“The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” That’s the way legendary journalist Jim McCay used to introduce ABC’s popular TV show, The Wide World of Sports. I was reminded of the phrase this week when the Sumner Olympics were postponed.
I’ve heard some friends say it’s almost agonizing to not have any sports to follow during the Coronavirus quarantine. No March Madness, no opening day of Major League Baseball, and no A-Day. Considering how horrible this pandemic is, the loss of spring sports should not be compared with agony. However, I have to admit, I am going through a bit of withdrawal with the cancellation of all sports.
Today, we should be watching the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight with the Final Four coming up next week on April 4th and A-Day a week later on April 11th. And opening day for Major League Baseball was supposed to take place on Thursday March 26, BUT the coronavirus intervened.
The situation is far more worrisome than just the cancellation of spring and summer sports. I’m not talking about the threat of the virus to our health and our economy. I’m referring to talk lately intimating the 2020 college football season may have to be shortened or not take place at all.
CBS’s Dennis Dodd wrote a lengthy article this week postulating the cancellation of the entire season. And ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreet told TMZ sports he doesn’t believe there will be a 2020 football season.
The ESPN analyst said that it will be difficult to have a season when a vaccine can not be ready for 12 to 18 months. “I don’t know how you let these guys go into locker rooms and let stadiums be filled up and how you can play ball,” Herbstreit said. “I’ll be so surprised if that happens.” I sure hope Herbstreit’s analysis is incorrect.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that having sports return is not as important as getting this pandemic under control. I feel for all those who have lost income or gotten sick or lost love ones. I in no way seek to minimize the seriousness of the situation. However, at the same time I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have football this fall.
If that should happen, it will be devastating to the fans and even more so for the economy. But in the grand scheme of things, it would not compare to the anguish of lost jobs and loss of life. It’s uncharted territory to be sure. We’ve not come this way before.
We pray for the ones who have contracted this disease, for the health care workers who are fighting it, and for the leaders who have to make the decisions to deal with the catastrophe.
The pandemic has affected almost all of us in some way, including our coverage of Auburn Sports here at Track ‘Em Tigers. Since there are no athletic events or recruiting taking place, there’s not much we can bring our readers. So until the coronavirus is defeated, and all our lives return to some type of normalcy, stay safe and …
War Eagle!
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from Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog http://trackemtigers.com/could-there-really-be-no-college-football-in-2020/
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