Muscle Sport Magazine

The Day the Sports World Went Dark

Pikrepo

Sports fans use the games as an escape from the ‘real world’ so they can enjoy a few hours to get away from deadlines, rush hour, politics, the evening news and even their families, at times. Such is not the case on this dark day in the history of the various sports that we have come to rely on for more than just entertainment. There will be no games played for the foreseeable future until the coronavirus is contained enough to allow the players to at least return to the practice facilities. Then hopefully there will be televised games, even if the fans are not allowed into the arenas and/or stadiums, respectively.

It was just a day or so ago that many scoffed at the notion of games being played in empty facilities; who wouldn’t plunk down an overcharged pay-per-view fee for a Grapefruit League game right now? It appeared to be overkill when the Arnold Sports Festival Expo was cancelled last weekend, but that seems like the right decision with all of the dominoes that have fallen since then.

Last night, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became ‘patient zero’ in the sports world by testing positive for the COVID-19 virus while the team was in Oklahoma City literally ready for the opening tip-off before the game was cancelled. Subsequently, Gobert’s teammate Donovan Mitchell has also tested positive. These events caused NBA commissioner Adam Silver to announce a halt to the season until further notice.

That set off a rapid pace of other sports and leagues making announcements that at first seemed like a sign of hope, such as the NCAA releasing a statement that the March Madness tournament would go on, but only certain staff and close family members of players would be allowed into the venues. That ended up being scratched and the entire tourney was shelved, as was spring training baseball, the NHL and XFL. Regarding the latter, this may be the death knell for a league in its inaugural season and seeing attendance and ratings go on a downward trend after a promising start. Hopefully, that will not be the case.

As of right now, Major League Baseball intends to play the regular season, albeit with a two-week delay to start the campaign. This is all pending more information, but this seems like a best-case-scenario situation that will in all likelihood be pushed back even further.

One thing is for sure – the rating for ESPN Classic will be sky high for the next few weeks.

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