Just a wild day today, especially in the sports world. It seems to have all started with the news of Rudy Gobert from the Indiana Pacers testing positive for the coronavirus late last night. That was the finally straw for the NBA promptly suspended the season until further notice. We have seen a domino effect ever since the NBA made an official statement, with other current seasons being suspended or cancelled. Many professional and collegiate officials scrambled to get together to come up with a plan for their next course action. It was almost bizzare today that the MLB allowed spring training games to even start at 1 pm, as many realized this may be the last sporting event they see for awhile. I sat today until the final pitch, watching players whose name I’ve never heard, just to soak up that last bit of baseball. This is truly heartbreaking for every sports fan, but it is ultimately the right decision. Give it three to four weeks and I think we will have a much better handle on the coronavirus situation, but as a precautionary measure for the health of everyone involved, all sporting events will be on hold until further notice.
This doesn’t just affect the sports world, but our everyday lives as well. The NBA made a huge statement and it puts pressure on other businesses that hold large crowds of people evaluate their plans of cancelling events or not. Until we start seeing some positive information coming out of this whole situation, these venues will kind of be in limbo. I’m sure they will be in constant contact with health officials within these next few weeks and will update us accordingly. Until then, for MLB’s players at least, it seems that most will be staying in their respective ball clubs training facilities while continuing to getting their work in. I’m sure some players would like to head back to their families as well, which under the circumstances is completely understandable. We are in uncharted territory as of this moment, so as fan all we can do is continue to take the necessary precautions and listen to health officials.
I think Jerry says it beautifully for a lot of people in that quote. Sports are our getaway from the world, that fact that for the next three hours, the only thing that matters is what is happening in that moment. Much like the baseball games played post 9/11 or the miracle on ice played between The US and the Soviet Union during the 1980 Winter Olympics. The fact that during our darkest hours we were all able to come together as one and lose ourselves in a game. It’s going to be hard losing that escape, but in the end, it is just a game and the health and safety of the people around us is what matters most.
And to all those college athletes that are being affected by this situation, know that the whole sports community is behind you. For seniors, this may have been the last time they stepped on a field or ice without even knowing it. For all of you readers who don’t know, you only get a certain amount of years of eligibility to play with the NCAA. Players using their last year of eligibility just may have had their careers ended. I really hope the NCAA takes action and allows these players to get back their year to play. I’m sure many are lost and confused as to what their futures are going to look like at this point, especially all of the athletes who were about to head into their championship tournaments. All of those long hours dedicated to getting better for the season and those magical games they have had up until this point have ultimately have been erased by something beyond your control. You see during many college games all the love and passion these players put into the games and it breaks my heart that these athletes won’t be able to go out and do what they love.
The Washed Up Athlete 