Will post-pandemic sports be a relief or reminder?

I miss sports, terribly, but I’m not convinced their return will be much of a diversion.

Maybe. Maybe not.

We’re 10 weeks into a world without sports (and movie theaters and church gatherings and sit-down restaurant dinners and going to the gym and everything else). This sports vacation is the longest such stretch since spectator sports became a major draw in late-19th century America (and probably the longest stretch since whenever people started watching others fight or race or hunt). Some sports started returning in the past few weeks–mixed-martial arts, NASCAR races, German soccer leagues. All without fans.

This weekend the absence is stronger, because Memorial Day weekend is big weekend for sports: The NBA and NHL playoffs are usually in full swing, the baseball pennant races are shaping up, the Indy 500 is held and we’re two-thirds of the way through horse racing’s triple crown.

None of those are happening. Most of the sports world froze in mid-March and remains on ice (except the NHL, of course!).

There’s some good news: Major league baseball hopes to return around July 4, the NBA is talking about resuming its season in mid-July, the NHL is similarly looking at a summertime resumption and the NFL expects to play this fall.

Other sports – minor-league baseball, most college sports and more – are done for the foreseeable future. They financially rely on fans at events rather than TV contracts. In a world without large gatherings, that’s impossible.


That includes the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball, which includes the Vallejo Admirals. It’s possible, of course, that the league could choose to play and rely on fans maintaining social distancing protocol, but it’s  a huge hurdle until there is a vaccine for the coronavirus.

So major sports could come back soon.

Even looking at the potential return of baseball, basketball football and hockey, the question how it will feel to watch sports contested in empty arenas and stadiums. How will it be to see players wearing masks on the sidelines and sitting in the stands to maintain distance? How will it be to see everything being sanitized over and over. How will it be when an athlete or coach or official tests positive for COVID-19 and the league plays on?

Will sports be a diversion from regular life or a reminder?

The NFL – likely the last to return — will probably fare the best of the major sports, with TV networks using more cameras and additional technology (microphones and cameras on players? New camera ideas?) to bring us close. Baseball will seem strange, played in empty ballparks. Hockey and basketball will be the most affected, due to how roaring crowds affect our enjoyment and excitement.

What will it be like to see an NBA team win a championship in an empty gym, with only the players and coaches celebrating? How will we be affected when we see a champion crowned in baseball or hockey and watch the post-game interviews with everyone wearing masks and gloves, avoiding each other.

Will it be an escape from reality or a harsh reminder of life in 2020?

I love and miss sports and I’ll watch.

But man, it’s going to be weird.

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.