MEMPHIS, Tennessee — We do not have crowds. No scores, roars or incredible moments. But in the meantime, we can fake it.
"We thought, 'we are going to get bored,'" said Tim Van Horn, Memphis 901 FC broadcaster. "We have got to do something."
What he did, along with 10 other local broadcasters, was assemble a full-length mock radio broadcast of a Memphis 901 FC match. There is play-by-play, a halftime show, pre-recorded crowd noise. There is music, there is excitement. In this two-and-a-half hour reality, there are sports.
"It was really a labor of love," Van Horn said.
The commercial breaks feature spots from local businesses and food banks, but Van Horn collected no ad revenue. The intention was to bring attention to the aforementioned causes.
"With all the bad news and the anxiety that's out there," he said. "If we could just provide a smile, even just briefly, it will have totally made it worth our while."
Giving life to fantasy, while we await the return of our reality.
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