No one thought we’d see the day. On Mar. 11, 2020, the world changed. Professional sports were all affected due to the global pandemic known as the “Coronavirus”. The NBA, cancelled. The NHL, cancelled. College sports, cancelled. The MLB, postponed. It goes on and on, and it doesn’t stop there. The point being, out of the safety of the world population there will be no sports for a decent period of time. How long that will last is uncertain. What is certain and a priority, is the health of our loved ones.
The impact that this will have is going to be significant. The United States hadn't experienced a time without sports since 9/11, and before that the world hadn’t been in this situation since World War II. People relied on sports not only for entertainment, but for some, it was their livelihood. It was also an escape from problems that people dealt with on a daily basis. Sports were important, that’s a fact, but what people are starting to realize is that there’s more to life than sports. To put it simply, it’s bigger than a game.
This was also well put by Jayson Stark when he was on 97.5 The Fanatic the other day. Stark has been covering baseball for places like The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Athletic, and ESPN for over 40 years. In his interview, Stark said, “I don’t think we can figure out anything in sports or in life right now. When are they going to play baseball again? I don’t think anyone knows.”
What is difficult is seeing seniors in college miss out on opportunities. The Penn State Nittany Lion Basketball team embodies this example as the school has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2011. This year, they were destined to make the Big Dance. Seniors Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins have been through a lot. They’d given their blood, sweat, and tears to the program and in late March, their effort was finally going to be rewarded. Unfortunately, due to the tournament being cancelled, they will never get that opportunity. Countless players across the country are in similar positions, and the only thing we can do is honor their careers the best we can.
On a more personal note, since colleges are moving to online classes, and sports are cancelled/postponed, I will most likely start doing different content. It may range from favorite sports moments/memories to more movie/tv talk as well. I would just like to thank everyone that has worked with me over the past year. Personally, this has been my best year of college so far due to the fact that I was able to work on this blog, broadcast and beat write games, write articles for CommRadio, and create videos for my YouTube channel. To everyone that I have met and worked with, thank you, you guys mean more to me than you know. To my friends and family who have supported me, your advice and praise keeps me going, so for that, I am forever grateful.
By no means is the end, actually, it’s only the beginning. I started this journey in late July, and have no plans to stop. I’m not letting this pandemic affect the amount of content I want to put out, it’ll only affect what types of things I distribute as I previously mentioned. Broad Street Bros, the vlogs and videos, and this blog will continue as promised.
To everyone that has been affected or know people affected by the “Coronavirus”, my thoughts and prayers to go out to you and your families and urge everyone to do what they can to stay safe and healthy.
Sports and our way of life will change, but we can and will get through this. Just be patient, spend time with your family, do what you love, and be thankful for what you have.