Being thankful and responsible for the playoffs

The holiday season has arrived as Thanksgiving is upon us. Thanksgiving is known as a holiday when families gather across the nation and spend quality time with one another on the fourth Thursday in November.

But this year, it will be a different Thanksgiving for many. Since March, COVID- 19 has dominated both headlines and hospitals from coast-to-coast. COVID-19 has affected every aspect of our lives in one way or another, including in sports.

In March, in response to the rise of domestic coronavirus cases, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), in corresponding moves with other state sports bodies, shut down high school sports.

Seasons ended prematurely, fields lay empty and bleachers were barren. Many Class of 2020 seniors who played a spring sport did not get the opportunity to further pursue region titles, the state playoffs, a state championship or simply finish out their careers.

Fast forward to today, as the start of the varsity football playoffs is upon us. For teams across Georgia, including four Floyd Countybased teams, they begin the arduous task of accomplishing their goals and journeying to a place every player dreams of being in: a state championship.

However, given the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic, rules and requirements have been put in place to try to mitigate the spread. Unique to 2020, every team has been battling a common opponent, one that cannot be seen but is there.

Throughout the 2020 season, we have seen games postponed and/or canceled, but for the playoffs, there’s a new and consequential wrinkle. According to the GHSA, once the playoffs begin, a team that cannot compete in a playoff round will be forced to forfeit.

The season will come to an abrupt end for one team and the other will advance on without a single snap. The GHSA has highlighted the timeline of the playoffs as the reason for a forced forfeit.

Seniors, who have given their blood, sweat and tears over the course of four years, would suddenly see their state playoff aspirations vanish into thin air.

As we saw earlier this week, the Unity Christian Lions were scheduled to play Cherokee Christian for the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools (GAPPS) Class AA State Championship on Friday, but Cherokee Christian had to forfeit due to COVID.

Having to forfeit a championship game, let alone any playoff game, before even stepping on the gridiron and leaving everything in the tank out on the field, is an absolutely crushing feeling no one should have to experience. But, if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that there are no guarantees.

This is something that could become reality for several teams, and it already has in one case. Tuesday evening, news broke Class AA’S Banks County had to forfeit its first-round playoff game with Callaway due to quarantines and possible COVID exposures.

If COVID-19 is not taken seriously, especially in larger family gatherings around the holiday season, we could see more of these cases in the weeks ahead.

Wearing a mask, frequently washing hands and watching distance are all critical to cutting down the spread. We have heard it from public health officials across all levels for months. The vaccine may be here soon, but now is the time to step up our efforts.

What goes into a victory? It takes a team effort. The same can be said for cutting down the coronavirus.

It take a team-wide effort, from the coaches, to the captain all the way down to the freshmen, with families included too, to stop the spread in order to ensure studentathletes across Georgia can finish out their seasons, win or lose, ON the football field.

Coaches have often told me, in many different sports, “let’s control the things we can control,” or “we need to control the variables we can control.”

Washing our hands? Wearing our masks and watching our distance, even around vulnerable family members during the holidays? Those are all things we can control.

According to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus website, as of Tuesday evening, total United States COVID-19 cases stand at about 12,545,000 and continue to climb. Nearly 260,000 Americans have lost their lives, and their families’ Thanksgiving tables will never be the same.

It has robbed too much from our community, from our nation and our world.

Do not let COVID-19 steal your team’s moment of suiting up, representing their school and playing playoff football. If we want playoff games to take place unmitigated, we must all step up and be responsible.

Please make responsible choices this holiday season and have a Happy Thanksgiving.