During a typical season collegiate athletes could look at the stands and see the faces of their fellow students, friends and family cheering them on as they compete.
Bleachers that teemed with crowds pre-pandemic will now remain occupied by cardboard cutouts of spectators.
San Jose State athletics officials continue a no-fans policy for the remainder of spring semester to prevent spreading the coronavirus.
Men’s soccer midfielder Finlay Wood said it’s difficult without spectators, but an audience isn’t crucial for the team to play.
“I think as a team, [spectators are] not something we absolutely rely on,” Wood said. “I think it’s just the benefit of playing the game.”
He also said reasons for barring fans during the pandemic outweigh the reason to have patrons lining the stands.
“I didn’t expect spectators to be [at soccer matches],” Wood said. “With everything going on, of course there’s a lot more seriousness going on than the decisions as to whether spectators should be at sports games or not in the world.”
Women’s water polo driver Sierra Painter said competing in front of an audience isn’t much different from competing without an audience.
She acknowledged the circumstances could be much more drastic, especially because the team experienced a shortened 2020 season.
While Painter used the season to redshirt because of an injury, meaning she didn’t compete in meets, the team had the last 10 season meets canceled because of the pandemic.
“Just having our season be cut last year, it really helped put it into perspective,” Painter said. “Playing with no spectators is better than not playing at all.”
Jada Mazury, gymnastics all-around competitor, said a lack of spectators makes meets feel more like practices, but the cardboard cutouts offer a sense of familiarity.
“[Cardboard cutouts] gave a little bit of the same energy that people are watching you and they’re supporting you without them actually being there, so I liked it,” Mazury said. “It was just a little weird because they were silent, but it was nice to have the familiar faces in the audience.”
Painter said while the water polo team was accustomed to fewer spectators at home meets, because the team played at West Valley College in Saratoga, the support from other athletes was greatly missed.
“Our men’s team comes to our games and they bring great, great energy and it really helps us gain momentum,” Painter said.
Because of the circumstances, many student-athletes said the support they need comes from their teammates and coaches.
“Personally, I don’t really focus on anything else other than the game when I’m playing,” Wood said. “The only encouragement and support I need verbally, like I really need,
is from my teammates and from our coaches throughout the game.”
While the possibility of hosting fans at home sporting events next year remains uncertain, Mazury said she and her teammates have grown from the experience of playing during
a pandemic.
“We learned how to come together, we learned how to support each other, we learned what we can do to be supportive without necessarily physically touching each other, physically
high-fiving,” Mazury said. “We had to learn different ways to help each other.”
