ICYMI: Sports fans getting serious withdrawal symptoms

It’s been almost a full year since fans were allowed into stadiums to cheer on their heroes and watch live sport.

For the last 12 months they have had to sit at home, mostly, to get their rugby and cricket fix. Because of the coronavirus pandemic sports fans haven’t even been allowed into pubs for a lot of the time – and it seems they have had enough of being arm-chair watchers.

“It’s been really tough…we live not far from Loftus Versfeld (in Pretoria and home of the Bulls) and yet we can’t go watch,” lamented Ralf Wunderman, a staunch Bulls supporter and season ticket-holder for the last 25 years.

“We pretty much schedule our life around rugby, so it’s been difficult.”

And what a “season” the Bulls have had. Under new director of rugby Jake White, the team won everything on offer since the resumption of sport midway through last year.

The Bulls first won the Super Rugby Unlocked competition and then also the Currie Cup.

Bulls fans have been unable to see their team win two trophies under new head coach and director of rugby, Jake White. Picture: Getty Images

“It’s been an amazing season for the Bulls…a couple of days before the Currie Cup final I found some old photos I took of my father and I at the 2009 final, the last time the Bulls won the trophy… I’ve still got the tickets,” added Wunderman.

“To see what Jake has done is very special, but it would have been so much better to have witnessed it all at the ground.”

Nola Poort, a Bulls fan for the last 20 years, said not being able to go to Loftus on weekends had been a “nightmare”.

“My boys – I have three – also love going to the matches; the vibe, the atmosphere…we’re missing it so much,” she said.

“Our weekends are now boring, it’s been an empty season.”

No more after-match partying

Sharks fans, who are well-known for their post-match parties around Kings Park, have also been hit hard by the government’s ban on supporters going to live sports events.

“It’s killing us not to be at the stadium,” said George Laas, the long-time chairman of the Sharks Supporters Club in Durban.

“It’s not only about the game, but also meeting up afterwards with so many ex-Natal and Sharks players who visit us. We have all become great friends over the years…it’s totally frustrating to have to watch the matches at Crusaders or Beachwood Country Club, knowing that the Sharks are playing less than five kilometres away.”

“Kings Park is surely big enough that we could sit apart and still social distance,” insisted Laas.

The cricket stadiums have also been empty for months.

Cricket fans, despite the large open spaces at most venues, have also been left to watch the action at home. Picture: Getty Images

The Proteas’ white-ball series’ against England last year in Cape Town and Paarl, which were ultimately cut short because of coronavirus in the England camp, were played in a fan-less Newlands and Boland Park, as were the Tests against Sri Lanka in Centurion and Joburg over the festive season.

All domestic cricket has taken place without supporters, despite the large open spaces inside all the grounds.

“For the Test match at the start of the year (against Sri Lanka) all the tenants were told they had to move out because the Memorial Stand was a biosecure bubble and we weren’t allowed to come to work,” said David, a tenant who rents office space at the Wanderers.

“It’s always been an issue for the stadiums to get bums on seats and now this just rubs salt into the wounds. Even for the four-day stuff; surely a single person sitting in a stand in a 30 000-seater stadium is not going to be a problem? Why can’t 50 people come and watch?”

A massive disconnect

He continued by saying that watching the Proteas on television just wasn’t the same for die-hard cricket supporters, who love the live action.

“There’s a massive disconnect compared to being there in person,” he said.

“The whole atmosphere and vibe is a massive thing, and the closeness you feel to the game. You don’t get that watching on TV; it all feels sanitised, if I can use that word!

“It almost feels like you’ve been banished from visiting a family member’s house to not be part of that environment. Going to a number of matches every season, both local and international, you feel like you’ve done something wrong.

“It’s part of the cricket culture in Gauteng to go to the Wanderers, but now it’s like sitting at the kiddies table for Christmas lunch, you’re so close but you’re not really part of the fun.

“And Pink Day (which is coming up in the next few weeks with the Proteas set to take on Pakistan at the Wanderers) is like the Durban July, that’s Joburg’s big day, and it has also been taken from us.

“It’s the only guaranteed sell-out sporting event so not having it has been a massive revenue loss for the Lions and Cricket South Africa.”

ALSO READ: SA football fans plead with PSL to let them back in

Despite the number of coronavirus cases dropping in recent weeks, there has been no word from the sports ministry about when fans will be allowed back into the stadiums, even if in limited numbers.

Rugby and cricket though have been given the green light to continue, as has football (which was featured here last week), but other major events, like the Two Oceans and Comrades ultra-marathons have been canned for the second year running.

This story first ran in The Citizen print edition last Saturday.

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