With our new lockdown, this week's Aussie rules football in Melbourne will go ahead without crowds. Empty stadiums mean a quiet game, no crowd noise. The television station broadcasting the match uses canned crowd noise to try and give it some atmosphere for their audience. There was a low hush from the crowd while the game was underway, then a massive cheer from the crowd when a player kicked a goal. The man with his finger on the massive cheer button sometimes gets it wrong when a point is scored rather than a goal.

The television broadcasting of football is where the money is. Fifty per cent of the revenue generated by the Australian Football League (AFL) is from broadcast rights. The next most significant revenue source will be gate takings, at about fifteen per cent. Playing games with or without crowds is critical to the survival of the game.

If the lockdown persists and the crowds are kept away, the cardboard crowd will be required to fill the empty grandstands. For tonight's game, the Melbourne Demons have got an early lead over the Western Bulldogs. Though the game is not the same without a crowd, it was a game nonetheless.