became more difficult to get to games. Also, Josh and later Jen had started little league, which was much more enjoyable.

The Scrap Yard Fast Pitch team pulled out of a tournament when ownership tweeted to Trump that all of the players would stand.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/sports/scrap-yard-softball-anthem-tweet.html

Another example that there are things more important than winning.

bruce

6/28/2020 06:26:07 pm

alan,

thanks....enjoyed your trip down memory lane.

i was the youngest player in the flamborough fastball league. i turned 17 just before the season started.

played six seasons before i had to retire to cover sports rather than playing them. i'd played baseball before then. started when i became the only nine year old on my little league team.

i enjoyed the speed of fastball and asked to play third base.

can't bobble the ball and kick it around for a little while like you can in baseball.

also, you took your life into your hands if you thought bunt and charged in while the guy was swinging away.

i was nine in 1959 when i first i watched the team. it was the last year a player played without a glove. name was rusty hamilton seemed ancient--probably 40--played centre field.

we didn't have anybody who threw a rise.

i was lead off hitter and there was a pitcher named al shaw on the other team.

it was my first game.

i hit left handed and shaw was a righty..

he fired the ball in, i started to swing and the thing passed me at eye level.

i turned the bench and said, 'WTF was that?!'

all the olde tymers were laughing at the kid.

drawn a blank on the pitching style for a rise....orthodox?

thought hitting was harder in fastball. the best guys could throw it almost as fast as a baseball, but were much closer..

i eventually learned to lay off the rise.

don't follow fastball much now but new zealand, the usa and canada seemed to be the best in the world when i covered sports back in the day.

i saw the attachment you enclosed when it was in the times....good for them.

you're probably familiar with this, but just in case.

eddie feigner was 51 when he faced this lineup.

.....On February 18, 1967, Feigner appeared in a celebrity charity softball game against many Major League players. In the game Feigner struck out Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Maury Wills, and Harmon Killebrew all in a row.

and you've most likely know of this--a kind of reverse feigner.

the kid was killed in ww2.

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/the-day-a-japanese-high-schooler-struck-out-ruth-gehrig-and-foxx-in-succession-c#:~:text=20%2C%20during%20a%201%2D0,Gehrig%20and%20Foxx%20in%20succession.

bruce

Rick Taylor

6/30/2020 08:18:47 pm

George, for several years I've watched my favorite sports (MLB, NHL, NFL) with the sound muted. My daughter, wag that she is, was visiting one day and as I watched the Mets she said, "hey dad, do you know what's more boring than baseball on TV? No sound baseball on TV.". Postscript, in my opinion, all sports in the US should be postponed until 2021.

bruce

6/30/2020 08:36:54 pm

rick,

i've heard of people turning the TV sound down so they could listen to it on radio.

never just to watch it in silence.

baseball to some countries is like cricket is to north americans.

i was a sports reporter in a previous life; i agree the four major sports leagues should lay low until things have calmed.

and the way many americans are showing great discipline, consideration for others and rationality now....it could be a lot longer wait than 2021.

bruce

Comments are closed.

QUOTES
“I don’t think people understand how Covid affects older Americans,” Mr. Caretti said with frustration. “In 2020, there was this all-in-this-together vibe, and it’s been annihilated. People just need to care about other people, man. That’s my soapbox.”
---Vic Caretti, 47, whose father recently died of Covid at 85.
---From an article by Paula Span, who covers old age for the NYT, which currently has 2646 comments, the majority criticizing the American public – and public officials – for acting as if the pandemic is “over.”
Classic wishful thinking, at a lethal level.
Please see:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/11/health/covid-pandemic-seniors.html

Empty Stadiums Really Can Produce Great Sport

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