On September 28, 1882 the Worcester Ruby Legs from Massachusetts played the Troy Trojans from New York in a pro baseball game. It was a famous game in pro baseball history because it set a record for the lowest number of fans in the stands. Six people watched the Trojans trounce the Ruby Legs 4-1.

That record stood for almost 125 years. On Aril 29, 2015 the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox played their game in front of empty seats. Zero fans. This bizarre development was mandated by Major League Baseball in wake of protests and outbursts of violence in the city of Baltimore. Here's how an Associated Press article reported one incident from the fan-less game:

Chris Davis might have hit the quietest home run for the home team in Orioles history. As the slugger pounded the ball deep onto Eutaw Street, just a few feet from where fans normally would have sprinted after a chance to catch a souvenir, there was almost nothing to hear. The only muffled cheers came from a pocket of die-hards locked out of Camden Yards yelling "Let's Go O's!"

On this day, 30,000 Orioles fans had been muted. The wild applause had been silenced. There were no fans to stand for a standing ovation. Just Davis' teammates in the dugout coming over for high-fives. "When you're rounding the bases, and the only cheers you hear were from outside the stadium," he said, "it's a weird feeling."

Editor’s Update: To this could be added the dozens of sporting events that were played before empty stadiums during the COVID-19 Pandemic. You can read a psychological take on this here

Possible Preaching Angles: No live audience, no cheering fans, no applause. As a Christian, how much does the audience affect your performance? How much does the cheering crowd motivate you to do a good job? Or are you content to live before the Lord, the "Audience of One"?