Only in Venice did the fans not return to the arena
Reyer is the most successful team in recent years. A regulatory paradox pushes organized supporters not to attend matches. And the rest of the stadium is silent: “Easier to take the field away”, accuse the players
“Let’s play in a basin. Overcrowded, without air conditioning. Impossible to see the players in a final with their tongues out in the heat ”. It is one of the most famous conferences of Gianmarco Pozzecco, year 2019, when Reyer Venezia overtook his Dinamo Sassari at the end of a heart-stopping championship series. And “the Taliercio’s sauna”, so the newspapers wrote, bounced around the whole town: almost a badge on that tricolor. A lot of water has passed under the bridge. Meanwhile, the old sports hall in Mestre has an air conditioning system. But above all it is half empty. While Italy in basketball returns to fill in more stands, the team that has won the last five years only hears the echo of their own baskets. The Taliercio is no longer cheered.
“I am tired of the rumblings of our fans: you expect us to always play at high levels, but the atmosphere at home is the worst in the entire league. It’s easier to take the field away ”, is the tough social outburst in recent weeks by July stone. Not exactly the latest. He has been in Venice, on several occasions, since 2014. With the Reyer shirt he has raised three trophies, carving out a key role of shadow man – guard, play, big forward: no one knows yet – behind the orogranata successes. Ed is a charismatic leader, megaphone in hand and bent at his feet at the end of the game. Once. “But where are you now?”, Criticizes the player. “There is no energy in the building. Applause for the opponents and snorts for us. The problem is that we got used to it too well. This has won everything and continues to dare the maximum group. We are still in the running for all the objectives, you just sit helpless “.
It is a paradoxical situation. Stone and his companions – the thought is common – do not have it with organized fans. We know where it ended: outside the sports hall, every blessed match. A question of restrictions and consistency. In every sports facility in the country, the obligation to wear an Ffp2 mask is still in force in the stands: getting mad as the curve commands, compliance with the rules, is simply irreconcilable. Just look around. The last Bologna derby, for example: thrilling choreography, old-time decibels. And lowered masks. From Treviso to Sassari. Like it or not, throughout the rest of the country the police are now flying over. They grant freedom. In Venice it is much more complicated. Because if the Digos turns a blind eye, the commissioner answers. If this is done, ilre responds to the mayor: Luigi Brugnaro, who is also the historian of Reyer since 2006.
So if the curve enters and loosens the constraints, he runs into very high fines. Hence the more drastic, but law-proof choice. The problem is that Taliercio is so soulless. Stripped: Reyer insists on building basketballs surrounded by a languid and spoiled parlor crowd. Lamentations without sporting culture, hence Stone’s j’accuse. The cycle by Walter De Raffaele, at the helm since 2016 (as deputy since 2011), is unique in Italy and in Europe. At the revolving doors of modern basketball, Venice has preferred identity and a group of veterans to shore up every season. This is one of the most complicated, but Reyer yesterday concentrated the second round of Eurocup and is catching up on the playoff train: the teams of the Livorno coach often and willingly mesh from spring onwards. The period no is not enough to explain a bleak spectacle.
It is as if the Juventus stadium were suddenly shut down. In the last Serie A match, last Sunday against Tortona, Taliercio had almost 2,000 spectators. To support the orogranata, only about twenty. An improvised handpiece, on the hands and on the masks, which just didn’t fit in the dead silence. The rest, mom. The only jolt of the complete stadium came in the third quarter, when Reyer gave the decisive push to the match. Then, as the opponents attempted the comeback, whistles again. risotto? Under the table the company is trying them all. ‘Weapons’ the most strong-willed with scarves and trumpets. It’s all a ‘I wish but I can’t’ with the ultras outside, eagerly awaiting their return. But in the end he spreads his arms: even the repeated invitations from Leorey, the official sideline mascot, fall on deaf ears. In the NBA of standardized cheering, if nothing else, he responds to the ‘clap your hands’ of the scoreboard. In Venice, on the other hand, when in the smell of victory someone sings “all stand up for this Reyer” people get up, yes. But to leave the Taliercio before the end: never find traffic on the way home. From the heatwave to the great cold.