The traditional 3pm kick off is something many hold dear, and constantly complain about whan their team rarely sees one. Personally, in the last two years, I have been to 31 games and only 4 have been at this Saturday 3pm kick off slot. A mixture of TV picks and European commitments have meant the kick off times have moved around the weekend, even to Monday nights.
Why is the 3pm kick off time the norm? Well that goes back to Victorian times, when the working class ended their weeks work on a Saturday early afternoon and went to their local club to watch a game. "Every other Saturday is my half day off, and it's off to the match I go" as the Rangers fan song goes.
Times change, though, and now the modern football fan works a various number of different working weeks. You have your Dolly Partons, working 9-5 in an office. You have your Kenny Chesneys - the shift workers, you have part timers, you have flexi-timers.
Everybody loves routine, not least the football fan. Wake up (with a hangover) on a Saturday morning, hit the cafe for a greasy fry up, travel to the ground, stopping off for a few pints before hand. Watch the game at 3, go home and beat the wife at 5 after another loss.
With the lack of fans for the rest of the season, we are seeing the Premier League fixture list stretched across the weekend, with no two games kicking off at the same time. It mirrors the La Liga style of scheduling top flight games that allowed all 10 games in a match week to be televised. The 245-515 blackout we have in the UK has been lifted for the remainder of this season - it remains to be seen what will happen next season (the Scots have annouced a "virtual season ticket" for next season that allows fans to pay to watch all their teams games on TV in lieu of attending the stadium.
Is the 3pm kick off still important? Would clubs be wise to look at alternatives - all the way down the leagues? Will the current pandemic see a change forever? Do you see 3pm THE kick off time that should be preserved forever?
Why are 3pms sacred to English fans?
posted on 4/6/20
comment by welshpoolfan (U7693)
posted 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
comment by JonVeron (U6514)
posted 1 minute ago
I know people with season tickets at other clubs, and they hate it when games are late KOs (say 8pm) midweek or weekend, to be on TV for example
I don’t get it. If you love watching your team, surely you’d go any time? Maybe different for me who can only make it to a few games a season if I’m lucky. Always such a buzz going to a game.
Must wear off if you go every week, every year, I guess
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True and I think that's part of it.
I'm like you and it would be a rare treat to go to Anfield so I would probably make an occasion of it (maybe stay overnight in Liverpool if it was an evening game etc) but if you go regularly then you won't likely do that for various reasons. Particularly for away fans it is a pain.
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Yeh must suck for away fans, getting back in the early hours. When I go to OT I’m back late anyway as it’s a couple of hours drive home, so never bothered me.
On the point r.e. early KOs - I swear United went a few years losing all or most of the Saturday 12:45 KOs, never got out of bed for those ones it seemed! Prefer later games.
Ultimately fans have no say in it anyway, all determined by TV and the big bucks, as we all know
posted on 4/6/20
comment by JonVeron (U6514)
posted 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
I know people with season tickets at other clubs, and they hate it when games are late KOs (say 8pm) midweek or weekend, to be on TV for example
I don’t get it. If you love watching your team, surely you’d go any time? Maybe different for me who can only make it to a few games a season if I’m lucky. Always such a buzz going to a game.
Must wear off if you go every week, every year, I guess
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yeah I get you, I've only been to one away game this season and that was a Saturday 3pm KO.
I can see how late KO's on week nights or even on a Saturday being hard work.
The last few times I went up to Anfield I made a weekend of it and went up with a few mates. It was so expensive though.
These days I can't really justify that kind of cost, the best I can hope for is getting some cheeky tickets for an away game down south.
I've never been one to go every week far from it, but I don't know how people make the time when they have a Mrs, kids, and a full on job.
posted on 4/6/20
So this really boils down to a few factors:
a) in the dim and distant past sundays were sacred so nobody played on a sunday. Thus a saturday was for this purpose.
b) if you look at it logically there was a time when floodlights were not common so again 3pm to 4:45pm would have been ok for a game in a lot of cases and it might be murky in the depths of winter but it was ok. any later and its dark.
So you have a happy scenario that 3pm on a saturday worked.
Now roll on to now.
Public transport for those travelling. THeres no point having a game when the last train home leaves. Yet the FA managed to create this scenario with the FA cup final.
Global audiences are driving early and late kick offs, theres not a fan i know who likes a 12 noon or 12:30 game. Not one. Its on too early.
then finally its the "sky" effect. if they could have a game every day they'd be happy. friday to monday = prem, tues to thurs = CL and cups.
If you are an ordinary match going fan its a right pain.
posted on 4/6/20
I was an ordinary match going fan for over fifty years until 2 years ago when I got fed up with never knowing what time or even day the match was likely to be played. Not missing the over hype of the PL too much.
posted on 4/6/20
comment by (U13358)
posted 8 minutes ago
I was an ordinary match going fan for over fifty years until 2 years ago when I got fed up with never knowing what time or even day the match was likely to be played. Not missing the over hype of the PL too much.
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Ordinary?? You are a minority. Not ordinary. Clubs wouldn't exist if it was for the selfish minority like you who don't pay sky prescriptions. Where do you think EPL clubs get money from? TV money that's where. Now either be a proper fan like us and pay your prescription or F off to amateur football
posted on 4/6/20
i read the title as why 3 p.m.'s are sacred to english fans.
i thought that can't be right, has there been three decent prime ministers?
posted on 4/6/20
Churchill, Thatcher, Johnson.
posted on 4/6/20
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 4 minutes ago
Churchill, Thatcher, Johnson.
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it depends what side of the fence you're on i guess.
but johnson?
posted on 5/6/20
comment by Paul Tosh (U1734)
posted 18 hours, 52 minutes ago
comment by (U13358)
posted 8 minutes ago
I was an ordinary match going fan for over fifty years until 2 years ago when I got fed up with never knowing what time or even day the match was likely to be played. Not missing the over hype of the PL too much.
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Ordinary?? You are a minority. Not ordinary. Clubs wouldn't exist if it was for the selfish minority like you who don't pay sky prescriptions. Where do you think EPL clubs get money from? TV money that's where. Now either be a proper fan like us and pay your prescription or F off to amateur football
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As I said, I WAS an ordinary fan and I really don't mind being in the minority but I am not alone. In your unwarranted vitriolic response you have indicated that paying Sky subscriptions makes you a "proper fan". Really? Sitting on the sofa with a Stella in your hand on Sunday lunchtime hardly qualifies you for that description. I'll F off now Paul thankyou.
posted on 13/6/20
Everybody loves routine, not least the football fan. Wake up (with a hangover) on a Saturday morning, hit the cafe for a greasy fry up, travel to the ground, stopping off for a few pints before hand. Watch the game at 3, go home and beat the wife at 5 after another loss.
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In your case, it's reverse... Your wife beats you up for wasting money...