Just a year ago today, the globe continued to spin but, for many athletes, including myself, the sports world came to a halt. Today, the sports world is fighting to get back to “normal” but still sits in limbo.
On March 9, 2020, Jazz center and two time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, decided to be a wise guy and touch every microphone in site at a press conference to poke fun at Covid-19.
Fast forward to March 11, 2020, the Jazz and Thunder stepped on the hardwood to play in front of an empty arena. Right before tip off, the game was canceled due to Gobert and Donovan Mitchell testing positive for Covid-19.
It really felt surreal watching the players talk on the court. Many Jazz players saying to the Thunder to stay away because some of their teammates tested positive. It just didn’t feel real.
In my case, I had just gotten back to campus at Massachusetts Maritime after my winter break which lasts from December to February. I was moved in, excited to see my roommates and teammates.
That first week we were back we didn’t start spring workouts yet so, I spent a lot of time in my dorm with my roommates and close friends just catching up. “How was it on the ship?” “What was Panama like man?”. We had no clue what was set to happen.
The next week, we started up spring lifts and conditioning. I was fired up about it. I hadn’t had the chance to workout with my guys for months so it felt amazing to be back. That week we were really getting after it in the weight room and on the field.
Between class and morning lifts, my friends and I found ourselves in the gym at the athletic center playing five on five basketball or on the turf throwing the football. Life was great. Then, we got the news about Gobert and thought, “that’s crazy but, there’s not way we’re getting sent home, we just got here.”
The Gobert news broke on Wednesday and our workouts for Thursday morning got canceled. I wont lie, I knew it was a conditioning day so I was a little excited. We all still went about our day with classes and meeting to play basketball.
That same night, the cadet that lived in the dorm next to me started showing signs that he was Covid-19 positive and that’s when the reality set in. Counties in Massachusetts around us were shutting high schools down, my friends at other schools in New York, Massachusetts, and North Carolina text saying that they were already moved out and heading back home.
I was rattled. That next morning at morning formation, our schools president made an announcement saying they had no intentions on sending us home. I was pissed. All of my boys were going to be home and I would be cooped up in a dorm!
Just 5 hours later, Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker held a press conference. I looked up from my plate in the dining hall like every other cadet. Our eyes were glued to the screen as he said that all schools and universities would be shutting down for two weeks. Looking back, we all wish that it was just two weeks.
Fifteen minutes later we got an email saying to clear out our dorms and go home. The school went into disarray and it was a scramble to get my room packed up. My dad arrived two hours later, I packed up his car and we headed home.
Since then, it’s been a blur. Not having football as an escape has hurt my mental health overall but, I have high hopes of getting back on the field with some of my best friends in the fall.
The professional sports world had to improvise, adapt, and overcome. The NFL got rid of the preseason and had fans at the stadium in a very limited capacity. The leagues front office handed out fines left and right to coaches who’s masks slipped under their nose and would punish teams who practiced and didn’t follow protocol.
NBA and NHL mimicked one another. Both leagues went into bubbles to complete their seasons. The NBA found themselves at Disney down in Orlando, Florida. Watching those games almost felt like 2K.
For the NHL, they split into two bubbles. The east were in Toronto and the west was in Edmonton. Unlike the NBA, the NHL had no positive tests.
Many division one football programs were able to play this past season with tight restrictions. That was the only saving grace for myself. I got to watch the Irish play big time games and this gave me just a little taste of what the college game was like again since I didn’t have a season.
This past year has been an extremely wild ride but, fingers crossed, we’re on the other side of this virus and can go back to playing college football in the fall in a normal capacity.