Sport has the ability to connect people from all walks of life. Rich or poor, allegiance to a beloved sports team unites fans and evokes a sense of pride and loyalty – be it for a specific team or an entire country. Of course, the game is what it is all about. But the spirit? That’s all down to the fans. The atmosphere that accompanies a large game is what makes sport. However, with Covid, sports fans cannot come together and support their teams from the sidelines, drunk on unison and camaraderie. BizNews community member George Gultig focuses on this theme. He says ‘Administrators must surely realise that sport – particularly at club, provincial and international level – cannot survive without spectators and neither can it survive on television if events lack crowd support.’ In the era of Covid-19, what can be done to safely allow spectators to enjoy their favourite sports? – Jarryd Neves
Do lockdown measures pose a threat for sportsmen and administrators?
By George Gultig*Â
There is something in the back of my mind telling me that lockdown and all its beastly implications are still going to have a profound effect on SA’s (if not the world’s) favourite pastime – SPORT.
On Saturday evening I settled down to watch the Six Nations International Rugby Match between Wales and France. Two other International matches between Australia and New Zealand were played on the weeks leading up to the clash, but they were contested in front of spectators, albeit the stadiums were far from packed to the rafters. This particular match was played before an empty Stade de France and as rugby is a sport which, especially at International level, attracts huge crowds there was something paranormal  about the event – like watching the gladiators in action at an empty Coliseum.
Instead of 80,000 voices belting out the words of “Land of our Fathers” and “La Marseillaise” we had to settle for 30 rugby players and their support staff to instil a modicum of national pride in contestants and fans, which they failed to achieve. The dubbing to create crowd effect was an insult to viewers and added to the disappointment of the whole dismal charade.
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I have my doubts about face masks but here we had 30 healthy and robust human beings locked in scrums and mauls and lineouts breathing, coughing, sneezing, spitting, drooling, (biting? – yes it’s been done), in set piece after set piece because, if  players dared to move the ball along the backline, they would be crash-tackled and a maul set up for another wrestling contest. All the while the reserves and support staff, clad in their expensive, fashionable facial nappies emblazoned with the national emblem are huddled in an area in the in the stadium so small that if you put a stamp on it you could post it home.
Administrators must surely realise that sport – particularly at club, provincial and international level – cannot survive without spectators and neither can it survive on television if events lack crowd support.
There is an even more dire message for players. They are not only representing their countrymen (who expect them to act as gentlemen) but are being paid handsomely to entertain professionally and proficiently, and if they fail to do so crowd support will gradually dwindle and disappear.
- George Gultig describes himself as a retired SADF member and octogenarian trying to avoid the approaching stages of incoherence associated with dementia by keeping up with what’s happening in our country, for whom so many gave their lives. “The attached pic was taken in Jan 2019 aboard MSC Musica with the most beautiful mountain and city in the world as background.”
