By DREW HECHT and LINDSEY KOMSON
What once seemed like an unimaginable nightmare has become a new reality that’s never been seen before. This new way of life imposed by the coronavirus pandemic has taken away all normalcy from our daily lives, including professional sports.
Despite having been 3 months since the pandemic stopped professional sporting events, it does not mean that fans have completely come to terms with it. Sophomore Matt I. is still in shock concerning the enormity of this crisis. “To live through something like this is really crazy. I never really believed that anything could stop sports from happening, but here we are,” he said.
This extended period without sports has left a lot of time for fans to speculate how and when their beloved pastimes will return. Jericho English teacher Ms. D’Antonio also elaborated on how she feels about this issue, adding that “the what-ifs are maddening.”
With frustrated fans longing for players and organizations to make a comeback as soon as possible, all major sports leagues have attempted to propose the safest plans to reopen. Most of these plans include stadiums without fans which raises the questions of when fans can finally return to stadiums and if it will be safe when that happens. Jericho English teacher and multisport coach Ms. D’Antonio said, “I am going to treat the re-opening of stadiums in the same way that I am going to respond to the gradual lift of our quarantine. I’m going to let the first wave check it out for me, then I’ll come out of hiding.”
Ms. D’Antonio is not alone when it comes to feeling how strange it will be to return to live sporting events. Co-principal Mr. Cohen said, “I would imagine that even if we do go back into stadiums, we’re going to be in masks, and when you go out in public in a mask, it feels weird.”
Some sports like basketball and hockey have announced their restart plans. The NBA announced a 22 team restart format with all the games being played (without fans) at the Disney World Wide Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida beginning July 31st. Each team will play 8 regular season games with the standard 8 teams per conference qualifying for the playoffs.”
The NHL canceled the rest of their season and are attempting a 24 team restart. In this scheme they would go straight to the playoffs with a different format than normal. No date has been announced for the NHL season return.
While live sports have been absent from our lives, students and teachers have found ways to fill that void in their day to day activities. On April 14th, Mr Berry was able to get New York Mets star and last year’s National League Rookie of The Year, Pete Alonso, to make an appearance in a lesson. “I made a donation to his new charity, which is called Homers for Heroes, and I ended up getting a shout out from him. So that was phenomenal. It was just a very cool experience,” said Mr. Berry.
Students highly enjoyed the surprise. Sophomore Emma S. said, “It was super cool and creative of him to do something like that for the lesson. I really enjoy all of his lessons, he keeps them fun and interesting for his students”.
Jericho senior Matthew R. embarked on an ambitious project with his family in order to fill the hole left by the absence of professional sports. They began a blog called “Rothstein Family 30 for 30” on which they write about their favorite athletes. As a self-proclaimed “sports obsessed family” they worked together to create an online database of their favorite athletes. Matt felt it was a very unique way to connect with the important people in his life. “I was able to learn more about athletes who are special to my family, and how sports plays such a huge role in bringing my family together,” he said.
Some other fans’ emotional states are suffering since they miss their favorite teams competing. Evenings have lost a sense of normalcy. According to junior Katerina S., “When the clock hits 7:10, it doesn’t feel right without watching the puck drop on MSG anymore.”
Fans spend a great deal of time and energy wishing. Sophomore Sydney L. said, “I hope they come back really soon, but I think that’s going to take a bit of time to happen.”
Until then, reruns on cable TV will just have to do.