The big thing with football is that the fans are the 12th man but thanks to the current climate leagues are restarting without the 12th man in the crowd to get behind them. Some leagues have been cancelled all together, some are still in limbo but leagues such as the Bundesliga have restarted behind closed doors and watching a game with no fans and no atmosphere is just strange.
In fact it is so strange I haven't been able to watch a full game yet. With no atmosphere the game just seems to last forever and I just find myself losing interest far too early on in the game, I usually tune in then before halftime the TV will be turned off and I will just check Twitter every now and then to keep up with the scores. This is something I never thought I would end up doing as I can usually sit and watch any game from any league around the world.
Not only have the fans been missing out from seeing the live football they have become so used to but the clubs are also loosing that game day revenue. Without fans coming through the turnstiles clubs are loosing that all important ticket revenue along with any money they would also make from programmes, food & merchandise. Granted you can get merchandise online but some fans would prefer picking it up as part of their game day experience.
Also there is the case of why should some leagues carry on and others have to end just down to the clubs league and them not having as much money as others. Take Bradford City Women's league, that was cancelled very early into the lockdown situation in the UK whereas the Women's Super League has only just ended. Similarly the EFL League 2 has now ended on a points per game basis but the Premier League is restating later this month. Why is it that the Premier League can restart but the top flight of the women's game can't? And why can some British leagues continue whilst others have had all their hard work ruled out?
At least with the Bundesliga both the top flight of the men's and women's game have restarted and will be played until the end. Once again it just feels like the FA is only bothered about the top 2 flights of the English game and are disregarding those below who need all the support they can get during these trying times.
With the Bundesliga unable to grip my interest who know's if I am going to bother trying to tune into the Premier league when it kicks off again. But one thing is for certain once this is all over & done with and things start to return to a bit of normality it is those smaller forgotten teams I will be helping support, if the FA don't seem to be bothered about them it is us fans who are really going to have to come together and help those smaller clubs get back on their feet.
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