Pro sports’ oddly reassuring return to Memphis
The debate began over pregame beers and shots at Huey’s because so much about Saturday night was different for Christy Dye, Thomas Christian and Emily Powell.
Normally, they would be at The Brass Door with hundreds of other members of the Bluff City Mafia, the signature fan group that often turned Memphis 901 FC matches into a giant rave during the franchise’s inaugural season. But The Brass Door isn’t open right now.
Normally, they would march with all their friends down Madison Avenue, waving flags and chanting and blowing horns. But there was no march and many Bluff City Mafia members were on vacation, Dye noted, because “they had no idea this was actually going to happen.”
But at least Dye and company were sitting at a bar getting ready to watch soccer at Autozone Park again, and so now the question was whether at least one pregame tradition would remain the same.
“Nobody knows who’s going to guitar smash,” Dye said.
There had to be a guitar smash before kickoff because every other Memphis 901 FC game before this one featured a guitar smash. Even this most unusual of games, they figured.
Ja Morant and Penny Hardaway and Mike Norvell all smashed one before
games last season. But who would do it on this historic evening in honor of the city’s first professional sporting event with fans since the coronavirus pandemic decimated the city’s sports calendar more than four months ago? And then, right around 7:30 p.m. Saturday night, the answer to their question felt appropriate, and reassuring. Down on the field, right around where first base might be if the Memphis Redbirds actually had a season, Dr. Jon Mccullers of Lebonheur Children’s Hospital, the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and, most recently, the COVID-19 task force for both the city and the USL, smashed a guitar. When else but in 2020 has an infectious disease expert been considered a celebrity just like an NBA star and University of Memphis coaches? When else has a broken guitar felt so encouraging?
Nobody’s quite sure if it’s the right time to bring back sports, and certainly not sports with fans in the stands. Not with COVID-19 cases still surging and no vaccine developed yet. But if you want to watch Memphis football games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium this fall, or Tigers and Grizzlies games at Fedexforum this winter, you should be rooting for Memphis 901 FC’S experiment to go off as seamlessly as it seemed Saturday night. It looked and felt odd, of course.
Fans were greeted by stadium workers wearing face shields who took their temperature. They were then asked if they’d been exposed to COVID-19 or had any symptoms that might be associated with COVID-19. The crowd all had to wear masks, no matter how hot it was in the sun. If anyone forgot they needed to wear one, there were about 1,000 new signs and placards around Autozone Park reminding them of the Shelby County ordinance that makes masks a must these days. There was yellow rope cordoning off entire rows and selected seats in order to enforce the 12 feet of social distancing required as part of the plan approved by the Shelby County Health Department. There was white spray paint on the bluffs in the corners designating where groups should sit.
Most season ticket holders were in unfamiliar seats.
The concourse was separated by barricades into three sections to keep fans from straying too far from their section. Memphis 901 FC President Craig Unger said before the game that the organization expected about 850 people to be in attendance Saturday, less than the 1,000 they were allowed to have.
But as strange as this all was, it also felt hopeful and safe. Or at least as safe as one can be while gathering with about 1,000 others in the midst of a pandemic. The franchise’s plan seemed responsible and wellthought-out. You would have rather been in Autozone Park than one of the bars or restaurants on Beale Street. When Memphis 901 FC’S Brandon Allen scored the game’s first goal to give Memphis 901 FC a 1-0 lead, the home crowd sounded like a crowd. When Charlotte FC got a controversial late goal to force a 2-2 tie, and goalie/general manager Tim Howard vehemently argued to the referee a penalty should have negated it, the disgruntled crowd booed like a disgruntled crowd.
Never has Memphis getting fleeced by a bad call seemed so comforting.
Though Bluff City Mafia was smaller in numbers, there were several members banging on drums like it was last year. The concession stands were selling hot dogs and nachos and beer.
There were diehard soccer fans and families with children, and they were all back downtown watching a live sporting event together again. “We’ve really missed it,” said Patti Kesler.
“I’m tired of being home,” said Jerome Nacario. “Being here feels normal,” Emily Powell added. “It’s good to have sports back. It’s important for our psyché,” Michael Mcateer said.
“We’re never going to know what works until we try it,” season ticket holder Kaitlyn Lutz said, and that felt like the most appropriate sentiment of all.
On the night fans got to watch pro sports return to Memphis for the first time during this pandemic, the first try appeared to be a success.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto.