Future of the Fans

        It's no secret that over the course of the past year plus, the world has been bearing the brunt of one history's worst health crises. Lockdowns, closures, Zoom meetings, traditions postponed, memories lost and the mentally painful physical distancing from those we love the most. I would be extremely shocked if anybody would seriously come to a sports blog for reporting of this nature. While flattered, that doesn't fall into my wheelhouse. So, I'll bring it back in to my own comfort zone- which may be why many of you have descended here anyway- to provide some perspective.

    There is no denying the ramifications of this strange time in history. The tragic loss of life and the changes in our world that have sadly been experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the sports world, everything has been different as well. All participants have been tested regularly or daily for the virus; lockers moved; surfaces sanitized repeatedly. Those are all things that have become normal in this strange and tragic "new normal" that we have all had to endure. But the world of sports has to withstand something worse:

    Silence.

    Eerie silence.

    The biggest impact on sports throughout this pandemic- physically, mentally, emotionally and financially- has been the fact that the games have continued, just without the fans. Supporters are the lifeblood- often the founders- of the teams we love so dearly. Over the past year, we have become all too accustomed to pumped-in crowd noise. Fans have been projected on LED boards or plastered on cardboard cutouts. But I still harken back to the silence of great stadiums and arenas.

    The game-winning goal, silence.

    The last-second buzzer beater, silence.

    The highlight real touchdown, silence. 

    Eerie, strange, bizarre, silence.

    I find it remarkable that there hasn't been a greater impact on the quality of play than what we have seen.

    We escaped that downfall. Unfortunately, the impact of the pandemic on the teams we devote ourselves to is not limited to just that.

    The biggest problem: money.

    In April, executives of twelve of the world's biggest soccer teams announced a new project: the European Super League. This league was designed to upstage the Champions League and all other club soccer competitions for that matter. The project would make it so these teams would no longer have to qualify for the game's top competitions. This was a move that would have had a crippling effect on the smaller clubs, whose games would have lost value and whose already small budgets would have been pushed closer to the brink. Controversially, this project was set to go forward without the consultation of fans, players, coaches or staff.

    The European Super League could have had catastrophic consequences on the sport. But it was dissent from the fans that stopped it.

    Fan protests across the world, put pressure on the overwhelming majority of the clubs involved to announce their withdrawal from the Super League. The percentage of those leaving was too great for the League to go ahead as planned...for now.

    The club executives of those involved made it known, that the desire for a new league- with bigger revenue- was brought on by the COVID-19 related financial losses that they have sustained since last year. The biggest hit to the checkbooks of the billionaire owners stems from the lost ticket sales and gate receipts.

    Unfortunately, the owners who reside in society's top 1%, now have the justification that they have long sought. Losses from the pandemic have lit a much bigger fuse to a much more disheartening powder keg.

    Billionaire owners- incredibly successful in their business ventures- have attempted to take away teams from the fans who love and support them the most.

    Sports franchises were started with the most humble beginnings. 

    The Chicago Bears- then the Decatur Staleys- were comprised of workers from a starch company at the club's inception. The Bears' arch nemesis, the Green Bay Packers, were made up of workers from a meat packaging plant. But these are just two examples. This list could go on much further.

    These teams were found by commoners. Now they have been stolen by the rich.

    Increasingly, fans have been phased out. So, while- in many cases- the voices of the fans haven't, physically, been heard in more than a year at the stadium, their voices have gone unheard for far longer.

    It's clear life is beginning to return to some sort of normalcy. Sports will soon follow and things will go back to normal there as well. But unfortunately, normal will almost certainly include increasing prices and decreasing levels of input for the fans as teams look to offset the serious losses sustained during the pandemic era.

    So, what's my solution to the problem?

    It's simple, include the fans more often in decision-making. While they don't have to the final say in the business proceedings of the organization, give those whose drive the club a say.

    Matters such as new stadiums, relocation or a general change in business strategy should have fan input and could greatly benefit from having it.

    The fans built the teams. Now it's time for those who have taken control to give those most loyal to them what they crave: a voice.