Football therapy still on hold?

The Premier League is back. This means the usual emotional roller-coaster is about to send us all to dizzying heights and frustrating lows. Especially if you’re a Tottenham Hotspur supporter. The games are about to come thick and fast, the expectations are going to be stretched across the fanbase with supporters sat on different sides of the spectrum. Some are patient. Others are constantly angry. Most, if not all, want the team to do well. Of course they do. But many also harbour dark thoughts, perhaps not too fussed about the team failing because that will prove their rhetoric right.

It’s just another football season. It’s the same thing, every year. Afterall, the fanbase of any given club doesn’t really change much. Football is an escapism, it’s a conduit of release. But here’s the crux of the unique problem we now all face. There are no spectators at the games. Not yet. Because of the pandemic. So this escapism we love to hate and hate to love and love to love, is cut off from us.

It’s not quite the same thing, sat indoors, watching the game from the sofa. It’s nothing like being at the game. I know, it’s an obvious statement that doesn’t need stating. But what impact does this have? Aside from the reality the stadiums have no atmosphere and no fans to fuel encouragement and momentum, what other negatives does this contained, closed off version of the game give us?

From personal experience, football is more than just an escapism. It’s therapy from the mundane and also stressful traits of every day life. Football can be a means to protecting your mental health. For support on mental health, please check out BetterHelp.

We’ve had to endure a lockdown, a change to our every day lives. Many of us are not back in the office at work. Many of us are not experiencing the things we took for granted. Actually, that’s all of us. Especially the ones that frequented football every Saturday afternoon. No football matchdays at the ground would mean missing out on a lot. Football isn’t just about the game you’re watching.

Football is about meeting up with your mates. Often having to travel to get to the stadium or the pubs for a pre-match drink. Meeting up for a bite to eat in a local cafe or some tasty fast food. You don’t just sit there talking about the game. You catch up with your mates, share a laugh and a joke. It’s a tribal thing, right? It’s connecting with people that share a common interest and like you, are there to forget about every day life and immerse themselves in the noise and excitement.

This escapism is a powerful gathering, a therapeutic distraction and often a way for you to feel good and connected with the people around you. Sat indoors with a beer is not comparable. It isn’t healthy to be isolated, to be disconnected. We naturally feed off others, be it positive or negative vibes. We need to bounce off other people’s energy. And there is no greater place for it than a busy match-day following your team; win, lose or draw. You’re with people, not alone.

Exercise is a good thing. So is punching the air out of frustration or in celebration. Screaming from the top of your lungs. Remember when we could hug a complete stranger and even accept a kiss on the forehead, all because your star striker cracked a 30 yarder into the top corner?

So what can we do whilst we’re sat indoors, separated from the full experience of football? Well, the good news is, the Government and the footballing authorities will be meeting soon to discuss how to slowly reintroduce fans into stadiums. Until then, retain that sense of community via ye old digital landscape. Keep talking to friends, actual friends. And stop arguing with strangers on social media platforms. Get to a pub, social distance, be around others rather than isolating yourself (unless you have to because of medical reasons). And if you have to, use that smartphone for something more than posting memes – and get on cam and chat to mates.

This remains an unprecedented time. And for men, the stigma of not opening up about mental health issues is still prominent. But it’s been changing in recent years, even for the men that frequent football matches. So ask your mate if he’s doing alright. Ask him how he’s doing. And sing, together, whilst your team (hopefully) avoids defeat and sneaks a last minute winner.