Covid and the power of fandom

Football is back.. sort of.

The Bundesliga restarted after an almost two month hiatus due to the global pandemic which is Covid-19. It was a site to see Erling Haaland continue his goal scoring feat from before the break and celebrate like the kid at the club who moves their body in the most minimal effort possible but can still be defined as dancing.

However, one thing had been missing from this iconic scene. The fans!

Watching Dortmund thrash Schalke by four goals in an empty stadium made the return feel like a local Sunday league fixture. No limbs to block the camera view of those watching at home, no drums from the Dortmund faithful with a tinge of flares and fireworks. It was just football in the rawest term.

Obviously this is expected. The return of football did not automatically erase the dangers of the world and the precaution set by the World Health Organisation. Social distancing has to maintained. We can not have a gathering of people filling stadiums across the country. But does that mean we can’t continue to watch and enjoy the sport that we love live? In all honesty, it’s more complicated than that.

Not having the atmosphere of the fans is something that us as spectators can get used to. There are loads of times where I’ve watch a football match with the tv muted and music blaring from a surround system, to lift the vibe and energy of both football and non football fans.

The issue stems from the gathering of individuals rule, which is not restrictive to football stadiums. Lockdown has dictated that no social outings may be organized at risk of increasing the rate of infection. That includes going to a sports bar to drink with the mates, continuing the never ending argument of Messi and Ronaldo during half time of a match both individual weren’t even involved in. Football is not only about the sport, but it’s a community. Football is filled with banter, arguments, affection and emotion. You can’t get that same feel while your friend buffers mid sentence on the WhatsApp video call you guys had while watching the game. Technology can only do so much.

This may sound like I didn’t want football back, but I did. However, football in this state is a distraction, not a moment to look forward to or get invested over.

The new norm has taken over. Until a time a vaccine can be found, football is back at a price of the passion of the game