Sports And COVID-19

I don’t know what to do. I am not the only one. We are in the grips of a pandemic, something I would never associate with the United State of America. The Corona Virus, dubbed COVID-19, has invaded the civilized world from its origins in China and caused havoc like we  have never here seen in our lifetimes. It is scary.

This is a continually evolving situation, with constant reporting of the statistics in the media, replete with dire predictions and contradictions. Politics is involved when it should not  be, but why would this stop now at this time in our national history? 

There is panic, hysteria, doubt and uncertainty. No one has a handle on what this virus will do, although some have made it through the illness unscathed. Yet others, especially those with underlying infirmities and older people have suffered and many have already died. 

It is much too early to estimate what will be the end result of this disease. We as a nation are barely in the infancy of its capabilities. What ever its trajectory, it is certain that not everyone will be unscathed, no matter what precautions are initiated.  

Office holders and doctors bravely attempt to undertake measures to control the situation. Whether they work is a great unknown.  

For me, I have been identified in a greater risk category merely by my age. While such does concern me, I also know that I take good care of myself within the limits of my body, given my ongoing ankle tendon issues which keeps me from walking/jogging. Bad timing to have an injury that might have helped me to be in even better shape. 

I watch what I eat. I wash my hands a lot. I try to refrain from touching my face, although that isn’t working as well as I want. I take disinfecting wipes to the supermarket and the gym, wiping off surfaces that might have ben compromised by somebody earlier.

For what we don’t know is the number of undiagnosed people carrying COVID-19 and who remain in the general populace, potentially infecting others. That piece is the bad news. 

Sports has taken all the right measures, and in its own way, became a leader in the community response to COVID-19. By postponing games, quarantining teams and protecting the athletes and the people associated with the sport, team and even their families, the heads of the NBA, NHL, MLS. MLB, NCAA and other sports have made the only right and courageous calls—to postpone or cancel events that are big deals to a lot of people and corporations. The same applies to our educators who have closed their physical plants yet have developed ways to utilize technology or even old-fashioned methods to keep the minds of their students interested and active. 

So bravo to the leaders acting as leaders should.  There are always naysayers or doubters who complain about this overwhelming response being an overreaction. To them I say that we should be so lucky. 

Sure, I don’t know what to do right now without basketball on TV for the next couple of weeks. Or with the news that the start of the baseball season has been pushed back indefinitely.  I have plenty of other things to do and watch;  I can even sleep. 

I find it abhorrent that golf, Wrestle Mania and soccer outside of the U.S. continues (the PGA and The Masters belatedly were postponed).  The arrogant NFL says that this does not impact on their scheduled events—even if they canceled an upcoming meeting. What makes them better at not exposing many people to illness? Nothing comes to mind. 

I feel for the participants—the students, the professionals—whose seasons have been wiped out or diminished. All that training and effort for naught. I think of Rutgers men’s basketball team having all of the requisites for entry into the NCAA Tournament and ending a streak of futility dating back to 1991. Except that the streak will continue for another year because of this unforeseen event and the dire predictions.

There will be sunshine eventually. The nation and its strong people will return to normalcy, but maybe a new normalcy after what we had to endure. We will come out of this having learned to better prepare for the unimaginable and to rekindle an economy which has taken a major tumble from the turmoil. 

Sports will be a symbolic metaphor for the first steps after we emerge from the dark cloud which envelops us now. It happened in 2001 after the attack on our country. And it will share center stage again. 

I wish those who read this blog good health as well as to their dearest friends and families. Just as I wish that the athletes who have had their time to shine usurped good health and fortune as they navigate the next few weeks and months. 

What more can we wish for right now? In the meantime, I will start to clean the house, read a book or two, work on learning meteorology, practice good hygiene and wait for the day that sports once more is back and becomes the norm.