But knowing what difference their support can make (house court advantage, anyone?) The NBA is proposing some solutions: a tap-to-cheer app and video technology that will teleport their faces to the field from the comfort of their homes.
“Obviously it’s very different for the players and it’s different for the fans who look at home. I mean, in this sport – like many others – there is that advantage at home, that six-man. It’s the roar of the crowd, the crowd whistle, “said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on CNN Wednesday with Wolf Blitzer. “We are trying to replicate it to some extent without directing the obvious crowd noise.”
The moves are just some of the ways that professional sports leagues are grappling with the absence due to the coronavirus pandemic. MLB announced similar encouragement technology before returning to the pitch last week: “Cheer at the Ballpark” allows fans to cheer, whistle or clap their sofas.
On both the
NBA app and the WNBA app, there is now a tap to cheer option, which would allow fans to virtually cheer on their favorite teams. At the end of the game, total cheers are counted and shown on a board. At the end of the season, fans of the teams with the first three total touches will be invited to participate in a virtual round table discussion with the players of that team, the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream – who started their season last week – he said.
And Microsoft Teams, Silver explained to Blitzer, has a mode that shows fans on the screens of the arena on the sidelines, allowing players to see their images on the sidelines.
“We are excited to partner with Microsoft to virtually integrate
NBA fans into our restart of the season,” said Sara Zuckert,
NBA Head of Next Gen Telecast, in a blog post on the Microsoft website. “This unique live gaming experience will allow fans to maintain a sense of community as they watch their favorite teams and players.”
The company said that each playing field will feature 17-foot-tall LED screens that wrap around the three sides of the arena showing 300 cheering fans brought up using Teams’ “Together Mode”. The product uses artificial intelligence to “bring people together in a shared background such as a conference room, coffee shop or arena,” he said.
It’s still unclear what kind of difference this technology will make in the general atmosphere of a sports game, though.
Other countries have also tried the same technology, such as in Japan, where Yamaha developed a “Remote Cheerer powered by Sound UD” system that would transmit cheers, whistles and songs from users’ homes to the stadium.
However, not all attempts have been successful.
In South Korea, FC Seoul was fined 100 million Koreans won (around $ 81,000) after being accused of placing sex dolls on its stands to add atmosphere during a closed game.
CNN’s Jack Guy contributed to this report.
