Fans' absence from games may lead to a change in how they are viewed by teams and leaguesGETTY IMAGES
Sports have returned to mostly empty venues during the pandemic, and for the "first time, the true value of live spectators has become abundantly clear," according to Kevin Draper of the N.Y. TIMES. Fans are "critical extras in the backdrop of an entertainment proposition that in recent years has more squarely catered to viewers watching on television, cellphones and other devices." But without a "capacity crowd cheering in person," professional sports "don’t just lose their excitement." They "lose their meaning." Walk-off grand slams now have "all the emotional stakes of a first-inning single." A buzzer-beater for a team trying to make the playoffs "generates all the atmosphere of cars whizzing by on a distant freeway." Assuming fans return someday, a "changing role for them may be one of the lasting effects of the coronavirus crisis, reorienting how they are seen by the teams and the leagues that profit from them." Thousands of fans in a stadium "provide the atmosphere and are a key part of, and often create, entertainment that is worth billions to leagues." The events themselves have "grown into entertainment spectacles, with mascot races, halftime shows, enormous Jumbotrons and numerous fan activities that have little to do with the games." But that "may change given the uncertain prospects for sports growth in the United States, with no clear expectation for the ubiquitous return of regularly scheduled events with large crowds" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/17).
IN THE ASSOCIATION: In Boston, Adam Himmelsbach notes game ops crews around the NBA are "trying their best in these unusual circumstances to recreate home-court magic whenever possible, both for the players and for viewers watching on television." But the general reaction "has been mixed." The bubble setting "offers a rare opportunity to hear the sounds of the game, so why drown it out with fake noise?" But sometimes in basketball those sounds are "just grunts, and people want to imagine that they’re back at TD Garden rooting for the Celtics on an early-spring night." That is "where these crews come in." For example, the Celtics crew "provided some of those familiar prompts from actual home games, and the fake crowd noise is operated by crews in the backroom of the arenas." Celtics Senior Manager of Live Events Carley Lenahan has "handled sound for a few Celtics 'home games,' pumping in varying levels of cheers with the tap of an iPad" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/17).
