One Year Later

At this time last year, life was still normal.  College basketball conference tournaments were being played, Spring Training was in full swing, and the NBA and NHL were gearing up for the stretch run.  Then there was an ominous message minutes before tip-off of the Jazz-Thunder game announcing that the game was postponed and suddenly all Hell broke loose. 

We soon learned the reason why--Rudy Gobert had tested positive.  And that set off a rapid-fire chain reaction that moved so quickly it was enough to give you whiplash.  Within a matter of hours, the entire sports world had been shut down indefinitely.  It would stay that way for months.

It's hard not to think about that this week, and not just because it's the one-year anniversary.  College basketball conference tournaments are being played, just like they are every March.  Except last year.  When they started, but never finished.  That's when this all got real.  One by one, every major conference cancelled the remainder of its tournament until the Big East was the only one left standing.  St. John's and Creighton tipped off at noon...only to have the game called at halftime.  And with that, the 2019-20 college sports season was over.

Within the span of about four days, the 2020 NCAA Tournament went from going ahead as scheduled to being played without fans to cancelled entirely.  That was soon extended to all remaining 2020 NCAA Championships--including the ones scheduled for that weekend.  Athletes were literally at the facility practicing for the Indoor Track & Field and Swimming Championships when they were all told to go home.  That directive even applied to the NCAA Skiing Championships, which had just begun, but wouldn't finish.

For the NCAA to outright cancel March Madness--one week before it was supposed to start--you knew this thing was serious.  And that proved to be just the start.  The NHL, NBA and MLB all shut down.  So did the XFL, which ended its inaugural season after just five games.  Even NASCAR and tennis, the most pandemic-friendly of all sports, went on pause.  All that was left was the PGA.

As everything else was shutting down on that surreal Thursday, the first round of the Players Championship got underway.  After having fans that first day, they planned on continuing the tournament behind closed doors.  That plan only lasted a few hours, and the inevitable cancellation was announced while the final four golfers were still on the course.  And with that, the entire U.S. sports landscape was silent.

This was all, obviously, a shock to the system, but we probably should've seen it coming.  The pandemic was in China first, and all their sports leagues shut down first.  Then it was all the European soccer leagues.  The Australian Football League began its season in empty stadiums...only to be shut down after the opening week of games.

Despite all the lockdowns that had spread all the way around the world by that point, preparations for the Tokyo Olympics continued.  The torch was lit in Olympia and the torch relay began, only to be halted when crowds began to gather along the route.  Eventually, as the calls grew louder and louder, the IOC gave in to the inevitable and postponed the Tokyo Games.

And with that, the once bustling international sports calendar had been ground to a screeching halt.  The sudden quiet was eerie.  And it was deafening!  One constant that we could always rely on was gone in an instant.  Not to return for months.

Everything eventually came back, of course.  But it wasn't remotely close to the same.  Games were played behind closed doors in "bubbles" as made-for-TV productions.  Events that normally take place in the spring were moved to the late summer or autumn.  Some, like Wimbledon and the British Open, were cancelled entirely.

There was one important thing missing, though.  Instead of actual fans, the players had to perform in front of cardboard cutouts and giant screens that showed people watching on TV.  Not only was it weird, it wasn't even close to the same.  The athletes did what they had to do under the circumstances, but they missed the fans.  Almost as much as the fans missed them.  Never before has the importance of a crowd been so apparent.

What's crazy about that is we've gotten so used to it by now.  It all seemed so strange at first.  Now the opposite is true.  As more and more places are loosening restrictions, more and more fans are able to attend games again.  Eventually, we'll reach the point where stadiums and arenas can have full capacities.  Maybe even without people having to take tests and wear masks.  How weird will it be when we see that on TV?  Hopefully we'll find out soon!

When Rudy Gobert tested positive, we had no idea how much our world would be upended.  Incredibly, it's been a year.  My reaction to the anniversary is both "Already?" and "Has it really been that long?" 

If anything, the COVID year has only increased our appreciation for sports.  Something we could always rely on to be there was gone in an instant.  It never even crossed our minds that could possibly happen.  Until it did.  As a result, I'll never take sports for granted again.