What Happens When Sports Just…Stops?

A BCSC Correspondent weighs in.

This is not a how-to or step-by-step guide for what to do when all athletic contests are canceled. There are other sites that will walk you through what to do with yourself during this societal distancing (20 Exercises that Will get those Abs Ready for your Post-Coronavirus Beach Bod!). Mostly, this piece is about the recognition of something that is usually invisible, just part of the background…how much of our community is tied into sports.

Athletics has taken the lead in this COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., with professional, collegiate, high school and youth leagues all calling a full stop on their seasons. More and more, I hear from people…people I know, people in line at the grocery store buying those last remaining rolls of toilet paper…”I don’t know what to do without sports!” I never thought I would see a time when all action in the sports-world ground to a halt. Actually, it wasn’t even grinding…you can see a grind coming prior to a labor strike, or perhaps to a protracted violent conflict (see Olympics, World War II). But the scale of this hard stop, taking many by surprise, has been unprecedented…especially at the level that’s it’s been both in the United States and internationally.

Usually, sports provides the distraction from what’s going on in the world. Upset about your work life? Watch your favorite NFL team on a Sunday. Feeling a general Winter malaise? Here comes the start of baseball and March Madness. A little bummed about the state of politics? Forget about that…the NBA playoffs and Stanley Cup are on!

Let’s talk about community. Because that’s what sports is…a community.

Even locally, and personally, I look forward to every Spring. Two of my sons play youth baseball…practices and a few games had taken place when Little League International advised every league to shut activities down for a month. While the schedule can be hectic….get everyone to school, go to work, get everyone to practice/games, make a lineup, chalk a field, etc., the hum and routine of the regular baseball season at the youth level is fun, invigorating, and brings that important c-word…community…together.

Let’s talk about community. Because that’s what sports is…a community. Whether it’s your friends who get together to commiserate about the Padres, your friends who were Charger fans and are now anti-Chargers (or maybe still root for them), or if it’s your son or daughter who participates in sports at the collegiate, high school, AAU or youth level...there is a community we have developed in all of it.

At some point, sports will be back, and there will be a bunch of us who won’t take all the highs, and lows, for granted again.

Today, my brother and a long-time friend of mine spent a short portion of Day 2 of Social Distancing texting sports trivia questions back and forth. Which 4 individuals were MLB managers in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s and 10’s (answers: Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Jack McKeon)? What were the Top 10 most clutch shots of all-time in the NBA (look to NBA TV for that one and start the debate!)? Whatever it takes during this time to maintain those relationships, even if we can’t coalesce around a sporting event, do it.

So what am I doing during this time? Shooting some baskets with my kids, playing a little whiffle ball in the front yard, watching sports reruns (as my wife calls it) on YouTube, and binge-watching Basketball: A Love Story on ESPN+. Because at some point, sports will be back, and there will be a bunch of us who won’t take all the highs, and lows, for granted again.