Corona Daily 064: Choose a Chant

Yesterday, I talked about the impact of empty stadiums on referee decisions and player performance. Players from different sports have shared their experience of playing without fans. The Tokyo Olympics which will start next month may be held without spectators. The organizers are currently studying learnings from the past year.

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Players from mega sports such as baseball and cricket mentioned they could talk directly to the dugout from the mound/pitch. There was no traffic noise from outside the stadium. Their own talk and opponents’ chatter was clearly audible, even whispers.

When the guys hit the ball, it sounded very loud off the bat. The fans in the stands usually dilute that sound.

Preston Tucker of the Kia Tigers said crowd noise often indicated to him the importance of the situation. Players like him realize the big situation moment based on the crowd decibels. Even the silence of the stands can denote a critical moment. (Like during a penalty shootout in football). In empty stadiums, the game was uniformly quiet.

Most players said they missed the feedback from the crowd. After a big strikeout (baseball), a goal (soccer), a wicket or a six (cricket), players are accustomed to instant feedback. It keeps the adrenalin going, particularly in the later phase of the game when players are tired. Fan support is their reserve energy.

A passionate crowd is capable of turning a match around. Star athletes who claim such focus that they never hear the crowd realized it was not so.

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There is now a whole new profession and skill development for creating simulated crowd noise. Sky Sports created a range of custom-tailored, and team specific crowd noises and chants. This was to make the Premier League lively. Now, even when the spectators return, TV viewers will have a choice between the stadium noise, and the simulated crowd sound. There is also a “choose a chant” feature. When England plays Croatia tomorrow at the Wembley stadium, in theory, the Croatian viewers of Sky Sports can choose crowd cheers, jeers and chanting in Croatian.

When Bundesliga went ahead with matches in empty stadiums, a set of skilled operators were watching the games from a studio in Munich. They had at their disposal dozens of carefully selected audio samples, as specific as a rising applause when a team is chasing an equalizing goal, or loud booing for a call overturned by a video review. A clip for every situation, and the job of the operator is to press the right clip at a flash.

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Jean Baudrillard, a French intellectual, had lamented that simulated experiences were replacing real life in postindustrial society. The big sport is now geared towards TV viewership. A man in the stadium watching the live action instinctively waits for action replay, and realizes that it is on offer only at home. (Now, though, some sports offer simultaneous viewing on big screens in stadiums).

Baudrillard describes the media-saturated culture moving towards “hyper-reality”, a state where the simulated is more prominent than the authentic. Where images and copies are considered realer than real life.

The hyper-reality problem has become worse during the pandemic, not only for sport. We can conveniently meet and chat on Zoom. Ballets and orchestras can be watched online. Offices and office life can be made redundant through remote work. Students can procure their degrees without ever visiting a university.

In sitcoms, viewers accept the fake laughing tracks that go off at the opportune moments. But it still makes us a little uncomfortable – we would prefer natural laughter.

If TV viewers start choosing the crowd noise and chants, why have real players? Fantasy sport competitions can be arranged, where the viewer chooses not only the chants, but also the winner. Maybe such competitions are already happening.

Ravi