Sports world has no choice but to take orders from others about return
The sports world is getting a little antsy these days. America’s big four men’s pro sports leagues are all developing plans as if something is going to happen relatively soon, when probably nothing is going to happen relatively soon. Are we really going to have baseball in July and football in September in the middle of a pandemic?
If we do, the term “spectator-less sports” will instantly join “social distancing” and “flattening the curve” as significant phrases in the lexicon of 2020. Millions of fans want their sports back, and we all can use an escape, but wishing and hoping will not make it so.
You know who’s going to make it so? Not league commissioners or conference officials.
Not billionaire owners or millionaire players. In this extraordinary time, the high and mighty in the world of sports have to take orders from somebody else.
Governors and mayors run our sports world right now. Our elected local leaders are the most powerful people in sports today, as they should be.
When the NFL announced its 2020 schedule a few days ago, commissioner Roger Goodell said any decisions would be made “based on the latest medical and public health advice, in compliance with government regulations.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot put it a bit more bluntly in a statement.
“While it breaks my heart that I can’t watch my White Sox play [and okay, the Cubs too], the health and safety of our residents must come first,” she said. “This means placing a hold on activities which attract large crowds until we are confident in our ability to prevent the spread of Covid-19. While I believe the MLB is working on creative ways to address these public health concerns, for now, this means that Chicago isn’t playing.”
Chicago isn’t playing, says the mayor of Chicago. Any questions?
The Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds aren’t rushing back either, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said in a recent interview.
“They’re going to have to come forward with a plan,” he said of MLB, “and the state is going to have to say if that plan’s OK.”
It’s interesting to see what the people who are actually in charge are saying compared to those who think they’re in charge, but really aren’t.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) recently called MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to tell him the country “needs baseball.” While many of us enjoy and miss baseball, what the country actually needs is testing, contact tracing and researchers working day and night to find treatments and a vaccine for COVID-19. Baseball is just a lovely extra in our lives.
McConnell does have his allies, and it will come as absolutely no surprise that they can be found in college football.
Some coaches and commissioners are itching to play this fall. As more universities announce they will be opening in August or September for classes, the prospect of college football games being played this season grows. It’s going to be fascinating to see what happens when some schools in a particular conference are potentially ready to play, while others might still be shut down by a governor or mayor.
All for one and one for all? Maybe not. Listen to Penn State’s James Franklin for a preview of the coming chaos.
“Arizona is going to be very different than New Jersey,” Franklin said in a Zoom teleconference last week. “Maryland is different than Florida. I don’t think you’re going to like it and I don’t think people are going to be happy about it, but in reality, I don’t see how you’re going to be able to hold up 10 or 12 schools in one conference because of two states that are opening up a month later.”
Over the past two months, the pandemic has taught us quite a bit about our communities, our culture and ourselves. Throw sports into the mix, and it’s about to tell us a lot more.
(USA Today/TNS)