It is hard to believe only 12 months have passed since we last watched Aberdeen play a game in front of their fans.
Forget the 300 spectators who were allowed to visit Pittodrie in September for the game against Kilmarnock, I’m talking about a proper crowd, such as the 14,388 who were at Pittodrie for the 3-1 win against Hibernian on March 7 last year.
Perhaps the passing of time seems slower due to the global pandemic but it feels like a lifetime ago. I had to go back and double check I had covered the game and watch the highlights, such was my inability to recall the occasion.
With hindsight, had I known at the time it would be the last game I’d watch with a proper atmosphere it would have carried more significance.
Nobody knew then what was to come and we still do not know how long it is going to be before we see days like that one a year ago where nearly 15,000 fans came together to cheer on their team.
But what is clear is how much we’ve missed it.
I have been one of the fortunate few to be given entry to games this season but I cannot stress enough how mundane an experience it is. Without the fans football really is nothing. There’s no joy, no excitement, no roar when a goal is scored or a red card shown, no celebration with a player, nothing.
It has been one long soulless trudge from ground to ground to watch games which are played in near silence.
Don’t get me wrong, hearing some of the exchanges between dugouts and towards officials have been amusing even if we’re unable put the majority in print, but nothing comes close to hearing that collective howl of delight at seeing a ball hit the back of the net.
I would even settle for the jeers and boos right now. Something, anything remotely close to normality would be nice.
Despite us being 12 months on and with a vaccine being rolled out, when we will see and hear the roar of the crowd again remains as unclear as it has ever been. Forget than 300 fans socially distanced stuff, I’m talking people packed in for a big game which has that cannot-miss feel to it.
If Hearts owner Ann Budge is to be believed, it could be the end of the year before fans are back in a stadium and she also fears Scottish football will not host a capacity crowd at any point next season. Now that is depressing.
One manager joked to me last week Budge was so pessimistic she could be a future first minister for Scotland with her outlook.
But I can see where the Hearts owner is coming from.
It remains a miracle of sorts that Scottish clubs have somehow survived without gate receipts this season. But it is had to disagree with her assertion the chances of all clubs coming through a second season in a row with no matchday income are slim to none.
We have been so caught up on getting lower league clubs back playing again that the bigger picture has been ignored for too long.
Scottish football, in terms of the product on the pitch and the sustainability off it, has suffered big time.
Forget the number of games in a season or the Scottish Cup. What we need is a plan for the future. This month to month tightrope walk has gone on long enough.
