Will COVID-19 be the needle that finally bursts the sports bubble?

I think it depends on where you are. In March/April/May when things were really bad in my area, I didn’t think about sports much at all. As we got it under control and some things start to reopen? Sure. I’d like to watch baseball and the NBA.

My guess is places that are currently getting hit hard have a lot of people who felt like I did a few months ago.

 

I can already see some of the first few sidebars and columns about oh, how sports is our saving grace!

BASW '22: Oh Sports, We Can't Quit You!

lol

Here's a golden oldie:

 

Haven't missed pro sports as much as I thought I would. But if there's no football in the fall, I'll definitely miss it.

Still, with the rate the virus is spreading among young people, pulling the plug on high school and college football this fall appears to be the right call to make — unless things improve drastically.

And that would hit home for me: My son's NAIA team probably won't play, and he's just about done with his degree. Would have been a redshirt junior this year, probably looking to play one more season and graduate in December 2021.

A lot of his teammates — and college athletes in all the fall sports — could be done playing due to the pandemic. Not the way they want to end their sports careers.

 

People will definitely miss sports. But if the willful inaction of Trump and his klan compel renewed restrictions — even Abbott in Texas is admitting that possibility— people will have more to worry about than a lack of SEC football. It didn’t have to be this way.

 

That's the key. If you can't afford to test and provide the same safeguards as the Power 5 teams you intend to play, that sucks for you. It also means you don't have an ethical argument when the big boys cancel on you.

 

I'm starting to wonder about college basketball.
At least in Power 5 football, I think most teams will be equipped with specialized helmets that include shields over the nose and mouth to mitigate the spread of the droplets we've heard so much about. Basketball players don't wear helmets. They can't wear masks. They're in close contact with others for long periods of time. Just sounds very problematic.
The NBA's going first, of course. If it fails and has to shut down, the college game will be justifiably freaked out.

 

It’s one thing to put 22 teams in a bubble. It’s quite another to do the same with 351. If college basketball does happen, it’s only because the decision was made to go ahead and screw anyone who gets it.

 

This seems optimistic on the Jaguars' part.

The way things are going, I have trouble picturing fans being able to attend anything through the end of 2020. MLB's 2021 opener? OK, hopefully.

 

One positive test on-site and the team's gone. So far, four of the original 24 have been DQ'd.
Daily testing. Stricklands mask requirements.
The Basketball Tournament is ahead of curve on COVID-19 protocols (and pitfalls) | Mike Jensen