How COVID 19 Has Changed The World Of Sports Forever
Since the start of the pandemic, so much has changed in the entire world, let alone in the world of sports. After months of waiting for an event to finally arrive, people find out it’s been canceled. While it’s been some time since the world has begun to adjust to the “New Normal”, it still looks like things won’t go back to the way they were anytime soon. In fact, it looks to be more likely that all these new adjustments will be here to stay – at least for a while. We all hope for this whole ordeal to be over soon, but for the time being, we need to deal with what’s going on now, and that is a covid-filled world. So, for now, let’s discuss how the world of sports has been impacted, what’s being done about it, and what will never be the same.
No Games
Let’s start at the beginning. When this whole mess started, all games had to come to a halt and be put on hold. The Olympics, regional games, professional leagues, and even collegiate games were all either canceled or postponed. For obvious reasons, big crowds couldn’t be gathered anywhere, let alone in a stadium packed to the brim with screaming fans. The planned 2020 seasons have been pushed off, meaning that the entire calendar has been pushed back as well. It’s not clear whether the seasons will be back to their normal schedule once the world overcomes the pandemic.
Fewer Teams
Surprisingly, the pandemic might actually facilitate quicker expansion in major pro sports leagues seeing as the owners need cash in new markets. However, minor-league and college levels teams don’t have the same abilities. They’re more likely to lose teams and downsize throughout the season. Already, minor league baseball is facing the widespread possibility of teams losing affiliations in the near future. Minor-league franchises are now enduring the absence of a 2020 season which is a huge threat to their survival. If the pandemic continues to wipe out games in 2021, more minor-league teams in other sports will most likely face the same problems.
Slow Return
Today, some sports teams are returning to play some games – without audiences, of course. This is happening less than four months after everything had been shut down due to the virus. Still, there have been players who’ve chosen to sit out the season rather than risk contracting the virus while playing. This is a result of the coronavirus outbreak in the Miami Marlins a few months back. It’s more than understandable, clearly. Despite the fact that games are starting to trickle back into play, things will still be different than before.
Unknown Future Impacts
As much as we’d all love to know just how this pandemic will impact the world of sports in the future, anyone’s guess is as good as ours. It’s impossible to know how things will look even in a few months, let alone in a few years. When asked about their predictions as to how sports will be impacted by the virus, sports reporters have had mixed opinions. Some claimed that the lack of large audiences will kill events such as the Olympics. Some said that amateur athletes will suffer funding losses initially, but perhaps new models will come into play and cut out some middlemen. Perhaps sports will become entertainment that will only be available on television rather than live? No one can truly know.