The Coronavirus is Taking Over the Sports World
March 13, 2020
Yesterday was one of the wildest days in recent sports history. Coronavirus has been spreading rapidly throughout the US. Here at OP, it is even affecting us: spring sports trips have been canceled, the trip to Portugal has been canceled, and students have off Friday, March 13 for teachers to prepare if we are off for an extended period of time.
Last night, the Jazz-Thunder game was abruptly canceled after a team medic rushed onto the floor just before tip-off. After convening for a few minutes, the officials decided to postpone the game. Minutes later, news broke that Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for Coronavirus. No more than five minutes later, Adrian Wojnarowski dropped one of his biggest “Woj Bombs” ever, declaring the NBA was indefinitely suspending the season.
Earlier in the day, the NCAA announced there will be no fans at any of the Men’s March Madness games. The only people allowed in the arena are family and “essential staff.” The same protocol will be followed for the women’s tournament as well. In addition, the Big 10 and the “power five” tournaments have been canceled. Other tournaments have not yet been canceled, but I suspect they will.
The Ivy League canceled their conference tournament as well. Lucky for Yale, they get to move onto the NCAA Tournament and play in front of tens of thousands of fans… oh, wait nevermind. The Ivy League also canceled ALL SPRING sports. This I think is out of hand. I think a delayed start or suspending the season until further notice would be more appropriate. However, maybe it is for the best because those are the kids who are going to find a vaccination for this.
The MLB has already closed spring training clubhouses to media. Also, the Rangers-Mariners Opening Day series will be relocated. The Dodgers, A’s, and Padres will all have their home openers postponed or relocated. It will be interesting to see whether or not the MLB will postpone (which I think will happen) Opening Day or play without fans for an indefinite period of time.
Overall, it is clear the Coronavirus is TAKING OVER the sports world. No NBA (for now), no fans at March Madness or conference tournaments, no spring sports for the Ivy League, and already some MLB postponements. Whether or not Coronavirus is a fluke or something serious, the sports world has chosen the latter.
