EMPTY FEELING
Revs head to Florida amid reality of playing in front of no fans
Revolution coach Bruce Arena believes that soccer can be an exhilarating spectator sport even if nobody is watching from the stands.
The Revolution will have the opportunity to test Arena’s hypothesis when Major League Soccer resumes the 2020 season with its Back to the Tournament group play event beginning on July 8. MLS shut down on March 12 in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament is broken down into six groups and will be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
Each team will play a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven in the 54-match format and they will be performed inside an empty arena.
The Revolution held an abbreviated press conference outside their training facility adjacent to Patriot Place in Foxboro on Thursday morning before boarding a plane for the unbearable heat and humidity of central Florida.
“Real athletes don’t hear the crowd when they are playing,” said Arena. “They are so focused and it is the same with the coaches yet obviously crowds are important.
“But if the focus and concentration is right the crowd is immaterial. Having said that, a lot of people will tell me I’m crazy for saying that and I understand that.”
Arena’s fallback was the exceptional soccer matches recently played in vacant stadiums across Europe. Arena sounded confident that MLS can generate the same quality soccer from the shadow of the Magic Kingdom.
“I think it’s a good way to begin league play and I think it will bring good attention to the league,” said Arena. “I watched the games in England, Germany, Italy and Spain over the past couple of weeks and I’ve enjoyed the games.
“Hopefully we can put on a good show and do a good job for the people who are watching.”
Some of the folks who think Arena just might be “crazy” are members of the Revolution rank and file. Forward Adam Buksa, an offseason international acquisition from the Polish National Team, was excited to resume play but not “crazy” about the antiseptic environment.
“Obviously the sport is about fans and without fans the sport doesn’t really make sense,” said Buksa, who is expected to be in the starting lineup.
“But that is the situation right now and we need to accept it and that it’s only temporary. We know it’s not going to be easy and it’s going to be a little bit different but it is definitely better to be on the field right now without fans.
“Hopefully things will come back to normal very soon.”
Revolution keeper Matt Turner admitted that he feeds off the crowd noise and the forces of energy that emanate from the stands.
“Soccer is really nothing without the fans and they are part of what makes game day special,” said Turner. “Every time we run out there at Gillette and the people around the stadium and there is just a buzz and atmosphere.”
Turner said he is dedicating his efforts to the Revolution fans who’ll be watching back home.
“It is definitely an exciting time and we want to go down there and make sure we give our fans something to be proud of and give people something to cheer for,” said Turner.
“We are taking this really seriously and we want to go down there and we want to win. It is going to be different but we will hold them close to our hearts and remember those feelings and emotions when we are out on the pitch.
“Even though they are not there, they are there in spirit.”
The Revolution were drawn into Group C and will face fellow Eastern Conference rivals Toronto F.C., D.C. United and the Montreal Impact.
The Revolution open with a prime-time (8 p.m.) match against Montreal on July 9. The Revs play D.C. United in another prime-time match (8 p.m.) on July 16 followed by a 9 a.m. eye-opener against Toronto on July 21.
MLS hopes to generate a real game experience for the players by pumping in crowd noise and installing cutout figures in the seats wearing the colors of the day.
“Piped-in sound, I’m not a huge fan of,” said Turner. “I think it would be great for people trying to learn the game to be able to hear the kind of communication that actually goes on on the field.
“I’m not a big fan of the piped-in crowd noise but I think the cardboard cutouts is a nice little trinket to make the fans feel special.”