There's nothing wrong with West Ham fans leaving before half-time.

James Corden was one of many West Ham fans who had seen enough. Photo: MatchDay Images Limited/Dan Weir

Three things can keep you in the stadium when your team is losing badly: hope, fear or novelty. New if it's a day whose outcome is secondary to the overall experience and the number of train cans consumed. I hope, if you have even a glimmer of faith, that your team can make a difference. So be afraid that if they do, you'll miss out on the famous comeback. Also beware of judgment: quitting the game early will make you less of a supporter.

So, the learned answer, which has persisted for many generations: leaving the stadium before the start of normal time is unacceptable, and no “true fan” will take this into account. Increasingly, this resembles a moral code from another time. Firstly, none of the early critics had to trek back to Stratford station through the terrible signage and hellscape of Westfield. It's a tough experience at the best of times, but thousands of West Ham fans chose to stay and watch them be gutted by Mikel Arteta's Arsenal. West Ham fans, including James Corden, had better things to do on Sunday than watch this West Ham team.

An air of fatal apathy

“Thank you for your support and have a safe journey home,” said London Stadium announcer Chris Scull after the final whistle. There was irritation in his voice that he had been forced to stand. By then his audience was perhaps a tenth of the sold-out crowd, whose day had begun in a cautiously optimistic mood. The outcome began when Bukayo Saka made it 2-0 from the penalty spot five minutes before the end of the first half. His status was upgraded from «we see you slipping away» to «are there any fire drills?» after Gabriel scored Arsenal's third goal in the last minute before half-time.

When Leandro Trossard made it 4-0 two minutes later, it was clear that hundreds of West Ham players had not been hanging around the gangway to queue up for hot dogs, but had given up on the game altogether. Aerial footage shows a stream of supporters long past the point of no return, signs near the turnstiles warning that re-entry is prohibited.

Fans West Ham left the London Stadium early in the morning

West Ham fans were divided over David Moyes long before this result, but there was no rancor directed at their manager even as the score worsened in the second half. Instead, there is an atmosphere of fatal apathy. The current Premier League will produce dismal results from time to time for underperforming teams against title contenders. West Ham fans seem to have realized this and the futility of wasting time watching such a no-show. Even Moyes said he «fully understands» that fans are leaving early.

Given the nature of West Ham's support, this is not surprising. If you get to their stadium by public transport and have no choice, you will most likely arrive at one of three stations. There's the aforementioned Stratford, with its indispensable route through part of the busy shopping centre, Hackney Wick or Pudding Mill Lane. The first is preceded by a stroll along the canal past a dozen bars designed to improve your pre-game mood and score a healthy London markup. The latter creates a pleasant cross-section of football fans and Abba fans, full of anticipation for the day ahead with amazing singing holograms.

In other words, football is squarely placed in the category of a consumer product, just one of the many activities you can do in the former Olympic Park. West Ham are fighting for a piece of your leisure spending, and it is this goal that has prompted them to move from Upton Park to an athletics complex that is inconveniently suited for football.

If you support the team that plays here, it would easily spend £100 on an experience that could make you feel miserable. Even if you hate shopping, discos and craft beer, you can still find a more reliable return on that money elsewhere in the region.

Cinephiles are not considered a conducive environment for leaving a bad situation early , for that matter. it is considered insightful. So don't criticize football fans for equivalence. Treat fans as consumers long enough, and over time they will begin to behave the same way.