Pro Sports in Pandemic Time
March 11th, 2020.
A day that will go down in history as one of the worst and most chaotic days in sports and world history. Per Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter, ”Utah Jazz Center, Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the coronavirus.”
It was the first reported case of COVID-19 in the NBA. Soon after hearing this news, the Utah Jazz-Oklahoma City Thunder game was cancelled mid-warmup. The fans in the stands were advised to leave the stadium as soon as they could. Their dismay and anger would soon be felt around the entire United States as the NBA officially suspended the 2019-2020 NBA Season indefinitely.
March Madness, the NHL, and MLB soon followed suit.
The next four months would be the longest four month sports fans have, and maybe will, ever see.
The live sports hiatus brought back old films, including The Last Dance, a 10 episode ESPN Documentary on Michael Jordan, centered his career, especially 1998, the last year he won an NBA championship. This, and many other films took the attention away from the pandemic and focused on better times. The Michael Jordan–Patrick Ewing 1984 NCAA Championship between Georgetown and the University of North Carolina was re-aired. Old Super Bowls, along with many other exclusive tapes from old games were shown.
The saving grace was announced in late June when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver detailed an agreement with the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Florida: 22 NBA teams would return to play on July 31st. They would arrive 3 weeks early to quarantine. Each team would play eight consolation games with the 8 teams with the best record in each division playing normal playoffs to crown a champion.
Soon after, Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of the MLB released a statement saying that baseball would start on July 23rd. The season would consist of 61 games, ending around the same time it would if it were a normal season. The NHL would start their season on July 30th. Live sports finally returned.
Although COVID cases have been reported, there have been no league shutdowns. Players and teams would take the proper precautions to ensure safety of the players, coaches, and everyone involved with the teams.
