For many years to come, March 12th, 2020 will long be remembered as the day that the world of sports shut down. Within a matter of 24 hours, the NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS all suspended their seasons due to the growing Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, with no end in sight. Not to mention, after announcing it would be played without fans, the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments were canceled along with all spring NCAA championships such as the College World Series. It was a quick, and unexpected end to the college sports season.
As the coronavirus continued to make its way across the borders of the United States, a growing concern for the impact it could potentially have on the country, resulted in NCAA president Mark Emmert announcing that March Madness, which annually brings in over 900 million for the NCAA, would be contested without fans in the stands. However, all plans were for it, and the conference tournaments, to go on in empty arenas. That is until Thursday morning, when each of the power five conferences (Big 10, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12, ACC) canceled their men’s and women’s basketball tournaments mere minutes from tip off. That was not even the first of the day’s cancellations, as basketball fans woke up Thursday morning to realize the NBA had been shut down indefinitely, after two Utah Jazz players tested positive for the virus. Followed by that, the Patriot League followed the lead of the Ivy League by canceling all spring sports, both the regular season and conference championships. The Ivy League was the first of all sports to shut down due to the pandemic, as their decision Wednesday canceled the men’s and women’s conference basketball tournaments and promptly ended all spring sports before they could even get started.
As with most things, everyone else began piling on, as more cancellations came out by the minute. Within hours of the college basketball conference tournaments being canceled, the NCAA announced a decision that was expected, but not hoped for: the cancellation of March Madness. It didn’t seem real that this tournament could have endured World War II, the Vietnam War, and 11 recessions, but be canceled for the first time ever due to a virus. Not only March Madness, but the NCAA promptly put an end to all winter and spring championships, such as the College World Series, and NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which were set to be held in Austin in June. On the heels of that drastic decision, the MLB and MILB announced the cancellation of spring training and moved Opening Day back from March 26 “at least two weeks”. The MILB still does not have a start date, but it is expected to be on the same day, or after the MLB begins play. Around the same time, the NHL also suspended their season. It was really a day in which the snowball effect took center stage, and no more so than when 20 D1 collegiate conferences suspended or canceled their spring sports seasons. Below is a list of the more prominent conferences which have suspended play or canceled altogether.
Big 12 (until March 29, then up to league ADs)
Big 10 (until further notice)
SEC (until March 30
Pac-12 (until further notice)
ACC (until further notice)
AAC (until further notice)
Currently, the only sport still playing is golf, but with everyone else canceling and No. 1 ranked player Rory McIlroy calling for its suspension if any PGA player tests positive, I assume that by the end of the day, the PGA and golf will be put in the same category as all the other pro leagues with the eight letters next to it: canceled.
I would be remiss if I went through this whole article and didn’t not offer any of my opinion. However, I didn’t want to mix my opinion in with fact, so I’m separating them right now.
I totally understand the gravity of the situation, and any time something that is this quick-spreading begins to reveal itself, it should be stopped and precaution becomes key. However, and maybe it is just me, but it seems like the media is blowing this way out of proportion, and making it much larger than it needs to be, inciting fear and panic in the American people. If you consider this, all sports were played, without question, while the flu was coming around this past winter. The flu spreads virtually the same way, yet people were not fighting over bottles of hand sanitizer, or washing their hands every five minutes. In addition, the sad fact is that for just as many deaths from the coronavirus as there has been (41), there has been 500 times more deaths in the US from the flu in 2020 alone according to the CDC. Simply put, we cannot live in fear, and it is frustrating to see that fear is slowly taking over the world of sports as well. Yes, be precautionary. Yes, stay safe. Yes, wash your hands and try not to be in area where people are coughing and sneezing. But no, don’t isolate yourself and miss out on the opportunities we are blessed with everyday.
“Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Hopefully the world of sports returns back to normal soon, but the “what-ifs” will still arise.
They will arise regarding the Virginia Men’s Basketball team, who went on a tear in the last month of the season to finish with a share of the ACC regular season title. They will arise on UCLA’s phenomenal baseball team, which allowed 0 or 1 run in six of their first seven games. They will arise on the question as to whether Sabrina Ionescu and Oregon women’s basketball could have claimed their first NCAA title after a season in which they dominated the Pac-12. The questions will remain as no end appears in sight for the suspension of the world of sports.
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