To put a ball in a basket with five sizeable and athletic opponents doing everything to prevent that from happening in the middle of the high-speed chess match that is a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague basketball game is a hard job to begin with. To do all that when 18,000 leather-lung fans making all the noise they can, in unison, makes concentration even more difficult.
Final Four stars know the fans will be a factor
But if you listen to the players who will take the floor at the Final Four in Belgrade, they wouldn't have it any other way.
This is the first generation of players to know what a EuroLeague game with no fans is like, and to a man they are thrilled to be present at the return of those fans to the Final Four, not least because all that noise actually helps them play better.
"It brings you energy. It's like a standard answer, but that's what it is. It's like you come into the game, you feel the fans, and the adrenaline in your whole body goes to the top, " Fabien Causeur of Real Madrid says. "It's just more fun. You can have them with you or against you, but they will give you extra motivation and the extra energy to give your best. And I feel that now is the kind of moment, in your season or in your career, that you
No one in Belgrade has played in more Final Fours than Kostas Sloukas of Olympiacos Piraeus, a late-game specialist who knows that his team's fans, who bought the most tickets of any team in Belgrade, will be a true sixth man for the Reds.
"Our fans always give us energy, give us a boost," Sloukas says. "The opposing fans try to boo you, to make your life more difficult. It's always better to play in a full arena, and it will be an amazing experience here in Belgrade."
Last season's Final Four MVP and a native Serbian, Vasilije Micic of Anadolu Efes, prides himself in remaining calm, cool and collected on the court, but he knows that the atmosphere at a EuroLeague in his country's capital is second to none in the world and likely to influence the outcome.
"The fans make everything more beautiful," Micic said on the eve of the semifinals. "These fans are passionate people. They try to express their emotions in the games. They don't have to act good. They can be a little bit wild. They can be emotional and show their real energy, and we definitely feel that on the court. I have many friends on my team who like that boost from the fans, and tomorrow, whether it's our fans or other fans, they will get more motivated by that atmosphere."
Nick Calathes of FC Barcelona was among the Final Four participants last year in Cologne, Germany, when the fans could not be present due to pandemic restrictions. Though his club's fans will be in the minority this weekend at Stark Arena, he doesn't mind that one bit.
"The fans are what makes the game exciting, if you're home or away, just to hear chants and feel their presence," Calathes said. "Last year, you could hear a pin drop and you didn't have the feel of the crowd, the emotion. For us, I think for every player, it's 100 times better to have the fans in the stands. It's great, either home or away, and for me away is even better, because you like to hear the crowd against you and try to take advantage of it."
One Final Four without fans was one too many. As a worldwide audience will behold on this weekend, the one-of-a-kind energy that comes from EuroLeague fans is back in the room!