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But, what will athletes miss from spectators? The roaring voice of crowds chanting the names of athletes won't be heard. The merchandise wearing pageantry won't be witnessed. Their responses of jubilation and anguish won't be observed either.
Tokyo Olympics won't be as blissful, it won't have the same zest with no fans. Perhaps, the stadiums won't be 'live' with no crowds that throng on athletes. I struggle to make peace that some athletes may have nobody to run to on the stands after winning their races. Truth be told, fans are a secondary agent of performance improvement in athletes.
Undoubtedly, lack of spectators and packed arenas will take a certain glimmering off Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Athletes will now play with less crowds to caffeinate them. There may be less chest thumping from the adorable crowds. Who'll give athletes their nation's flag after a win? A stadium with fans always bring a different spectacle to behold.
That notwithstanding, corporate sponsors will forego a massive networking opportunity with no fans in attendance. A commercial return of sponsors' investment will also shrink. There will be no revenue generated from sales of ticket.
If I can juxtapose the Euros and Olympics for a moment. We all glimpsed how exciting live sports can be with fans packed in stadiums. Undoubtedly , crowds bring a lot of happiness.
Whether fans live presence will impact athletes' performance remains a puzzle that's incomplete. Suffice to say Olympics will be the specimen in the coming days.
Existing evidence suggests that the presence of spectators can alter performance of athletes. Psychologists may argue that presence of spectators is physiologically arousing. It makes athletes hearts to pulsate at record rate.
Whereas, some athletes may blossom off the energy of fans, there are benefits of having fan-free stands. For instance, verbal abuse coming from spectators will be non-existent. The effects may be different on individual or quieter sports like swimming, rowing or archery. After all, they aren't used to crowd noise.
An Olympics amid the global pandemic has induced a rare chance to study the casual effects of absent crowds in sporting arenas.
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