Spectators – Sandpiper Editorial

Okay, so some of the restrictions around COVID are being relaxed a little, but the general gist is that we still need to continue with social distancing, even if we have relaxed a little on some things. People can now gather in homes so long as the keep the number to no more than ten people, and everyone still observes the social distancing rule.

Okay, well that’s fair enough. There has also been a relaxing of the rule regarding masks, which are no longer mandatory in public at present but again, people are being asked to continue keeping their distance from each other. Probably a good thing seeing as the more virulent strain of the virus is making its way around the planet now and will probably get here sooner rather than later.

Which is why I am completely flummoxed over the thousands of fans permitted to attend the tennis! I only saw this because I flicked over to another channel on the telly to watch something advertised in the program guide, only to be met with the tennis about to start instead! Hoping it was just a short news update, I watched for a few moments, waiting for the other program, when it dawned on me that no, the station was televising the tennis instead and while they waited for the tennis starlets (who had no trouble entering Australia, while stranded Aussies trying to get home are still stranded) to make their entry, the cameras were panning around the stands while the commentators waffled on about how great it was to see so many spectators there for the match. Thousands of them actually.

Thousands? Now hang on a minute…we are still being asked to social distance and avoid gathering in large numbers anywhere, yet the stands at the tennis were crammed with spectators about as socially-distanced as sardines in a tin, and that was okay. Why was that okay? But it was the same with the football. Once they got past the initial cardboard cutouts phase, the real crowds were able to fill the stands in great numbers to watch the players getting all over each other. But heaven help you if you were one of fifty or more people on a beach or in a park, and only within a few centimetres from each other!

This is classic double standards if you ask me. Sports teams/people, and the fans who watch them, should not be exempt here. The social distancing rules are in place for a very good reason and if they are applicable to every other aspect of our lives then they should be applicable to sporting events as well. Better yet, don’t hold the event, because I don’t believe for a minute these clubs and organisations are all going to go under if they have to cancel their games. I was stunned when I saw the number of people in the stands, not a mask in sight and all sitting close together. How is this different from congregating in a large crowd in a park, or on a beach, or in someone’s back yard or living room? It isn’t. It’s no different at all.

Avoiding crowds and maintaining social distancing still applies at the moment, doesn’t it? So what’s with the thousands of spectators at the tennis? Or a football match?

No wonder people are confused.

Right now we are not allowed to congregate in large groups, which means things like school formals, house parties, protest marches, and other large gatherings are out. Even not so large gatherings. People can have visitors but they all have to adhere to the one point five rule. Ditto at weddings, funerals and christenings and the like. The numbers allowed to attend are still fairly low and any shows of closeness or affection are down to air hugs/kisses from that designated distance. Even non-cohabiting couples have to restrict themselves to the no-close-contact rule.

Masks, while not mandatory in NSW at this point, are a condition of entry in some places and I’m okay with that, which is why I carry a mask in my bag and don it on request. It’s not difficult and I don’t feel “victimised” by the wear-a-mask request, or even by any of the other restrictions because I can see why they are in place.

It’s all being policed fairly diligently, which brings us to the football season and here is where some confusion sets in for me.

Having dutifully sat through a few televised games with The Bloke, I have noticed the rise in spectator numbers and how closely they are sitting together in the stands. Not a lot of social distancing going on there, but that seems to be okay because no one appears to be monitoring it, let alone doing anything about it. Now, why is that? The numbers are definitely exceeding the allowable limit of people gathering together. High schoolers can’t hold their end of year formals, uni students can’t do their graduation thingy, but all and sundry can congregate in high numbers in the stands at a football match. Strange.

And then there’s the players. What you have here is a bunch of guys sweating, spitting (so disgusting!) all over the field and literally tumbling all over each other and hugging each other for a full eighty minutes…keeping about as socially distanced as sardines in a tin…but that’s also okay. Like, don’t hug your family, friends or partner when you are able to catch up with each other, but if you’re a professional football team, you can all get extremely up close and waaaay too personal (from where I’m standing anyway) out there on the field and the authorities won’t raise so much as an eyebrow.

Thing is, if a family or group of friends set up an informal footy game in the local park they’d probably all get fined for breaking the social distancing rules. Okay, so the professional players are allegedly adhering to an isolation bubble while the season is in progress but with the number of them who have been caught out flouting that “don’t go out socialising” rule, you have to wonder. I know the football clubs started crying poor when it looked like the season wouldn’t happen, but I didn’t believe them for a moment. I still don’t. These clubs have sufficient funds to see them through a cancelled season. Deciding to go ahead with it after all was just plain greed, and I don’t think I’m alone in that feeling. Meanwhile, the players caught out socialising when they shouldn’t have been are still playing. There doesn’t seem to be any penalty for them. Can someone please explain to me why they get a free pass? The rest of us would be penalised to within an inch of our lives!

And this is where a lot of the confusion comes in. Professional sports, even those with a lot of close physical contact between participants is acceptable. Congregating closely in large groups to watch them is acceptable. Doing the same with your friends, school friends, or getting the whole family together in one place, is not. We do this and we’re in trouble. Like I said, I fully understand the need to remain socially distanced for the time being and I have no issues with complying with the various directives, but if it’s okay for a bunch of blokes to be all over each other on a football field and a whole bunch of fans to sit closely together and watch them, then the rest of us should be able to catch up with our families and hug each other.

But it’s not.

No wonder people are confused.