What I miss most is the banter. Having banter with your mates who support rival teams is one of the most enjoyable parts of football. Seeing their team lose and giving it to them for the rest of the week is hilarious. We all know it’s fun and games, and no one takes it too seriously. Now, if you want to interact with anyone, it has to be online or over text. When you communicate this way, it can get a little hostile because things get misinterpreted on the internet. People don’t understand it’s banter because it’s just words on a screen. Even sports analyzing has changed now, and you can really feel the loss of connection between the hosts. They’re all live streaming each other from home, and with the delays and technical errors, it completely removes any cohesion the presenters once had. They try their best to keep things as normal as possible and give you the same feeling, but it’s impossible. We can all feel the isolation; you can’t hide it. It’s made for a bit of an awkward experience. For some people, going to a match is their only escape from the trials and tribulations of their everyday life. One
met up with on match day provided them with some company and they didn’t feel as lonely anymore. Sports are great for mental health and wellbeing. Not just because of the distraction it provides, but because your fellow supporters are also your support group. They have your back no matter what, and they may not even know who you are. On match day, when people see someone in the same jersey as them sitting alone, it’s not uncommon for them to start a conversation with them, and even become friends. There are people who have friends all over the globe because they met at a sporting event, and these sporting events are the only time they get to see their international friends in person. So whilst the quality of games hasn’t suffered one bit, some of the fans have. They miss the camaraderie with the other supporters, they miss that release from their everyday lives, and they miss that connection to the players. And I know the players miss the fans as well. We’re all hoping this isolation is over sooner rather than later so we can all be at the games live as a community again, cheering on our favorite team.
day a week they get a distraction, they forget their problems, and they focus on football and football only. But now that’s impossible. They’re stuck. There’s no escape for them, and it’s going to be that way for a long time into the future. There are people who are extremely lonely right now. They don’t have a wife or kids, they don’t have many friends. The fellow supporters they
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