It would be interesting to know if any data could be established which showed productivity amongst office workers for the morning of Wednesday June 19 2013.
Why you may ask?
Well it was on this day that the Scottish and English League’s publicly announced the fixtures list for season 2013-14.
For football addicts up and down the country, whose only fix of their passion of late has been tuning into the Beeb for coverage of the Confederations Cup, a bloated glorified friendly competition which has led to public unrest in Brazil, the release of the fixtures was a welcome relief.
The buzz of checking out who your team will kick the season off against and when the first encounter versus your main rivals is due to take place, is something which all football fans can easily identify with.
As in recent years, it appears that the power and influence of satellite television has ensured that football fans are in for a treat in the first few weeks of August. Manchester United are in for a particularly difficult start, which may whet the appetite, whilst also leaving you with the thought that perhaps fixtures aren’t just randomly organised by a computer.
Anyway, four weeks on from the Champions League Final and thoughts are now drifting to what the new season may bring.
However, as far as this scribe is concerned, we actually should not have to be waiting patiently for the big kick off to come in August. I’m an unashamed supporter of the concept of summer football.
For a start, there’s much better weather (okay, we may not be basking in tropical style heat but can you remember the last time you had to wear a coat to work?). There’s also a lack of any other major attractions which would drag people away from football grounds.
The simple fact is that if football was to be invented now, the idea of asking the players to play during the autumn and winter months would appear to be ludicrous. The fact that pitches are in better condition from March to November would lead you to the inevitable conclusion that summer football is sensible.
Asking punters to spend their hard earned cash in traipsing in and out of stadia watching players deal with the added problem of all that the winter weather throws at them, whilst they shiver in the stands is madness.
You should also consider the fact that by taking the great this great, summery leap forward, the Scottish football authorities would have an opportunity at landing a much better TV deal. The market for football viewing during the likes of June and July is one just waiting to be exploited.
Traditionalists also like to combat the argument against summer football by throwing in the fact that UEFA competitions are run from July to May and being out of sync with the majority of the rest of the football playing world would hamper our side’s efforts in European competition.
But playing from March to November has not negatively affected Scandinavian teams from making their mark has it?
At a time when money is tight and the sight of administrators turning up at the front doors of football clubs is becoming a regular occurrence, it would seem reasonable to assume that more punters would be willing to splash the cash in the summer than in the winter.
Alas, I fear that as per usual, our game’s authorities will not be prepared to show any vision. So until the first balls are kicked in anger in August, I’m afraid we will just have to make do with getting excited at the release of these new fixtures lists.
Please follow @ThePerfectPass for more football related action!
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.