Tuesday night, the Dodgers took down the Rays to win their first World Series since 1988. The season is over. Now what?
Athletics in the Great American Conference are still at a halt, but teams are allowed to practice — carefully. That’s great. Now what?
The NFL is seeing its worst ratings in a matter of years; no one is embracing the game like they used to. It’s sad to see. Now what?
The NBA and NHL seasons have been over for a while. Only select conferences in the NCAA are playing. Between cancellations, plummeted ratings and seasons that came to an end, sports are at an unfortunate lull right now. There isn’t a lot going on anywhere, really. The conversations around the theoretical water cooler will be a little quieter tomorrow. And, likely, the next day, and the day after that.
Why so philosophically depressed about a lack of sports, you ask? Well, it all goes back to what exactly makes sports so great: They take your mind off of your stress and problems, if only for a moment. In a stress-filled, pandemic ridden time of life that we live in right now, it’s safe to assume everyone could use a little stress relief. Sports have the amazing power to bring us together in the hardest of times; for a short number of hours, everyone’s eyes are on the same thing. There is no stress about work or anxiety about finances or anything in between. No, just a group of people, all focused on the same thing: watching their team beat the other team. It’s amazing to see, really, how an activity based solely on competition can unify even the most fierce of competitors. For a brief moment, we’re not dealing with our issues or being consumed by the stress of 2020. We’re just people; we get to be ourselves. That’s more important than anything right now.
Unfortunately, if the pandemic continues, we may see the altered seasons that we saw recently bleed over into 2021. That means more shortened seasons, more cancellations and more time playing in “the bubble.” One of the things that makes sports able to unify us is the ability to bring us together in the same place for the same thing. We all missed this important part of sports this year. It’s hard to feel unity when you’re not together. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can’t take “the bubble” anymore.
When I talk about “the bubble,” I’m speaking, of course, about a tactic that both the NBA and MLB implemented this year. Although it has been proven that the bubble works and it works well, I bet there isn’t a sports fan out there who doesn’t yearn for the day they can be back in the stands again.
So, now what? What do we do now that sports are kind of at a lull? Well, that’s a good question. If you want to keep yourself centralized in sports, there is always offseason coverage going on if you’re on Twitter, as well as on the official league websites. There’s also highlights that you can find anywhere. If you’re looking for a replacement de-stressor, just remember that losing this escape will not deflate you. There is plenty more you can do to calm your spirit with sports officially on the back-burner. Remember how important self-care is. Spend some time in fresh air, but remember to practice social distancing. We’ll get through this time together. It won’t be for long. Good luck, everyone. I’ll see you in the stands really soon.
