When we write the Beacon Update, we typically talk about UMass Boston sports, with the goal of delivering regular weekly updates. Unfortunately for all of us, we haven’t had sports here at UMass Boston in over eight months. So this week, instead of talking about the sports teams at UMass Boston, I want to talk about the sports fans here at UMass Boston and what they have to look forward to while the Little East Conference works to find a way to resume sports during this time.
There are no football teams here at UMass Boston, so the NFL season is always something to be excited about here on campus. Luckily, the NFL has been able to work around the pandemic and continue playing without any stoppages, rescheduling only a few games. The NFL is currently entering week 11 and has shown no signs of stopping. Also, Division I college football is in full swing, so for those of you who are big football fans, you should be getting a good fix this time of year.
For those of you who are big fans of the basketball team here at UMass Boston, I am sorry to say that basketball doesn’t look like it will be played on campus until Fall 2021. However, if you miss basketball in general, I am happy to tell you that the NBA will return on Dec. 22. This should serve as an ideal Christmas gift for those of you who are big fans of the NBA.
Like the basketball team here on campus, the men and women’s hockey team will not be given an opportunity to compete at least until Fall 2021. Here in Boston, hockey is a really big deal, and people take it very seriously. Unfortunately, for Boston Bruins fans, the NHL has yet to officially agree on a start date for the NHL season. However, it has been rumored that the NHL will start in the beginning of 2021, perhaps even on Jan. 1.
For those looking forward to spring sports here at UMass Boston, it looks like you will have to wait another year. Even though a vaccine may be on the horizon, it seems that there will be no guarantee that it will be distributed through the U.S. fast enough to restart everything. This means that spring sports will be pushed back just as fall sports were and that there won’t be any in-person classes until next fall.
However, for those who just want to watch their favorite sports, 2021 seems like it will be your year, as the NFL, NBA and even the NHL are set to return come January. It also looks like the MLB should be starting on time next year as well, for those of you who are big Boston Red Sox fans.
Over the past few months, the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB showed us that they can still put together a decent sports product even within the midst of a pandemic. Now that they were able to do that, it is unlikely that we will ever go into another season unprepared for an issue such as COVID-19. This means that we will probably never see another abrupt stoppage like we saw last spring.