By: Daniel Maiorana, Contributor
March 12th was the worst day in a long time for the world of sports. We saw the NBA, NCAA, NHL, PGA Tour, ATP & WTA Tours, and the MLS come to a complete stop. The last we got to see of sports in March was the Thunder vs. Jazz basketball game on March 11, 2020. What began to end the confusion of the coronavirus outbreak was Rudy Gobert, a center for the Jazz, touching the microphone in front of him during an interview. When Gobert and other players from all sports started to test positive, the world of sports knew they had to make some crucial decisions about the future of their leagues. Months went by with nothing to see on TV, and it felt like the only thing left to do for sports fans at home was to play some ping pong or shoot hoops in the driveway.
The first sports that saw a comeback to the world were golf and tennis, thanks to the premeditated social distancing that the sports have. The sports came back professionally for fans to watch in late May. The golf and tennis fans were excited to watch some live action for the first time since March. Sports fans were thrilled when they heard about “The Match II.” Tiger Woods, possibly the greatest golfer of all time, paired up with an NFL legend, Peyton Manning, to take on Phil Mickelson, another golf legend, paired with the GOAT of football, Tom Brady. This event showed the world how much we really missed sports, as 5.8 million fans around the world turned on their televisions to watch a match that many said was an example of how televised golf should always be played. As for the PGA Tour, it resumed in early June with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, and has been going strong since with weekly events. For the tennis world, we saw a brand new format in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown held at the Mouratoglou Academy in Southern France during June and July. Patrick Moratoglou, who currently coaches Serena Williams, organized weekly events that brought fans an exciting new format of tennis. Similar to golf, fans loved how the sport came back from the pandemic, as young players got to show off their hard work during quarantine in a safe environment. Also, similar to “The Match II,” the Ultimate Tennis Showdown had players and coaches communicating with each other throughout matches. Another innovation, not having line judges, provided a good view of what tennis may look like in the future. However, It was not until August until the ATP and WTA tours resumed in New York, with events such as the U.S. Open, where players had to self-quarantine if they wanted to participate.
Quarantining and social distancing are two major problems that struck the team sports league owners. Just like the U.S. Open for tennis, the NBA made a great comeback in late July with their bubble strategy where players would be confined in their own hotel rooms in Orlando, Florida, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. The NHL also followed the bubble protocol in two different cities: Edmonton, and Toronto. The NBA and NHL recently wrapped up their season, proving that the bubble was a huge success in getting athletes back to their normal lives. The leagues that have seen the most confusion are the only leagues without social distancing or a bubble. The MLB is currently completing its weirdest season in 117 years, with only a 60 game season and teams from the same division from both leagues only playing each other. The MLB was under lots of speculation as commissioner Rob Manfred said there was going to be no season multiple times, but the league officials made it work. Many COVID-19 cases have come from teams and as the result of that, and many games have been suspended. Besides this issue, this MLB season has gone pretty smoothly, using the bubble strategy for the postseason, and it has paid off for their very tight schedule.
The NFL has also had to reschedule games due to COVID-19 outbreaks, while many players exhibiting symptoms have had to sit out. The most controversial thing fans have seen this year is the league fining teams upwards of a quarter of a million dollars for not following the mask protocol. Coaches not wearing a mask have been individually fined $100,000, and this shows that NFL officials are not going to let COVID-19 affect their season whatsoever. The only problem the NFL has seen from a schedule standpoint is similar to the MLB, as some teams have had outbreaks and have been forced to postpone some games. The NFL, unlike the MLB, is willing to extend their season because they know how important it is to have televised games that fans are beginning to be welcomed to, such as NCAA football and the MLS. The NCAA schools and MLS teams have let their games have a 20-25% fan capacity, which is making a statement to other leagues that as long as fans are socially distanced, they can enjoy live sports in a safe environment.
The problems these leagues are conquering are very impressive and the fans have seen great strides being made to bring back their favorite leagues. What drives the league officials to resume play and bring fans back to the stadiums is not so much a financial issue, but the problem that league officials focus on is wanting to see their sports go back to normal. Each week there seems to be new problems for leagues to face due to the pandemic, but until someone finds a vaccine, league officials have to use what they have and keep everything safe until the time comes. The proposed questions of how each league will deal with the virus have all been answered, and thankfully us sports fans have seen these leagues make tremendous strides in the right direction during this pandemic.