I AM continually upset by the misuse of the word “spectator”. Equally I am concerned by many of the actions of those who may consider themselves to be spectators. For me a spectator is someone who attends a venue to witness an event usually of a sporting nature but is not there to be the spectacle.
Therefore my frustration at Wimbledon when we always have the last person who shouts out before a game point. Equally in golf the timing of the shout “get in the hole” is usually within milliseconds of the ball being struck. In the Tour de France spectators invade the space which should be occupied by competitors. All of these things I deplore.
However we now witness this at Parkhead football ground that there is a section of the crowd who consider it is more important that they are seen rather than the football team (“Rodgers urges ‘ultras’ to leave politics out”, Herald Sport, July 26). I attend Parkhead on a few occasions in the year, but what is obvious is that this group are not remotely interested in what is happening on the park. Instead they are determined to mount their own show whether or not the vast majority of those attending are remotely interested.
Might I suggest if these people are convinced of the value of their spectacle that they hire a suitable venue and sell tickets at a price equivalent to that of a football match. They can then perform to the assembled “crowd “. I somehow think that when they came to assess the financial implications of such an event we would never witness a return performance.
George Kay,
25 Kirkbank Road, Burnisland.
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