Sports During Corona Virus

With Corona Virus still hanging around sports have been interesting this year. There are new formats with all Football, Basketball, and Baseball. Even sports at the high school level are changing rapidly, with people taking players’ temperatures before they enter the field, and most people wearing a mask while they play their sport. We’re all hoping that these changes go away sooner rather than later, but at least we have found ways to get out and do the things that we love doing.  Whether or not these changes are temporary all depends on the virus: when will it get better?  When will it disappear altogether–or will it?

In football, only 3 teams are allowing fans into the stadiums at 20% capacity. Players have the option to wear masks while they play but coaches are required to when down on the field with players. Most teams hope to have all fans back at the stadium this season, but with the corona virus still around and showing no signs of going away it seems very unlikely. The good news is that after two weeks of football still no team or player has had issues with the corona virus.  Everyone is hoping that things stay like this, because it will hurry the admission of fans back into the stadiums–not to mention football parties and tailgating every Sunday!

Basketball is probably the most interesting sport when it comes to the league approach to playing during the pandemic. The NBA decided to come up with a plan called the ‘’Bubble.’. Players must go to the bubble which is located in Orlando, Florida and stay there while their team plays. In order for the team to leave the bubble they must have an excused absence and follow the requirements that the NBA has put into place for the players to come back and play when necessary. Once the players re-enter the bubble, they have to go through a 2-week quarantine period before they will be aloud to go back and play with their team. There have been a couple of players that had to leave the bubble for family issues, but nobody has caught the virus since the move to the bubble. The NBA is just now allowing players to have their families come and watch them play in the bubble, but still no fans are allowed.

With baseball coming to an end of their regular season, there are plans for the league for the playoffs. Numerous teams have had. problems with players contracting and spreading the corona virus, so the MLB knew that they had to come up with some kind of plan. The MLB announced that they would be using a bubble format similar to the NBA’s, so the teams wouldn’t have to worry about virus and having to sit out of the playoffs, thus potentially ending the season for that team. Furthermore, this is really the only sport in which players are playing with masks on, because of all the social interaction with the players and everyone close to each other.  This is part of the reason why the MLB is coming up with this bubble format like the NBA.

When it comes to high school sports a lot has changed as well, whether it’s getting your temperature before every game to having most kids wear some kind of mask during every game.  Each team gets a pack of a dozen balls before each tournament and they have to write their name on those balls, because those are the balls the team has to use while playing to avoid spreading corona.  In case a player or coach has the virus, people sitting in the stands must maintain social distancing, and they all are required to wear a mask. It is definitely a lot let loose and enjoyable.

Although corona virus is making a lot of things difficult, fans and players alike are thrilled that sports are still being played. Yes, we all wish that everything was back to normal but all we can do is hope and pray that the virus starts to disappear; but while that might happen eventually, it doesn’t look likely for this year’s sports seasons. The top doctors are predicting a very rough fall and winter with the virus, with all the high numbers of infections, so hopefully they can come up with some sort of vaccine soon. With any luck, next year will see a dramatic change with sports–and everything–back to normal.