It finally feels like we have officially reached the back nine of the pandemic. Although we are still social distancing, the fact that we have a vaccine right now tells us that we’re not far away from getting back to a sense of normalcy. Everyone has been negatively affected due to the pandemic, but it hits a little different for college students. College is supposed to be the best years of our lives, and COVID-19 has basically taken a full year away from our college life. In this time, everyone has had to create some sort of coping system to get through the pandemic, and for a lot of us, we have turned to sports. So let’s talk about some of the sports that have helped us and continue to help us through this trying time.
For a good four months, hardcore sports fans didn’t have a lot to look forward to. All professional sports were suspended, and it was really unknown if we would ever get any professional sports for the remainder of 2020. Fortunately, in July, that would all change with the return of the MLB. The MLB didn’t conduct the most perfect season, as a lot of teams had to postpone games due to virus-related reasons, but they gave us sports fans something to look forward to, and they opened the door for the NHL and NBA to continue their season and ultimately start the playoffs.
As a college student, while I was in isolation, there wasn’t much to do except for completing homework, eating and sleeping. So, once sports finally made a return it really gave people like me a lot to look forward to. Living in isolation all of a sudden becomes much easier when you know your favorite team is playing a playoff game at 7 p.m.
For many NHL and NBA fans, we felt like we were going to be robbed of the final third of our season due to COVID-19. However, both the NHL and NBA made the smart decision and decided to hold the playoffs in a bubble. Therefore, there were no stoppages due to the virus like we saw in the MLB, because players were not allowed to leave a specific area. Thankfully, the bubble was a success, because that ultimately opened the door for the NFL to restart their season with no delays. Although the NFL was a lot looser and ultimately had more COVID-19 cases within their league, they were still able to complete the season on time.
It is safe to say that for us sports fans, life in isolation has been a lot easier with sports than without it. It does truly give us more of a sense of normalcy in this time where things are anything but normal. The final step in the sports world would be to finally bring back fans to all stadiums and arenas around the country. We have seen fans return to some stadiums and arenas where the virus is a bit less of an issue. But for us New Englanders, we want to see our favorite sports teams play in person once again! The hope is that the fans will be able to return to the stands by the end of spring, when the NBA and NHL are both in their playoffs. Only time will tell, but for now, let’s just all be thankful for the fact that we don’t have to go months without our favorite sports anytime soon.