Everyone has their own opinion on the crowd noise that we've seen piped into stadiums during soccer matches across the world since leagues have restarted.
Some fans enjoy it and defend as the next-best option without the possibility of having people at the venues to create that atmosphere. Others disagree, finding it an inadequate substitute for the real thing. And while most of these debates have taken place in the context of television broadcasts, Columbus Crew SC are about to take things one step further.
They say they'll give the piped-in noise a shot not just on TV, but in the stadium, confirming on a Tuesday conference call that they had practiced with crowd noise in two intra-squad friendlies at MAPFRE Stadium to prepare for their upcoming matches, and would use it for their game against Chicago Fire FC on Thursday (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+; DAZN in Canada).
"I thought it was nice to hear our supporters even though we didn’t have supporters there," Crew head coach Caleb Porter said on the Tuesday call. "It’s unfortunate that we’re not going to have our supporters there — we would all prefer to have our supporters at the game. … We play for them, we know they’re soul of our club, but that can’t happen right now. And so I think ultimately we have to play the game, there are no supporters, we’re going to still be motivated, and if there’s a little piece of maybe the crowd noise coming in and us feeling like they’re there then I think that helps. I think the players thought it was nice last week to kind of feel like they were there, even though it wasn’t real."
Columbus midfielder Artur said he doesn't mind the piped-in noise, noting that it made it feel slightly more normal on the field.
"It was OK — to hear that, it’s better than just a quiet place," he said. "It’s not an environment we’re used to in a stadium — we’re used to the noise, to the fans. For me I felt it was good. If we don’t have fans, that noise makes the feeling a little bit more normal instead of just like a quiet place. For me it was a nice experience in case we don’t have fans, I would be OK playing with that.
Like Porter, Crew forward Gyasi Zardes said that he wishes that fans could come to the venue and make the noise organically. But with the knowledge of the circumstances, Zardes said they'll have to make do with what they have, adding that his team's familiarity with their home pitch could still provide some sort of home field advantage.
"Honestly, having fans there is much better," Zardes said. "I feel like, especially for home team It kind of gets the atmosphere going, sets the mood when fans are cheering, chanting during warmup and also as soon as once kickoff hits. But the crowd noise, whenever you get close to goal and have an opportunity, you hear the crowd go ‘Aaah!’, so it’s kind of given a little feel.
"Obviously it’s not the same, but just being at the facility and preparing for a match, it brings back memories and also it gives us something to look forward to. Instead of playing games on a training match field, which was the case in Orlando, we’re playing in an actual stadium. It’s going to be great for us just to get out there and be on our home turf, and try to use the field as a home-field advantage. Although we don’t have all the fans there present, we still have a pitch that we’re used to and we’re familiar with."
