TV View/Gerry Thornley: So it's official. Up to nine million couch/barstool footie fans suffer from depression when the summer comes. A psychologist has even come up with a name for it. End of Season Affective Disorder. SAD alright. The words 'get', 'a' and 'life' spring to mind, but never mind.
According to psychologist John Casleton, who conducted a study among 2,000 English footie fans, 75 per cent of those asked said football was more important than anything else in their lives, and was the main topic of conversation with their mates.
"Like any other bond, to have it suddenly removed can cause a crisis," he observed. "Often fans will feel a void, an emptiness or sense of loss on a Saturday afternoon," he added, which perhaps demonstrated he doesn't get down to his local very often. What about Sunday afternoon, or Monday night, Tuesday night?
Maybe it's the traditionalist in me but every second summer without a World Cup or a European Championship seems like a good chance to detox from footie and actually regenerate enthusiasm for the game. It's a respite from Andy Gray and umpteen intonations of "you've got to say that that's absolutely fantastic", where every single game has to be a good thing.
Football talk does state the obvious more than any other sport. Prior to the penalty shoot-out in last Wednesday's quasi-finale to the season, the Champions League final, Packie Bonner turned to his panellists, John Toshack and George Best.
"The goalkeepers could be very important here, couldn't they?" Ah no, d'you think, Packie? Even allowing for his membership of the Goalkeeping Brotherhood, this took the biscuit for stating the blindingly, bleedingly obvious.
Of course, as it turned out, Packie's forecast turned out to be remarkably prescient, with Gianluigi Buffon and Dida saving 50 per cent of the nervy penalties as Milan took their sixth crown after what seemed a preordained scoreless draw.
Gray would have struggled with this one. In the Sky-generated era of fast-food football beamed from the Premiership, quality defending - as demonstrated by the ageless Maldini and Costacurta, and the peerless Nesta - has become a crime. The Real-Man U quarter-final was an attacking goalfest by comparison, but the Italians have rather undermined the spurious claims of Real's "greatness".
Great occasion, great atmosphere (the Juve fans in extra time performed better than anyone), great passion, technically and tactically excellent, and full of attacking intent in an absorbing first half - had Shevchenko's strike not been disallowed and Milan made the breakthrough they deserved it could have been "the firecracker" Bobby Robson had forecast on ITV's altogether superior package.
During half-time, TV3 did have the wit to show Roberto Carlos's goal in the semi-final again when agreeing that, likewise, Shevchenko's should have stood.
Saliently, Best pointed out that there was no width in either side, Toshack adding that even the wide midfielders and full backs were converted central midfielders or centre halves. Rather more insightful than Robson's admittedly valid observation that "good defending has dominated the game".
Just as pertinently, Italian timore, or fear, took over, and stalemate was assured from about midway through the second period.
Perhaps the analysis needed a psychiatrist. Robson had conceded midway through extra time: "It's turned out to be a bit of a damp squib." Cue the penalty shoot-out.
The excellent ITV commentator Clive Tyldsley had come well prepared too, revealing that Buffon had saved four of eight penalties he had faced in Champions League matches and 12 of 38 in his career. Sure enough, as Des Lynam concluded, defenders stayed on top in that too.
In a World Cup year rugby will be better served over the summer months, thanks to Sky. Beginning with Australia v Ireland next Saturday, and a raft of test matches each Saturday thereafter before the Five Star Tri-Nations. Stuart Barnes will be in his element.
Commenting on John Mitchell's initial squad selection and the recall of hooker Anton Oliver during The Rugby Club, Barnes observed: "When the pressure comes on Anton Oliver cannot hit a cow's posterior with a double base."
BBC bade farewell to rugby with the Leicester-Saracens European Cup wild-card play-off on Saturday, which again confirmed Conor O'Shea's abilities as a co-commentator as he immediately and correctly called the exchange of late penalties which sent the game into extra time.
Whereupon Nick Mullins let out a huge sigh. "Ohhhh, we should be sitting on the boundary, sipping a gin and tonic, watching cricket, gearing up for Wimbldon." That's the spirit.
