It was a far-fetched idea that all sporting competition would one day cease. Sure, war and the 9/11 attacks have stopped them in the past, but no one could have foreseen this pandemic causing the widespread abandonment of sporting competition at the beginning of 2020. Months later, sporting competition has made a cautious restart. However the impact of Covid-19 on sporting competition is still clear. In fact fans, athletes and team owners may be feeling the repercussions of Covid-19 for a long time. Yet the public’s zeal for sports remains as acute as ever. Here is how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted each major sport.
NBA – Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert’s Covid-19 test would prove consequential for the rest of the NBA season. On March 11, league commissioner Adam Silver announced the suspension of all games raising doubts about the league’s ability to complete the season. However following months of negotiations, the league announced the resumption of the season with a 22-team fanless Disney World bubble. However, the finals’ October conclusion raised doubts about when the 2020-2021 season could begin. Silver announced hopes that the new season could commence on Christmas Day, but that start date is yet to be finalized.
MLB – Although Major League Baseball did not have its season interrupted by the spread of Covid-19, its usual March opening day was pushed back several months till league commissioner Rob Manfred could decide what the season would look like. However, negotiations with the MLB Players’ Association proved fruitless and the league instead imposed a massively reduced 60-game season on all teams. Games were to be played in the absence of fans and teams were to give the players the ability to opt out. The shorter season means that despite the league’s July 24th start, the MLB’s 2020 season would end on time.
NFL – The National Football League also escaped having its season upended by the Covid-19 pandemic. However there were still many unknowns about the upcoming 2020 season. Negotiations with the NFL Players’ Association helped all parties settle on an on-time start date, however its usual four-game pre-season was an early casualty. Despite the NFL’s vow to push widespread testing of players, coaches and staff, positive Covid-19 tests have surfaced, with the most high-profile player being New England Patriots’ QB Cam Newton, as reported by lines.com. The NFL lines also gave teams the ability to decide if they were going to admit fans, however few teams have chosen to do so.
2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was perhaps the least willing sports body to announce the postponement of their games, and for good reason. With so many moving parts, the quadrennial sporting event is long awaited and requires massive amounts of planning and coordination. While the games have been cancelled before, till now they had never been postponed. However on March 24th, the IOC announced the inevitable. While the games were to keep the Tokyo 2020 name, they were to be moved to 2021. Also while there is no guarantee that there would be a working vaccine, the IOC has vowed that the existence of a vaccine would be no barrier to the commencement of the games.
NHL – Like the NBA, the NHL would see their season interrupted by the pandemic. Games having been halted on March 12th, league commissioner Gary Bettman was left with a hard decision to make. Following months of negotiation, the league announced that competition would resume on August 1st. However games were to be played in two bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton. In the end, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars to win the Stanley Cup, however, the late restart put a question mark over the beginning of the 2020-2021 season. Bettman has announced his desire for competition to resume on January 1st.
The unrestrained surge of the pandemic has put a lot in doubt. While many have celebrated the return of sports, until a working vaccine is formulated, regular sporting competition will always have to look over its shoulder. Despite this, sports are finding a way to survive.
