Generation Xbox turns away from Chelsea

At Stamford Bridge last Sunday I saw something I had never seen before at a sporting event. It was nothing to do with Jose Mourinho’s unconvincing faux humility in the wake of yet another expertly organised triumph, nor was it anything to do with John Terry’s age-defying excellence or Eden Hazard’s deftly executed one-two with the Crystal Palace keeper to score the only goal of the game. We have seen all that before.

It was what was going on at the back of the East Stand, just behind the press seats, that brought me up short. There, up against the rear wall, had been stationed a row of Xbox monitors, on which it was possible to access Fifa 2015, the computerised football game. Gathered in front of the screens was a rotating group of small boys, several of whom were wearing full Chelsea kit, enthusiastically embracing the game’s seductive qualities.

And the thing was, they were not just playing before kick-off or during half-time. They were even at it as the match was going on. So there, behind their backs, were the team they apparently support heading towards a first Premier League title in five years, playing football of a quality and efficiency unmatched anywhere in the country and they preferred to engage in a simulation. Not just play it, either. Some of the lads were standing around watching others play. Apparently the computerised Terry and Hazard fizzing across the screen was a more intriguing attraction than the real thing running across the pitch a few yards from where they stood.

There were those of a more cynical disposition in the press enclosure who saw this as a useful metaphor for the new champions: Mourinho’s Chelsea are so boring, was the snigger, that, given the choice, their own supporters would rather play computer games than watch them in action.

^{Chelsea had Xbox consoles for their younger fans at the back of the East Stand}

One colleague pointed out that, after Gary Neville’s assertion last season that David Luiz was playing for Chelsea as if under the control of a 12-year-old operating a Fifa handset, maybe the youngsters believed that, by fiddling with their joystick, they were genuinely able to exert influence over what was going on behind them.

But the truth was, as a glimpse of the future this was chilling indeed. We live in a world utterly in thrall to screens. Noses are apparently permanently attached to smart phones, social media absorbs all our emotional energy, computer games hoover up attention and concentration.

The knock-on effect on participation in sport is already noticeable. No modern child would dream of joining an informal kickaround with their mates down the park when they could be steering their favourite team to Champions League glory on Football Manager. Local sports clubs struggle to make the routine of practice and training as seductive a proposition as taking control of Lionel Messi on Fifa.

What’s more, at Stamford Bridge it was clear that even the most elite of sporting excellence is struggling to match the allure of the screen. Never mind asking what the parents who had paid sizeable sums to afford their offspring the privilege of witnessing a historic moment in the flesh were doing allowing them instead to play on the computer. Never mind wondering why on earth Chelsea had positioned computers in their stands in the first place. The fact is, given the opportunity to exercise free will, this was indication of a generation that has been encouraged to relish the ersatz rather than the real thing.

^{A Premier league title was won, but Fifa 15 was a rival attraction}

It is not going to end any time soon. Already at many a sporting event you see crowds drawn to the big screen, preferring to watch the replays and close camera work rather than trying to pick out what is happening on the fairway or track. And according to those in the know, the next technological breakthrough in the broadcast of sport will be what is called “immersive experience TV”. This will involve a conglomeration of simulated effects that will give the viewer the feeling that they are watching a match not from the comfort of their own sofa, but from a seat in the stands, complete with noise, vibration and a visual impression of being right there at the heart of the action. Though presumably without the queue for the Gents at half-time.

At this rate, it will not be long before Chelsea have installed a line of immersive experience TV pods at the back of the East Stand, where fans can go to watch the game taking place in the stadium, enjoying the simulated sense of being right there in the stands at the game. So much more compelling than, you know, just sitting there in the stand watching the real thing.