No seats for spectators

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A Borussia Moenchegladbach fan project printed a life-sized figures of fans to fill empty seats at Borussia Park, Germany.

You might call it spectator sport but it might come as a surprise how many top athletes are okay about empty stands

By Bikram Vohra


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Published: Fri 5 Jun 2020, 10:50 AM

Last updated: Fri 5 Jun 2020, 12:56 PM

So much for spectator sport. With no one watching could it be as much fun. I have a multi-level theory. One, when we played interschool hardly anyone came to watch. Yet the competition was stiff and bitter and we played our hearts to win even if no one will root for us. Two, we of the new hi-tech generation have a fifth appendage and it comes with hydra heads as in cinema, TV, tablets, laptops and computers, mobile phones and games consoles, our visual synapses trained to respond to the electronic audio-video feed. We saw how easily we segued into remote working mode and in very little time snubbed the togetherness of our historical gregariousness as humans.
Sport will not suffer. On the contrary with stadiums becoming passé and drone cameras ensuring the best angles, all you need is courts and fields. More people can access them and play. Ergo, more talent to the fore. The saving in costs will go to the players and there will be more teams and competitions because TV and its now multiple avatars are hungry little monsters and never have enough content.
Where stadiums exist they can still make money with hi-tech advertising and off-field entertainment.there is still an audience of millions. There are just short of 5,000 stadiums across the world. Turnstiles do not make guaranteed money. Saving costs in tickets, security arrangements, upkeep of the facility, repairs and maintenance, staff will be tangible. The premises can be sold for concerts, weddings and even open air classrooms.
Subject specific TV has splintered the roughly 27,000 acknowledged TV channels worldwide. These figures have been pulped into custard by rogue channels, illegal streaming and private unlicensed telecasts on the Net.
There are now about 300 channels dedicated to sport. If there are no spectators and sport is reworked to heighten the intimacy with gimmickry, prizes and raffles, pre- and post-game entertainment and advanced 'I am here' technology - the TRPs will need a higher roof.
In fact, there will be Kerry Packer type pioneers of non-spectator sports who will very soon choreograph a tournament in tennis or cricket or soccer and retune it to making spectators redundant. They will ensure it is packaged in a riveting, money-making way with bells and whistles and millions of viewers. Sports champions will concentrate more on their skills with so many contenders knocking on the door for their place. As former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said, no one wants to play badly with the world watching.
You might call it spectator sport but it might come as a surprise how many top athletes are okay about empty stands.not because people were disinterested and stayed away but because staying away is the new normal.
While the diehard fan might miss the 'being there' high and that is an exceptional experience the new generation has lost that edge given by presence and would easily slide into interactive viewing. Imagine being on air and giving your views, being virtually transported onto the track with Usain Bolt, on the pitch with Virat Kohli, or going up close and personal with Messi in simulated telecasts, the likes of which are already on the anvil. -bikram@khaleejtimes.com


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