Martin Smith: 'Football is nothing without fans' and now we have seen the proof

Just as this current life is not quite the full-fat, salt and sugar-loaded version of the one we were used to until late March, sport is a greyed-out version of itself.

Of course it has to be that way for now and the way things are shaping in some areas we might lose it again altogether before the summer is over.

It could be worse, as the stoic’s saying goes. Convincing ourselves of that is one way of coping with the current restrictions.

It’s not war or famine and most of us will come out of it alive, they say. But it is still killing people and changing the world.

For every optimist who sees a chance for the development of a greener, more equal and inclusive world in the aftermath of the virus there are a dozen who think the scramble for profit and the drive of competition will soon be back on top.

We need to look after ourselves. Big picture improvements don’t protect individuals against disease.

Meanwhile Celtic fans took to Twitter in their hooped hordes recently to point out that the quote Manchester United had attributed to Matt Busby before Sheffield United went to Old Trafford - “Football is nothing without fans” - was indeed a quote by Celtic managerial giant Jock Stein.

No doubt Stein said it, Busby said it too. But how about the many thousands of people who have mumbled such oaths into their pre and post-match beers since Sheffield FC first played Hallam in 1862?

Neither of those two great men or their clubs, have a right to appropriate football truisms as their own.

Proof that those words - whosever they are - are not just platitudes is evident every time we hear a piped-in chant or pre-recorded reaction from the empty-stadium echo chamber of a televised game.

*Short track speed skater Elise Christie makes a sound point when she challenges the Governments’ decision to open pubs this weekend when it won’t allow anyone to pursue sporting activities indoors.

Elise has suffered with mental health issues in the past and has found, like millions of others, that sport and exercise can help massively with mood and morale.

Unlike drinking which though maybe a temporary tonic for the nation, is proven to be much better at actually making things worse.