By JEFF TIRRELL
As the state continues its slow emergence from the coronavirus pandemic, there is a sense that sports, both locally and regionally, may at long last be springing back to life. Local youth sports organizations were planning their seasons back in the spring and taking registrations just as the pandemic hit Massachusetts. The Celtics and Bruins saw their seasons suspended, and spring training came to an abrupt halt and the Red Sox are still waiting to begin their season. College sports cancelled their spring seasons completely.
Local youth sports organizations have been in a holding pattern since March. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced this week that the exact date for the start of Phase 2 of the state’s reopening will be revealed on Saturday. If all goes as planned, Phase 2 begins next Monday.
Part of Phase 2 allows amateur sports and summer camps to operate, albeit with many restrictions. How those restrictions will impact the ability to run, say, a baseball or softball league safely remains to be seen. Sports that can be played with very little close interaction among the participants, such as golf, have already started back up, with restrictions. But having full-contact sports like football which, by its very nature, includes very close interaction among the competitors, will certainly be more problematic.
I conducted an informal survey of some local high school football coaches and asked them what they thought the percentage chance was that there would be a 2020 high school football season. The most optimistic coach said it was less than 50%. One coach put the chances at only 1%.
Even at the highest levels of sports: Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL, NFL, and major college sports, there is concern about the safety of the athletes and support staff, as well as the real possibility of starting a season, only have to pump the brakes on it if significant infection rates present themselves. In the case of a major spike in cases, logic dictates that sports would go right back on hold again.
In short, the world of sports in the Covid 19 Era is not unlike every other area of life: cautious optimism still overshadowed by understandable apprehension. We wait…still.