There were cardboard cutouts instead of real fans, flashlights instead of the usual deafening noise, and a recorded national anthem to replace the original.
Nobody could criticize the efforts of Wembley, the English football league and the two clubs to make the second league play-off final as safe as possible.
However, without the presence of Exeter City and Northampton Town supporters due to the coronavirus pandemic, the overall feeling was a feeling of nothing.
I was one of only a few hundred at the National Stadium for what was probably the first competitive game in Wembley behind closed doors, and it was certainly a unique experience.
A fan who “had to be there”
I spent 30 minutes on the Olympic Way before entering the stadium. Had it not been for the graphics on the outside of the floor, you would not have known that an important game was going to take place.
There were builders drilling outside the ground and locals doing their Monday evenings far from the cake, program and goods vendors who normally dominate the famous walk.
But there was a fan, Don, who felt compelled to come to Wembley and enjoy the ambience without breaking social distance rules.
Don has been following Northampton since 1963 and traveled alone from Ealing – just five and a half miles away – so that he could stand outside and listen to radio commentary on the finale.
With a Cobblers scarf, you could see how much it meant to be here, even if he couldn’t see the game – and the result only made his smile wider.
My encounter with Don was followed by a medical exam in a makeshift tent – temperature control and filling out the form – before I was finally allowed to step on the floor.
After not playing in a game since the suspension, it all felt very strange, but there was no moaning or sighing, just an acknowledgment that everyone was doing their utmost to make the stadium as safe as possible .
Under the Wembley arch
This was a sign of what the FA Cup and Champions League finals, League One and Championship Play-off finals will all look like, all of which will be played in empty stadiums.
I’ve been lucky enough to report on several Wembley play-off finals, and the noise is usually so loud that I can hardly hear myself thinking.
It was so quiet this time that I could clearly hear my press colleagues typing, the Wembley generators buzzing, and former Colchester and Wolves striker Chris Iwelumo doing his analysis as a radio expert.
Soprano Faryl Smith has pre-recorded the national anthem off-site. Media officials applauded politely after speaking up for God Save the Queen.
The game itself was probably the most normal part of the evening, and that’s why football is so great.
Only 22 players run around to kick a ball, and for 90 minutes you almost forget the global pandemic that has affected our lives so much in recent months.
However, the big moments were reserved – the goals meant as much as normal, but you couldn’t help but look at the empty seats and imagine the emotions that would be poured out.
A red card for Exeter veteran Dean Moxey, however, was the most peculiar incident. After Ryan Watson was knocked out because of a late, stinging challenge, there was nothing – no ironic cheers, no hands on heads, or screams at the referee.
And it is this raw passion that is so much missed.
At the final whistle, the Northampton players celebrated with each other and with manager Keith Curle in front of a camera lens and beamed thousands of cheering Cobblers fans watching from their living room.
The usual path up the famous Wembley steps was canceled, and Curle and Captain Charlie Goode had to lift the trophy off the pedestal on the pitch instead of the usual dignitary handing it over to them.
It started as a socially distant affair for the team before hugs, dancing, and lots of champagne came quickly.
To round off the bizarre character of the whole opportunity was the sight of midfielder Alan McCormack from Northampton, who took selfies with the Cobblers army of cardboard fans with a bottle of beer in hand.
This was still football – there were winners and losers – but not as we know it.
