This week, Danny discussed the possible return date for professional sports in the U.S.
I hate to be that guy. You know, the glass-half empty guy. Nobody needs that guy right now, in a time of crisis.
But when it comes to pro sports in our country, I’m here to give you a realistic view of what’s to come. I’m here to share my opinion on what I think is going to happen next. But I prefer to give that opinion while considering all factors involved and mixing in logic.
And what I see right now is a sports world that has just as few answers for the Coronavirus as the people who lead the country. That’s not a political take, that’s just an acknowledgement of the chaos this virus has caused, and the unknown that’s come with it.
The reality is, nobody really knows when the next game will be played, in any sport. The NBA thinks it might be able to re-start its season in smaller, empty arenas this summer. The NHL most likely has similar plans. Major League Baseball has delayed the start of its regular season, but also intends on playing at some point in 2020. And the NFL believes its season will start on time in September.
Again, hate to be Debbie Downer here, but the reality is, I’m just not sure any of that is possible.
Based on the trends in other countries that were hit with the Coronavirus spread before us, it’s likely that the worst has yet to come here in the U.S. As in, we think this is bad now? Wait until the numbers rise in three weeks and the panic reaches an all-time high. And what happens after that? Does the virus just magically disappear?
The example I’ll use is with Major League Baseball. Let’s say they begin the season in mid-May, a month-and-a-half after it’s supposed to start. Then, let’s say a few people start feeling ill. They test positive for Coronavirus. They think they got it at the Red Sox vs Rays game at Fenway.
Suddenly, we’ve got Mayor Walsh and Governor Baker telling everyone who was at Fenway that night to quarantine for 14 days. But then what does the league do? They probably panic, because there will probably be more cases popping up around other ballparks. They’ll then suspend play or shut it down entirely.
Don’t give me the empty ballpark or empty arena idea. That’s dumb. I honestly don’t think the leagues will do that. But my point is, Coronavirus isn’t just going to go away as easy as we might think, even after we get through the worst of it.
That also puts the NFL season in jeopardy. It at least makes it possible for Roger Goodell to postpone the start of the NFL season.
But what if I told you that Coronavirus will keep popping up, even into the fall, even if it’s just popping up in certain sections of the country? There’s no way they can start the season with Coronavirus still present, given the steps we’re currently taking to get through this.
Even the Summer Olympics in Tokyo have been postponed. The only thing that’s still on right now is WrestleMania. But that’s been moved from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, to an empty gym in Orlando. That’s right, WrestleMania is taking place in an empty gym. It’s such a massive event, why not just postpone it to a later date?
I’ll tell you why. Because Vince McMahon knows something. His wife works for the President. My theory is that the McMahons know that it’s unlikely any sports will continue in 2020, so even if Vince postponed WrestleMania, he knows he wouldn’t be able to do it in an arena for the rest of the calendar year. So if you’re going to have WrestleMania in an empty gym anyways, just have it in an empty gym now, when it’s originally scheduled to happen.
I hope I’m wrong. I hope this is the most wrong I’ve ever been in my entire life. I need me to be wrong. We all need me to be wrong. But something tells me that we won’t see any pro sports in the U.S. again until January 2021.
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