Sport

Kenny Archer: Supporters should be streaming into stands rather than standing in streaming rain

Kenny Archer

Kenny Archer

Kenny is the deputy sports editor and a Liverpool FC fan.

A roof and some seats are the least supporters deserve at this time of year. Picture Margaret McLaughlin
A roof and some seats are the least supporters deserve at this time of year. Picture Margaret McLaughlin A roof and some seats are the least supporters deserve at this time of year. Picture Margaret McLaughlin

FOR some, 'streaming' means watching a match from the comfort of your own sofa, with hot or cold beverages and snacks of choice to hand, and access to all area and amenities.

For others, it's about the rain running down your face.

In those circumstances, that's not the only discomfort - you're also likely to be shivering while your tummy rumbles and the call of nature makes you pray that there's no extra time.

Welcome to the two ways of viewing club games in 2021. The ongoing consequences of Covid and certain restrictions.

Nothing beats being there? It's a moot point.

I finished one recent match utterly drenched after drizzle turned into a cloudburst, having forgotten the old adage that 'there's no such thing as bad weather, merely bad clothing choices'. The absence of a covered stand, even a covered terrace, meant a soaking for many in attendance.

Yes, I have heard of an invention called an umbrella, but unless the ground surrounds are sloped then viewing can become restricted at best, impossible at worst.

Last year I bought a coat which markets itself under the slogan 'Just add boots'.

The less fashionable among the GAA media - who constitute the majority - may mock me, but not only is it a greatcoat, it's a great coat. It doesn't just repel rain, the drops stay at least six inches away from it.

However, the fact that I'd left that coat at home reduced its efficacy somewhat.

Even the rainproof notebook I'd fished out of my laptop bag wasn't much use because I wasn't writing with waterproof ink. Other reporters have taken to delivering a running commentary into their Dictaphone during rain-affected games.

So that coat was donned, along with wellies, for the next game - which, obviously, ended with me dehydrated.

I hadn't even been playing, of course, nor was it a particularly sunny day. The dehydration was a consequence of an absence of available toilets, with no access allowed to the clubhouse. Prepared for that problem, I'd reduced my fluid intake in the hours before the game on the basis of 'Better not in than needing to get it out', especially as you wait around to interview a manager, hoping that the traffic departing the ground clears quickly.

How I yearn for the view from upstairs inside certain clubhouses, or even the balcony at Creggan, never mind being allowed into an actual press box.

Yet this isn't a moan about the treatment of the media; the public probably approve of that or, at best, don't care. After all, the media not only get in free, we also get paid for our attendance.

Still, those in charge of allocating fixtures would do well to think about those who do pay their way.

County boards are understandably investing money and effort into live streaming games as this offers them yet another type of stream - one of income.

They shouldn't forget those who have always been their primary source of money, though. Before sponsors, before broadcasters, before streaming services, there were and - all being well - always will be spectators.

Supporters in every sense.

Not only do they back their team vocally, they back them with cash.

Their presence adds other value to matches in terms of atmosphere. Attending inter-county matches last year, with no one allowed in the grounds apart from the media and members of the backroom teams, made for very flat experiences. Even if some of those support set-ups took the tally of spectators into the hundreds.

It was no coincidence that club games in 2020 were more entertaining because some supporters were allowed in.

Fans will never take that access for granted again, but nor should they be taken for granted either.

The very least that supporters deserve is a roof over their heads. Sending supporters to a venue without that basic facility is fairly contemptuous of them. A few temporary toilets wouldn't go amiss either.

As county championships move towards their latter stages, it shouldn't be too much to ask for games to be allocated to grounds with seated stands.

Otherwise, older followers are likely to stay at home. It's noticeable that crowds at games this year have appeared younger. Often spectators have had to ask themselves if they are prepared to stand for at least an hour and a half (taking into account the time to arrive before throw-in, added time, and half-time, never mind the possibility of extra time).

If you also know that you might get soaked to the skin then there's no choice for some but to stay home.

The county board might still make money from streaming, but supporters will miss out on the invaluable social aspect of going to games.

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The Northern Ireland women footballers will be in the extremely well-appointed surroundings of Wembley Stadium this weekend.

They will, of course, lose against England, one of the best teams in the world, but Kenny Shiels's squad will still relish playing at probably the most famous soccer ground of them all.

Having the game there is clearly significant; the first competitive women's international at England's national stadium since it re-opened in 2007 after redevelopment. Indeed there have only been two female friendlies there in those 14 years, both against Germany.

England will hope to be back at Wembley next year, not only for the Euro 2022 semi-finals but for the final itself.

Northern Ireland won't get close to those stages, but they have made remarkable progress in even qualifying for that tournament, and this weekend's setting is not only a reward for their efforts but an inspiration for the next generation of female footballers.