Clubhouse Chatter: Is it any fun watching sports on TV with no (or few) fans?
What the sports staff has to say now that the games have resumed.
I'm loving it. I'm not missing the fans nor annoyed by the fake crowd noise as much as I thought I would be. Was glued to the PGA Tour, the Blackhawks before they got bounced long ago, our MLB teams, and the NBA playoffs. So, so glad to have live sports back, and now can't wait to see the same for the Big Ten and more high school sports.
- John Lemon
I don't like no fans at sporting events. The fans and their cheers give a buzz to sports that adds excitement for those who are watching on TV. No cheering and no fans is weird and too subdued.
- Patricia Babcock McGraw
It's still fun to watch a game, but the sense of a big event is gone without a crowd, and the artificial crowd noise some broadcasters add can be annoying.
- Orrin Schwarz
I'm pretty Chicago-centric in my professional sports viewing, and since the Blackhawks were long ago eliminated in the Stanley Cup playoffs, aside from watching 100 laps of the Indianapolis 500 I'll maybe take in some hockey. The presence or lack of fans makes no difference to me. I enjoyed the Blackhawks games.
- Dave Oberhelman
No fans in the stands? No problem. For some, at least. I enjoy fans in the stands. The ebb and flow of a game, the emotion ... all enhanced with people clapping, yelling, booing. If you watched the last 10 minutes of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields and saw the putts on 18 by Dustin Johnson and then the 66-footer by Jon Rahm to win it, can you imagine what it would've been like with the roar of a crowd at full throat? Games minus fans is not really must-see TV for me. (Not digging the cutouts, digital fans and artificial noise either.) But I'm still watching Cubs at Sox Sunday.
- Mike Smith
• Have a question you'd like to see the sports staff answer? Email your suggestion to sports@dailyherald.com.