COVID-19 changed our world perhaps permanently in some ways. What will social gatherings look like going forward? When do we return to normal? What does normal look like?
These questions from the foundation of a new series where we look at how the virus and response impacts our world and specific aspects of life. Our first realm is the pro sports leagues and their collegiate counterparts.
Big time sports has several characteristics violating COVID-19 protocol: big crowds, travel, physical activities, sweating, and close proximity in some cases. Each compromises efforts to mitigate he outbreak.
So prudence and caution mandates suspending competition and even outright cancellation in some cases. Yet the consequences are huge. Lost games yield lost revenues which leads to lost jobs. And this is not limited to teams or organizations. This kills TV especially ESPN but also the networks.
The first example, spring college sports, highlights all of these issues. The NCAA basketball tournament aka March Madness is a huge ratings boon for ESPN and CBS. The NCAA hosts championship tournaments for both men and women. But the tournaments are critical to the NCAA as it is the main source of revenue for the organization. Yes college football brings in more but the NCAA as an organization sees none of that as all football revenue flows to the schools.
It is fascinating to examine how leagues and organizations work through this historic situation. The decision-making process is fascinating. The money side helps explain why the NCAA first explored holding all tourney games absent crowds save close family. What scene that would have been replacing college sports known for pageantry and passion with huge empty arenas. Th NCAA along with college presidents and conference commissioners also considered holding all games in one location or maybe four total.
However, the decision-makers ultimately cancelled both tournaments. They quickly proceeded to yank non-revenue sports such as baseball, softball, golf, and tennis. These moves were less painful as non-revenue get that name for a reason. Cutting these seasons saved schools $$$.
So how are other leagues handling the crisis. And which big dominoes are lined up? Here is the schedule for the week:
Tuesday-Baseball
Wednesday-NBA
Thursday-NFL
Friday-College Football
Basically, the series proceeds according to the sports. We just covered events that would have ended by now or were in mid-season. Major league baseball was scheduled to start its season two weeks ago so we consider the consequences and options for the grand old game tomorrow!
The lengths all sports went to, including the NHL (National Hockey League), was very surprising to me. Hockey is a big part of my life so it definitely has felt like something has been missing considering there hasn't been any games since the beginning of March. Right now the Stanley Cup Playoffs would be happening and my team would've just scraped by to get in.
It's not a fun situation to be in but I understand why all the sports have halted in play for the time being. It is nice to see all the arenas supporting their employees though and are still paying them. It is also cool to see the teams and fanbases come together to try to…
It is hard to imagine all those who work at sports fields, tv networks, etc. losing their jobs because of this. However, maybe this will provide the cultural shift we need to realize a game is a game-should it really be worth billions of dollars? What if that money was spent towards ending poverty, hunger, famine, etc. and spreading the gospel across the globe? The amount of money Americans spend on sports, Halloween costumes, entertainment, etc. would be enough to end world hunger if every person limited their "fun" spending only a little. Anyways, I am curious to see the decisions the higher ups make about sports...
-Kelly M.
As being really close with a bunch of guys they’re absolutely bored without sports. I guess I never realized how much people actually depend and worship Sports. It’s cool to see people getting outside and interacting with people. My dad said that at the end of this he hopes people learn to worship God and pay attention to God instead of Sports.
This is very interesting! I have seen multiple posts that talk about how God is kind of using this situation to dethrone the idols that society has created for itself. I think sports and media definitely fall under that category, along with many other things. This is just one idol among many.