Sports on the mind
Nothing but time to think about favorite moments
While there have not been any games to watch due to the coronavirus, sports have still been providing much needed moments of joy over the two plus months people been away from each other.
While there are no state high school playoffs going on right now, that does not mean sports are totally out of our lives.
Locally, there have been times when sports still does what it does best, bring people together.
Giving people a break from the bad news by offering an escape into athletics, even if it is being done in a different way.
From local players drafted into the NFL, to professional and college athletes joining Zoom calls with high school athletes, rival schools engaging in distance competitions, players having virtual catches with their teammates and teams running parades past the homes of seniors.
Sports are still there even if they are not on their fields of play.
Here are a look at some of our favorites:
AN NFL DRAFT PARADE
When 2016 New Canaan graduate Lucas Niang, who played football in college at TCU was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, he did so quarantined in his parents’ home.
The town of New Canaan came out of their homes for the hometown player making it to the big time.
A parade of nearly 300 cars, led by New Canaan Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances, drove past the Niang’s home, honking car horns, flashing signs and shouting well wished to the 6- foot- 7, 315pound offensive tackle.
“This was awesome and everything I could have ever dreamed,” Niang said. “I gave my heart and soul to this town and they paid me back. It lets me know that everything I have been doing isn’t for no reason. I have a lot of supporters and I am thankful for that.”
HONORING SENIORS
Small parades became a way for high school teams to show love to their players as well, especially to seniors missing out on their final seasons.
During the week when Senior Day would have been held, a caravan of teammates, coaches and friends paraded passed the homes of Stamford’s two senior softball players Emily Ferretti and Morgan Yacavone.
Similar scenes have played out across the state, with many of the moments captured on social media such as in Waterbury where WCA softball held a driveby parade for senior captains Nefertiti Doughty and JoEva Jones.
Warde baseball honored the 15 seniors who missed out on this season with a drive- by parade.
Cheshire softball honored its seniors with lines of cars driving past the home of seniors as the players stood outside in full uniform.
VIRTUAL CATCHES
Cheshire softball is also one of many teams this spring “playing catch” virtually.
The team posted a video on Twitter that features players throwing the ball off screen and another player catching it. The video stats with the written message “Let’s help spread something different ...” and each player relaying a positive message before their throw.
Notre Dame- West Haven’s baseball team had fun with its virtual catch as did many other teams around the state.
RIVALRIES WITH A NEW TWIST
There are actual competitions going on, as well with rivals challenging each other.
In Milford, the Foran and Law softball teams played a game where each team is given 10 consecutive throws to try and hit a bucket at a distance of at least 75 feet. Each bucket hit was added to that team’s score.
They called it the Quarantine Bucket Challenge with scores for each “inning” posted on Twitter.
Law won 42- 34 with Law sophomore Grace Kantor getting nine of her ten throws in the bucket in the bottom of the seventh.
They had so much fun they ran it back with players seeing how many clean throws and catches they could make off a wall in 30 seconds from 6 feet.
ZOOMING IN
While many teams are using Zoom or other teleconferencing programs to stay connected, occasionally those calls feature special guests.
The Greenwich Cannons American Legion Baseball program held a Zoom and none other than New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone made an appearance.
Boone has a 13- year old son who plays in the Greenwich Legion program.
Alex Loparco, one of the coaches of the Senior Legion team, arranged for Boone to talk baseball with the athletes.
“They were definitely shocked when he came on the Zoom call,” said Loparco, a 2015 Greenwich High School graduate. “One of our players submitted a couple of questions to Aaron Boone and then he gave the kids an idea of what the sport is like at the highest level.”
Graduating New Canaan quarterback and future signal caller at Notre Dame, Drew Pyne, also took to Zoom, joining a call for New Canaan youth football players and answering their questions for nearly two hours.
Sports are still a part of many peoples lives and they continue to inspire hope, even at a distance.