Yep, it’s been “Oh So Quiet” at the big sporting events this week, which made me think of a question I was asked recently.

If your German is a bit rusty, the title of the column this week translates (generally) to “It’s Oh So Quiet”, which is a song originally released way back in 1948 by German singer Horst Winter. It was covered in French in 1949, and by an American lady in 1951. However most of us are familiar with the tune after Icelandic music legend Bjork did her awesome version back in 1995.

Whilst plenty of big sporting events around the world have been cancelled or at least postponed over the past week, it was really creepy to watch International cricket, and major footy matches being played in totally empty stadiums. In the cricket match, it was both hilarious and sad at the same time to see one of the batsmen reach his well-deserved half-century, and he didn’t even know it. It took those in the changeroom a minute or two to realise, and then they gave him a clap. It was that silent, they didn’t even need the stump microphones to hear what was going on out in the middle, the TV viewers could hear every word spoken by the batsmen, the bowler, the fielders and the umpires. It was eerie.

When they’re being interviewed after a match, it’s quite often that we’ll hear a rugby league player forget to mind his p’s and q’s on live TV and let an f-bomb slip out in the heat of the moment. This week, I think an extra word was needed in the ears of the players, letting them know that, as heroes to the 6 year olds out there, they needed to be on their extra best verbal behaviour whilst on the field, as the little kids watching at home could hear everything, for every minute of the game, with nothing being drowned out by the noise of a rowdy crowd with a few beers under their belt.

As chats over the holiday break became more and more random and tangential, my youngest asked me why the crowds at the tennis have to be quiet when someone is serving, and why the galleries at the golf are required to be silent as the golfer takes his swing or is putting. Never thought about it really, it’s just tradition I said. But then I got to thinking, imagine if the crowds could yell during the service action of the player they weren’t barracking for? Or if those in the gallery following from hole to hole were allowed to scream out just as a player were taking a putt? It would add a whole extra dimension to those games if you could sing out “lolly legs” just as the other guy was about to make his putt for a birdie. If you were a Rafa fan, would it be OK to yell and scream whilst Roger was serving, to try and put him off? Think back to 2015 when Johnathon Thurston was trying to kick that goal to steal the grand final from the Broncos … the opposition fans made more noise than a nuke as he was taking the shot. Fair game in that sport.

It’s pretty weird watching cricket and footy with total silence as the accompaniment. But I guess that’s the way of the world for a little while longer. I wonder if the players think it’s better without the harassment of the opposition crowd? I’m betting they miss the aggravation; that it spurs them on. Imagine what Jason Day or Ash Barty would think if the noise was deafening as they served? They’d probably just get on with it as Aussies do, just like we are with everything at the moment.