‘New’ TV sport is a real eye-opener

When it comes to sport, I must admit I am more than just somewhat of a fanatic.

Soccer, rugby and cricket are my favourites, but I am also more than prepared to host a through-the-night party so that my mates and I can watch a good boxing match live from Las Vegas at 5am.

The NFL Super Bowl (always around the wee hours for us here in SA) is another event I seldom miss. And no matter where or when there’s a MotoGP race, you’ll find me glued to a television.

So, when it comes to sport, I do have a pretty decent general knowledge. Or so I thought.

With a number of sporting codes now resuming worldwide – mostly behind closed doors as part of the coronavirus precautions – I’m beginning to realise that there’s a lot I don’t know.

My knowledge of English football seems particularly dodgy, especially after this past weekend’s matches.

For instance, I never knew that Everton has such a big contingent of German fans. Watching their 90-minute stationary bus ride against Liverpool over the weekend, I was amazed that the artificially inseminated crowd background noise featured so many German chants.

Whoever chose that particular piece of ambient noise, obviously knows a lot more about Everton football than I could ever imagine.

I’m not convinced that adding background crowd noise does anything to enhance the “crowd experience” for us watching at home alone, but at least we are all well on our way to learning a new language.

But that also got me wondering: would it not be a good idea to play the background noise over the PA system so that the players can also hear it?

Let’s be honest, Arsenal’s biggest challenge playing behind closed doors must be that none of them can realistically imagine playing 90 minutes without getting booed by their own supporters at least eight times.

As for Liverpool, shouldn’t they change their anthem? Maybe Lonely Is The Night will ring a bit more true than You’ll Never Walk Alone at a desolate and empty Anfield.

Danie Toerien.

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