The Field of Dreams prior to the unveiling of the Baseball Hall of Fame Traveling Exhibit on ... [+]
That sound you hear is no one cheering. As the National Basketball Association, National Football League and Major League Baseball lurch towards reopening their seasons with various cringe-inducing options that likely include playing in cavernous spaces with nary a fan, it’s clear that no one is thrilled with their options. The owners foresee huge losses, the players recoil at the thought of a zombie experience and the fans face an existential question: if a game plays, but no one is there to see it, does it make a difference?
This is what’s actually frustrating: perfectly great solutions stare the big three American sports in the face. They just need to look at what’s happening in the greater business world, where two things have worked during the pandemic. The first: things that lean into the current situation (fun restaurant takeout) versus pretending everything is normal (mannequins at empty restaurant tables). The second: nostalgia. From jigsaw puzzles to home baking to drive-in movies, Americans are embracing a slower time by leaning into the old-fashioned.
Modern venues are simply vehicles to extract money from fans. Fields and courts remain the same — so if there are no fans, they’re pointless. Instead, the pro sports leagues, recognizing that we’re not in normal times, have a chance to leverage nostalgia to create a product that takes advantage of fan-less play, rather than get crippled by it.
MLB:
Boring Plan (aka the Current Plan): Play a shortened season, beginning in July, at the 30 current Major League stadiums, with player social distancing (no clubhouse showers!) and without fans.
Better Plan: Cooperstown. The most nostalgic of sports goes back to its (alleged) birthplace, and its most hallowed halls. Doubleday Field turns 100 years old this year – it’s an incredible showpiece, even without fans. And since one field isn’t enough – which is why MLB has also been looking at playing games across Arizona’s spring training stadiums — dozens of fields dot central New York, traditionally hosting amateur baseball tournaments all summer long.
Best Plan: Iowa’s “Field of Dreams.” MLB was already planning a regulation game between the Yankees and White Sox here in August. What was an exceptional idea before is the perfect one now. Imagine flicking on the television each night to see the boys of summer in the iconic cornfield, chasing the Hollywood-fueled ghosts of Shoeless Joe. Would you watch that? I sure would. And true to the Arizona model, Iowa is dotted with great, old-time parks. That, or surely local farmers wouldn’t mind plowing a few extra acres of corn for a chance at capturing some magic (and MLB stimulus).
NBA
Boring Plan (aka, the Current Plan): Bring back all or most of the teams in late July for a shortened season, or creative playoff tournament – with all games taking place at Walt Disney World, without fans.
Better Plan: Local YMCAs. Basketball was invented at the Y, and it remains its spiritual heart across the country. Literally millions of Americans have thrown up a shot at Y. Imagine seeing LeBron James jawing with James Harden on a Y court in Houston, as the benches jaw? We got next.
Best Plan: Rucker Park. Basketball is the city game, so embrace it. Harlem’s Rucker Park is the streetball Mecca. From Wilt to Tiny to Kareem, NBA players have made the trek every year to watch and sometimes play on the hallowed asphalt. Let’s make it official. There are other iconic courts throughout New York if we’re looking to avoid travel. Ditto across the country, if not. In terms of health, exercise outside is far safer. In terms of basketball, most hooping in this country is done outside. The model works: The NHL’s outdoor Winter Classic ranks as the best thing they’ve done this century.
NFL
Boring Plan (aka Current Plan): Business-as-usual – regular schedule in the regular stadiums. They’re planning on having full stadiums, for now, while preparing scenarios for fewer fans — or none.
Better Plan: West Point, and the other military academies. The NFL has all but made the flag and the military part of its brand, so why not go all the way? I can testify: the only thing missing from games at Michie Stadium at West Point, high above the Hudson River, amid the fall colors and the rolling hills, is a squadron of bald eagles circling perpetually overhead. The stands are even stacked on one side, so that TV cameras could show a game without endless rows of empty seats. You could mix in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and even ancient Franklin Field in Philadelphia, the Army-Navy game host a century ago. All offer similarly patriotic vantagepoints. Three to four games per venue, per week.
Best Plan: Friday Night Lights. High school fields offer the most authentic football experience across the country, and feel right even with a few dozen people in the stands. It brings football back to its roots, as a source of civic pride. Plus, pro football already offers showcases primetimes games on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays. Here’s a way to borrow Friday nights, too, in the most authentic way possible.
For each of these leagues, I guarantee that every national and regional network would prefer fresh and nostalgic to empty stadiums or Disney alternative reality. So c’mon, professional sports: think outside the box, and deliver something without fans that would paradoxically be for fans. If you build it, they will come – at least on television, which should be the end goal for 2020.
