It would have seemed so natural to us, part of the landscape, part of what is called professional sports – thousands in the stands that turn a sporting battle between two teams into something else. With passions, with emotions, with inexplicable madness. Not only have we changed following the corona, our sport has also changed.
One of the biggest casualties was Maccabi Tel Aviv. The fan base that filled Yad Eliyahu with the hall’s special acoustics gave the Yellows an advantage even before the teams went on the field. , But it still was not it.
“This is the first time in the history of Maccabi Tel Aviv that the team played without fans,” said the coach Yannis Sapropoulos On his feeling of seeing empty stands. The Greek coach connected with the local crowd, and it brought him back love. “It’s one of the most homely pitches in Europe,” he continued, “the pressure the fans are putting on the opponent and the push they are giving our team is huge. We are missing it. I hope it will end soon and we will have more fans.”
“To be in the hall is to simply disconnect from all the noises of the day and connect to what I love most, Maccabi,” says a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan Amit Liebek, On the secret of magic and the veteran fan Desi Forer She added: “From 12:00 noon I know I have a ticket, there is no person I do not call or text and tell him about the excitement of getting back on the field.”
But, as mentioned, despite the rehearsal, it still feels lacking. 300 people is still not it. The fan, Elad: “It’s like in” her father’s summer. “You sit alone, no one next to you, you can not hug anyone.” The fan Uriel He added: “We miss everything here, another Wilbkin three, another Hunter dunk, Halle Hop, my money. We had some losses at the start of the season of a point here and a point there. It’s totally the crowd. We were somewhere else.” ravine Signed: “It’s one of the most exciting things in my life … to see this thing, to stand here. The main goal is that 11 will be full of fans. We’re on our way there I hope.”
