# Gotta say, I’m loving sports with empty arenas **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 16, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923 "2020-05-16T13:57:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/1 "2020-05-16T13:57:53Z")
I watched the UFC event last weekend, and will again tonight. I loved being able to hear every hit, and understanding the verbal interactions between the corners, fighters, etc. Now I’m watching the Dortmund-Schalke match and it’s great to hear the game. In the European soccer leagues, I’m sure there are often at least a handful of languages being used. Quite frankly, I’m annoyed at the tv announcers who are constantly interrupting my enjoyment of this. It would be great to have some announcer-free games while we’re in this Covid period. I guess time will tell, but maybe crowd noise will become the “laugh track” of sports. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/2 "2020-05-16T14:27:58Z")
Way back in the 80s there was an NFL game with no announcers as an experiment. I think it was Jets-Dolphins in Miami. It was only 1 game and I don’t think they really intended to do any more games . It was ok to me . ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/3 "2020-05-16T14:34:45Z")
> **[Announcerless game](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Announcerless_game)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The announcerless game was an American football contest played on December 20, 1980, between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. As an experiment, the NBC television network broadcast it without assigning any commentators to cover it. The two teams were playing the last game of that season for them as neither had qualified for the playoffs, and since the game was being broadcast nationally NBC executive Don Ohlm... 1980 - Jets vs Dolphins ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/4 "2020-05-16T14:38:23Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Way back in the 80s there was an NFL game with no announcers as an experiment. I think it was Jets-Dolphins in Miami. It was only 1 game and I don’t think they really intended to do any more games . It was ok to me . Yes, I watched that game. I think what makes this different is the lack of normal crown noise. This allows for much clearer listening of the natural sounds of the game, plus the verbal exchanges. And now, with tv rules more relaxed on profanity as well as superior microphone technology, we could literally hear everything if we wanted. And there are probably some good marketing opportunities too. If you were a Dortmund fan, for example, wouldn’t it be great if you could focus on your favorite players and hear what they are saying or hearing? Similarly, when baseball and American football start up, I’d love to hear the on-field action for these as well. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/5 "2020-05-16T15:17:12Z")
The [NHL.TV](http://NHL.TV) streaming service has offered just the arena footage with no commentary, not sure if they do it for every game but it’s certainly not rare. It’s definitely interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/6 "2020-05-16T16:01:27Z")
Sky Sports does something similar for Formula 1 on their streaming service in Europe (though I don’t think it’s available in the US), they call it “natural sounds”. I Found the [announcerless NFL game on Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_CT13yyF2o). It’s interesting that the Wiki article says that they used more on-screen graphics than usual, but it’s still very sparse by modern standards. Not even basic scoreboard info. What’s the down and distance? How much time is on the clock? You never know. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/7 "2020-05-16T16:13:48Z")
> [@Jet\_Jaguar](#): > > Sky Sports does something similar for Formula 1 on their streaming service in Europe (though I don’t think it’s available in the US), they call it “natural sounds”. > > I Found the [announcerless NFL game on Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_CT13yyF2o). It’s interesting that the Wiki article says that they used more on-screen graphics than usual, but it’s still very sparse by modern standards. Not even basic scoreboard info. What’s the down and distance? How much time is on the clock? You never know. I think the natural sounds stream is available on the F1 app in the USA, not sure if I had to pay for it or not ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/8 "2020-05-16T16:53:47Z")
You could probably get this effect even with crowds, just by using directional microphones and multiple sound feeds. That might be a good opportunity, after things return to normal, to let individual viewers check off boxes for whether they want to hear on-field sounds, sidelines, announcers, and/or fans. Might not be able to turn off the announcers, since there are ad dollars involved there. Or maybe just have the no-announcers track still include the occasional “Welcome back to the Chevrolet Bowl, at Rocket Mortgage stadium”, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/9 "2020-05-17T22:56:56Z")
Meh, I’ve caught a few Bundesliga games this weekend, and, as you can imagine - eerie, individual voices. Echoing. Finishing off their season - normally, this would have been the final frame of the fixture. FFS! Freaky. Amazing how programmed I’ve been to expect the great _WHOOP_ of 80,000 fans erupting as soon as the ball stretches the mesh, but instead, now - celebrationus interruptus - as the only sound is now the ball hitting that mesh, along with scattered, _little_ whoops. I shouldn’t be dispirted by this, but yeah, colour me gullible, whatever: in spite of the usual skillset\* on display, the lack of spectators makes it feel like a practice. Dortmund pretty looked good last night. Their stadium, though, the Westfalenstadion (one of the top ten footy stadia on the planet, IMO) was jarringly desolate - Where’s my Yellow Wall?! Waaaaaaaaaaa!!! Quite jazzy “deception” dance Lewandowski took before his penalty goal this afternoon with Bayern against Union Berlin - Er, well, some covid break rustiness was in play. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/10 "2020-05-17T23:21:33Z")
:smack: Missed edit - damn - missed Bundesliga thread further down. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gotta-say-i-m-loving-sports-with-empty-arenas/853923/11 "2020-05-19T23:17:33Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I watched the UFC event last weekend, and will again tonight. I loved being able to hear every hit, and understanding the verbal interactions between the corners, fighters, etc. Interesting enough I find it makes WWE harder to watch because without the crowds reacting to the matches it just exposes the “fakeness” (for the lack of a better word) of professional wrestling.