Johnny Phillips: Wonderful world of sport, we missed you so much!

For three consecutive days this week there was a glimpse of what a return to normal life could look like. It came through the lens of sport.

On Tuesday, 40,000 supporters flocked to Wembley to watch England defeat Germany in the European Championships.

For many it was the first football match they had attended in more than a year.

For those at home, the visuals of packed stands and the sounds of a real crowd appeared jarringly out of place compared to the drab empty stadia that have been the backdrop to football since the professional game resumed in June last year, after the first lockdown.

On Wednesday evening, Centre Court was centre stage.

Andy Murray’s epic battle against Oscar Otte went long into the night and, for the second evening in succession, the BBC’s News At Ten production team were left twiddling their thumbs in the studio waiting for a result.

It felt like travelling back in time as another packed arena full of spectators worked themselves into a frenzy. Even the dreadful tennis chanting was back after Murray’s four-year absence from the tournament.

‘Let’s Go Andy, Let’s Go!’ About as inspiring as a parking ticket but reassuringly familiar, at least.

Then on Thursday it was cricket’s turn to shine a spotlight on what a bright future looks like, world champions England took on Sri Lanka in a one-day international. The Oval has long been one of the sport’s iconic venues; huge gas holders towering over the ground in metallic green, pigeons patrolling the outfield, and ball on willow punctuated by the intermittent emergency sirens of inner city London roads.

I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the cricket, the first sporting event I’d attended as a fan in over 16 months since Wolves’ joyous trip to Barcelona’s Espanyol in the Europa League back in February 2020.

All the rituals that had been taken for granted were back.

Disembarking at Vauxhall train station with hundreds of others heading to the ground. Meeting up with mates again.

The queues at the turnstiles.

The excited chatter of supporters.

The over-priced food and drink.

Cocooned for a whole day in a serene sporting existence, immune from the troubles of the pandemic and the uncertainties of life.

Just there to enjoy a match and the company of friends.

Not even the Barmy Army’s trumpeter could put a dampener on this one.

Sport’s transcending power takes us out of a normal existence and provides a sanctuary for those few hours. It might only be short-term escapism but it is a vital presence, releasing the pressure valve of life and giving us all fresh hope and energy.

That outlet has been badly missing.

One of my friends with us at The Oval had also been to every England game at the Euros.

He spoke of the group games being slightly unnerving, sterile in atmosphere when so few supporters were allowed into such a huge venue.

But Germany changed all that, he said.

It felt like fans had been building up to that game for a very long time.

The 40,000 filled the concourses with their energy, passion and singing.

The roars that greeted England’s two goals came with so much emotion.

The players were consumed by it all. Everyone carried along on the crest of a wave.

It is important not to get too carried away, it was not totally the football nirvana it could have been. There are still tensions on the surface.

Sport holds up a mirror to society and we are living through such divided and difficult times.

That was illustrated by the divisive reaction to the teams taking the knee, with boos and cheers fighting to be heard. More boos of the German national anthem.

This England football team should be the antidote to bigotry, filled as it is with such a diverse bunch and thoroughly decent men to boot.

Manager Gareth Southgate is determined to win the fight on and off the pitch, as illustrated by his poignant letter to the country on the eve of the tournament Let’s hope that, if the team can continue to progress, it is his narrative that wins out over the bigots.

After three successive days of elite sport played in front of so many spectators, thoughts invariably turn to next season. What can we expect? Perhaps understandably, sports administrators are staying quiet, for now.

These test events at venues like Wembley, Wimbledon and The Oval will guide the thinking and policy going forward.

Unofficially, there are conversations taking place aimed at getting Premier League venues up to a minimum 80 per cent capacity by August.

Given everything that has happened over the past year-and-a-half, that would represent a huge step forward. There will, of course, be a significant minority of any fanbase who will not return.

Those who remain vulnerable or uneasy about mingling in large crowds will naturally find it difficult to pick up where they left off in March 2020.

But the events this week, and the sight of stands filled with spectators, gave us all hope that sport can be a platform for the joys in life we so desperately want to experience once again.