Most professional athletes will tell you that they feed off the energy of a fired-up crowd.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, it is seeming more and more likely that if we see football this fall, it will be in either empty stadiums or stadiums with a very limited capacity.
One player who says he would be fine playing in an empty stadium is Detroit Lions quarterback, Matthew Stafford.
On Thursday, Stafford spoke to the media via a Zoom meeting and he answered a question about playing without fans in attendance.
From 97.1 The Ticket:
“It would be an adjustment for everybody,” said Stafford. “There’s no question.”
“I’m quarterback, quiet’s great,” he said. “I love that. I can talk (to the offense), I can hear what they’re saying on defense. I can probably try to use that to my advantage. It’s like playing a home game everywhere you go, I’m fine with that.”
But he’s well aware it would be hard on everyone else.
“For those guys that are really running around all day, receivers, defensive backs, linebackers, running backs, those guys feed so much off of adrenaline from the crowd,” Stafford said. “You don’t have time, you don’t have the awareness to think, I’m tired or I’m dragging a little bit. You don’t have the ability to focus your thoughts on that.
“Without the fans, I think that would be a different challenge for those guys.”
It’s something Danny Amendola mentioned to Stafford when the two got together for a recent throwing session. The energy from the fans is fuel for the players. If there isn’t any crowd noise, what’s the next best thing?
“When Danny was in town we were talking about it. He was like, ‘Maybe they need to play music or something,'” Stafford said. “It’s like going for a long run with no music. It’s just different and something that those guys have become so accustomed to, feeding off that energy.”
The 2020 NFL season is going to be extremely interesting.
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