Editor’s Note

OK, I’ve bought the strawberries, whipped the cream, made the Pimm’s … but I’ve been stood up. Novak and Roger aren’t coming. It’s Sunday July 12 and something is seriously wrong with this picture. I’m not clearing my afternoon, wrapping myself in a blanket and settling into the couch for a few hours to watch the men’s Wimbledon final. I’m also not deeply entrenched in the daily drama of the Tour de France. If this was a normal year the race for the yellow would be in contention between Thibaut Pinot and Geraint Thomas, Nairo Quintana would be making a break on behalf of the Colombians in the mountains, Chris Froome would be making a comeback and I’d be perving over top sprinter Peter Sagan, whose sex appeal is owed in equal parts to his Slovak good looks, amazing ability to sprint to a photo-finish and his wicked sense of humour.

Fifty-six of our top sports people would be sipping their first saké in Tokyo right now, breathing in the heady atmosphere of the Olympic village as they acclimatise for the Summer Olympic

Games that were due to start on the 23rd of this month.

Instead, we sports fans are trying to haul ourselves by the scruff of our necks through winter by watching the Premier League played behind closed doors. Tottenham’s star striker, Harry Kane scores a goal and the crowd goes wild … a few seconds too late. Son Heung-Min misses … and the home-fans cheer? Piped in club songs, despite the best intentions, don’t come close to the real thing. They’re just weird.

When the Bundesliga in Germany restarted on May 16 with empty stadiums, the teams coined the term Geisterspiele, or “ghost games”, to refer to their experience of playing for no-one. “There was no wall of sound to greet them as they entered the field, no roar to urge them on after a setback, no delirium to greet a goal,” they said.

“Having a game without fans is just — what is the word sport without fan?” LeBron James said in March, before the NBA’s season was suspended. “There’s no excitement. There’s no crying. There’s no joy.” We look forward to coming back to you.

For comments, criticism or praise, write to nagela@sundaytimes.co.za