Sometimes it just sounds like spectators in the stadium are no longer an important part of a post-pandemic world. That would be the end of sport – and that’s why it’s good that concepts for a return are now being presented.
For Takayuki Hioki, it is only about money when he thinks about living with the corona virus. This is in the nature of his job, because Takayuki Hioki is the managing director of the marketing company Sports Branding Japan. Clubs and associations hire him because they want to know how to earn as much as possible. As the now Japan Times interviewed, they also wanted to know from him how to get the sport business back on its feet after the pandemic break. And of course Hioki very consistently presented appropriate tools: bets, live streams, other digital strategies. It sounded as if the spectator was no longer part of the bill as a live stadium guest.
Japanese purpose thinking can be very helpful. And for the time being it is actually best, according to scientific considerations, to keep sports viewers at a distance. The DFB Cup final on Saturday between Leverkusen and FC Bayern may take place in front of 700 people (to which the national coach may belong) – a necessary concession to the health crisis. And with all understanding, the fans of the Danish club Aalborg BK are called: that you didn’t want to keep to the distance rules in the lost cup final against Sönderjyske on the grandstand in Esbjerg, does not fit in with the times!
Nevertheless: A post-pandemic sport that sees its future primarily in the production of canned goods for digital consumption should not be the goal. In Japan in particular, one sometimes has the impression that the new normality is a welcome excuse to create a sterile, easier-to-control society with little social contact. A life that consists only of precautionary measures? That would be creepy – and the end of sport. Sure, on the Internet you can help any district league audience. With various payment models, live streams could become a source of money for amateur clubs.
But the spectator in sports is not just a customer who has to be supplied with some goods. The viewer is part of every story that makes sport worth seeing. Be it because fans create a mood that motivates their team to perform particularly well. Because the charged atmosphere motivates a child to exercise. Or because people come together who didn’t know each other before. Without spectators in the stadium, sport lacks its energy source and its social purpose. In the long run, every Netflix series is more exciting than a kick in front of empty stands.
The Japanese Hioki and other marketers must not fool the clubs and associations: they need real spectators. According to the recommendations of science, you must slowly return to the old normal. It is therefore good news, for example, that RB Leipzig’s hygiene concept has been well received by the Health Department. As the first Bundesliga club, RB can once again offer its fans prospects of visiting the stadium. Maybe 20,000 can come in September. In the case of standing room ban and mouth protection obligation After all.
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