A Spectacle or Spectacularly Dull?

Ben Campbell,

Sport (Correspondent)

 

It is the first day of the college football season in America. Local rivals Georgia State await on the field. Clemson, based in South Carolina, just 10 minutes north of the state border with Georgia, leave their locker room to board three coaches, which make their way to The Hill. Clemson players enter the stadium and gather around Howard’s — a rock brought to the stadium from Death Valley in the 1960’s in honour of the home of Clemson, fondly known as Death Valley Stadium. As the first players enter the stadium, the sea of orange, i.e a capacity 81,500 Clemson crowd, erupts. The whole team surrounds the rock atop the hill, the excitement in the stadium builds, the band bursts into life and the cheerleaders prepare the crowd for the finale. Then comes the touchdown cannon. The crowd erupts once more as Clemson bound down the hill and onto the field to rapturous cheering. It’s game time.

This tradition isn’t restricted only to Clemson; each college team has its own tradition. Add to this, cheerleaders entertain and pump up the crowd throughout, the big band plays music into the stadium and the fans lap up the party atmosphere that is created by these factors and the half time show combined. It is the celebration of top class sport but also undoubtedly a spectacle, one with which the crowd is fully encouraged to be a part of.

Football in the UK is in stark contrast to this. Recently promoted Crystal Palace, nicknamed the Eagles, have an eagle soar around the stadium in the build up to every home match. This new tradition in the Premier League has been met with praise and what could only be seen as sense of surprise, as barring the singing of particular songs before kick-off, Premier League teams do not have any traditions similar to those across the Atlantic.

Whereas football in the UK used to be about the fans, the influx of money has changed things. Footballers are no longer just footballers; they are commodities, products of the club. This has led to the feeling of clubs and players being out of touch with the fans, despite the fact they are what ensures the existence of the club. Across the pond, the proximity between fan and player in college football is aided greatly by the communal attendance of the college as well as the players not playing as a career but more so for leisure or to get through college and possibly into the NFL.

Despite the different situations both sports find themselves in; the sense of spectacle should be something both strive to create. American football games do last twice as long, which invariably makes it easier to be a spectacle, but this should not be used as a reason for a lack of spectacle in football in the UK. The key problem seems to be a lack of desire to make it a spectacle or to allow it to be a spectacle. For example, in recent years, certain stadiums have outlawed standing up in your seat for a prolonged period of time. This isn’t ideal for creating a buzzing atmosphere.

I remember being at a Birmingham City vs Newcastle United game about 10 years ago. Birmingham City were sponsored by Wickes — a large DIY chain. To entertain the crowd at half time, the sponsors brought out a shed and asked a few members of the crowd to attempt to kick a football through its window in order to win it. Good promotion of the company but not exactly what you would call a thrilling half time show. And therein lies the problem. Football in the UK has veered away from what it originally was — a chance to support your team of players who are as passionate about the cause as the average fan. It now relies upon rivalries between clubs, particularly in the Premier League, and a knowledge of the players to create an atmosphere, as the gap between the player and fans is now turning into a chasm. It is now about all about business, and in this cut throat industry, financial gain and control takes precedence over all else.

Football in the UK also suffers from the players becoming the spectacle. With modern advances in social media and coverage of football — the Premier League signed a TV deal worth £3 billion at the start of this season — fans now know everything about the players and their personal lives. This is also made easier through mediums such as Twitter and Facebook. Clubs can be seen to have become complacent and now rely on the players to be the spectacle. It is difficult to deny this, but this does not mean clubs should not focus more attention on the creation of an experience for the crowd.

Football in the UK could do a lot worse than to look at how college football is run in the United States. Differences may be attributed to cultural differences, but if the management don’t allow the crowd to become part of the spectacle, as in the Premier League, cultural differences don’t make the slightest bit of difference. Ultimately fans want to support their team, but creating a spectacle to accompany this can only allow teams and clubs to reap the rewards of the increased enthusiasm and ensure that the fan’s passion for the team remains.

Image Courtesy: © Rick Dikeman, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license | Wikimedia Commons