When I go to live sport, I want to see the whole game
I was lucky to be invited to the Chelsea v Wolves game on Saturday evening. I’m not a Chelsea fan, but other members of the family are fans and it’s great to watch live sport. We had a meal beforehand, but made sure we were in our seats in good time before kick-off. You want to soak up the atmosphere and ensure you don’t miss any of the match.
Why do some fans miss so much of the game?
What amazed me, wasn’t the game itself, but how many fans missed so much of it. The number of empty seats at any time was really surprlsing. I watch a lot of sport, some for work, the rest for pleasure. So I’ve experienced this phenomenon before, but never at this level.
When the match kicked-off, about a quarter of the seats around us were still empty. Some of the missing fans arrived in the first minute of the game and some each minute or two after that. The latest people arrived 11 minutes after the game started. They missed nearly a quarter of the scheduled time.
Who ate all the pies?
From about half an hour onwards, a steady flow of people started to leave their seats, to get drinks and pies, missing up to 15 minutes of the first half. Getting up and down repeatedly in your seat keeps you fit, but it’s not what you’ve come for.
In the second half, the flow increased further. The latest people back into their seats were 26 minutes late, for a 45 minute half! How do I know it was 26 minutes? I was so intrigued, that by this point that I was clock watching. I really hope the pies were worth it. But the lateness wasn’t all. The trips out for more beers and more pies got going from about 60 minutes. And then, from the 76th minute, people started leaving to go home, to beat the traffic.
Surely as fans, you want to see the whole game?
What’s more important to a fan, the game or the food and drink? Although I’m not a Chelsea fan, I wanted to see the whole game. Surely the Chelsea fans wanted to see the whole game even more than I did. But that’s very difficult if you’re still in a queue for pies or beer. It’s also difficult if people are standing up in front of you to let latecomers into their seats.
Our row and the row behind us were partially unsighted for the first goal, because of late arrivers. That didn’t go down well with the fans around me. They’d all paid to see the game too. They wanted to see all of it.
Why not stay at home?
We did see the other two goals and Chelsea won, so the people I went with were very happy. I’m not sure what the people thought, who only saw half of the game. They could have watched the match from the comfort of their arm chair at home, with hot pies from the oven and as much cold beer as their fridge could hold. I honestly don’t get it. Maybe this match was particularly bad? Maybe it only happens in the hospitality areas? It’s certainly a strange way to watch a game, or not as the case may be.