How do you think about ranking for the league champion?

11 football players (plus the referees, don't forget them) stood in two rows and applauded the Premier League champions entering the field.

How do you feel about this? what does that mean? Will you enjoy it? Will you be disgusted? Should this ceremony happen? Now that things have happened, how do you feel about it? How do you like it? Should this ceremony happen?

Please let it stop.

Discussions about the honors team have been on a high level since Chelsea applauded the blue squad for champion Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. As expected, there were various remarks around the 12-second ceremony: respect! Tradition! Wonderful! Boo! All these are spoken and heard.

However, by 2025, the discussion on the honor queue has been completely uninterrupted, like a relatively small royal wedding.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca was asked about this matter many times, and in an interview with Sky Sports before the game, at a pre-match press conference and an hour before the game started,

Arne Slott was also asked in a pre-match interview and post-match press conference. There are many other media taking the opportunity to ask questions, but these are the easiest to find. Questions to both coaches include:

"Is there a decision on holding a team of honors for Liverpool this weekend?"

"Do you think it's right to do it? Are you willing to do it to pay tribute to our championship team in accordance with the tradition of our country?"

"Are you looking forward to a team of honors?"

"You got the team of honors from Chelsea, but their fans didn't seem to be too excited. Someone booed. Is this disappointing you?"

Almost every answer mentioned tradition and said that Liverpool deserved the ceremony. Literally, what else can be said?

Mark Cuculela was asked about this (“We do it if we need to”), while Van Dijk talks about the honor queue in clichés as if talking about a football game (“Every honor queue is important”).

A newspaper published a total of six reports on the honor queue before and after the game. However, no matter which football-related website is chosen, especially the tabloid website, you can find the same amount of plain and empty articles, blindly rendering a completely meaningless topic, creating a sensational title, and almost nothing really meaningful content.

Former Watford and Birmingham City striker Troy Dee Ni expressed his point in the Sun column—a concept he considers, according to his record, a bunch of “nonsense.”

Peter Crouch also posted his views on TNT Sports Channel. "I don't like this," he began. "I don't know... Maybe it shows a kind of respect, but I feel it's a bit awkward for the teams that come out, and even more awkward for the teams that applaud them on the court. It's not my style."

Leo Ferdinand echoed: "I don't like this," he said. "I'm lucky to have received the honor queue and have had experiences in it, both of which are quite embarrassing. Crouch is completely right."

OK, you heard it, Crouch is completely right.

However, we have published some extra content in the media, just adding another point to the hustle and bustle of the queue of honors.

Why? Is there anything worth commenting on, except pointing out that we have already discussed this topic too much?

There is indeed a legitimate question, that is, what exactly does the ritual play, or more importantly, who really wants it to happen and for what purpose?

OK, British tradition and so on, yes, maybe on the last day of the season – or the last home game of the new champion – it’s a nice ritualistic embellishment. But doing this in all four Liverpool games feels a bit too far.

And of course, it would be better if these things were just spontaneously decided by the player in the moment, then it could become a truly meaningful gesture of respect, rather than slowly applauding with his shoulders shrugging and clapping after being told.

But if this decision is made by the club before the game, including rituals and media discussions... well, it's like a performative nonsense, but is considered to be doing the "right thing" in a very 2025 way.

In recent years, except for the champion team, the most famous example is the last day of the 2016-2017 season, when Chelsea's game against Sunderland was suspended to allow John Terry to accept the team of honors from his teammates.

Terry was substituted in the 26th minute of the game (his jersey number is No. 26), and Sunderland and his head coach David Moyes agreed in advance to kick the ball out of bounds to suspend the game and create this critical moment for Terry.

"This is not Hollywood," the confused Garth Crooks said indignantly on the BBC.

No surprise, this whole thing was Terry's idea.

Scotland has a different view on this.

Sunday was the Wanderers vs. Celtics, and the champion Celtics did not receive any respect from their old rivals. Brendan Rogers was disappointed: "I always pay attention to the game tradition on these islands, and it's always about the humility of the team after losing in the league."

"But I also respect here, there is a very emotional competitive relationship between the Celtics and the Wanderers."

Roberian head coach Barry Ferguson said bluntly: "It has never happened in the past. It's always like this. Let's keep it like this."

The situation is different in other sports. In the United States, the playoff system determines the championship, and there is no chance to see the championship demonstration tour that Liverpool is currently conducting now.

In several very traditional British sports, cricket and rugby, the honor queue is common – especially at the end of the rugby game, the home team will first line up to applaud the visiting team through their walls of people, and then in turn. This is a real respect and recognition of the competition I just experienced, giving people the feeling that the players will not choose other ways.

cricket often serves honors for famous retired players, such as last year for James Anderson at Lords.

In football, or at least in the Premier League, the business halo and everything great always take precedence over what people really want to happen, and the queue of honors can exist even in such an environment.

If you like this topic, you will be very happy this week. Not only one, not two, not three, but four AFTV videos about Arsenal having to make a honor for Liverpool on Sunday.

If you want to know whether Mikel Arteta's ranks will give him and his players the motivation to compete for the championship next season, look forward to this weekend.