The ongoing pandemic has accomplished what nothing, with the possible exception of world wars, has done: affected professional sports. At this writing, the MLB, NBA, and NFL are all in progress… but not without a certain toll. News of at least twenty-two (22) Tennessee Titans players testing positive for COVID-19 have threatened not only upcoming games, but the season as well.
As a huge sports fan, I admire the resolve shown by the three aforementioned leagues attempting a return to some sort of normality. However, in this case the opponent is much too powerful. The truly scary part, beyond the players themselves, are those in close contact with the players. Family members, friends… all susceptible to contagion and posing serious threats of outbreaks.
Particularly sad for this football fan, because I was just beginning to get back into my yearly routine of enjoying the NFL season and rooting for my favorite players and teams. Even if the season were to continue, it will undoubtedly go down in history with a gigantic asterisk, caused by forfeited games, infected players, and thus affected games.
One need only to think of the Tokyo Olympic Games to realize the vast and terrible effect of the pandemic on sports. Two previous world wars had caused outright cancellation of Olympic Games… but the 2020 Games have been pushed back to 2021. It begs the question regarding the 4-year gap that has been maintained since the 1896 Games in Athens, and the 2024 Games currently scheduled for Paris, France.
My two favorite professional sports are football and boxing. The latter seems to be coming back, without the crowds of course. In the NFL, I was particularly curious as to the fortunes of Tom Brady as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and of the Brady-less New England Patriots, with super-coach Bill Belichick still at the helm. But COVID’s reality check continues to threaten the season.
Fans are likely even getting a bit used to seeing the comical cardboard cutouts at the stadiums and arenas. I’m not sure whether this is mostly for the players’ benefit, or that of the TV audience being spared the sight of empty seats. Sad and comical at the same time.
My second team in the NFL is the Las Vegas Raiders, and while my first Team is the Buc’s I was really not much engaged with the Brady hype. In fact I was really looking forward to go see The Raiders in their new home and to see if they had the same success of Las Vegas Knights. Who wants to go to Tampa when you can party in Vegas!!! But Covid threw a 180 into everything fun and I can not think of a city more impacted with Covid than Vegas!! The New team, the party and sports betting!! When it comes to cardboards I’d rather have the teams moved to smaller stadiums like the NBA did. I think they really nailed it with their setup. I also think Tennis players are loving the empty stadiums hahaha…
My own biggest disappointment is that Brady will not get a real chance to make a splash at 43 years of age, although I understand he became the oldest player to throw for five (5) touchdowns in a game last week. The Big Question in the NFL was: Who would be more successful… Brady without Belichick? Or Belichick without Brady? A dream for NFL fans would have been a Patriots-Buccaneers Super Bowl… but of course that will never happen.
I’m more of a traditionalist. The Raiders don’t belong anywhere but Oakland… and if Vegas really wanted an NFL team they should’ve gotten their own. But hey… whatever stokes interest in the NFL. Las Vegas is like Los Angeles as far as NFL team support is concerned… Meh. Which is why the Los Angeles Rams were never a good fit… and they have found a better home in St. Louis. L.A. has always been and will always be a Lakers and Dodgers city.
Thanks for your comments, Dani.
California has their fare share of teams that Oakland can follow. After reading the success of LA Knights, that region needed something bigger and I do thing that Vegas is Perfect for NFL. For example myself, I will never thought about going to a Raiders game while in Oakland unless they were playing in somewhere else but Oakland hahaha. But Vegas is Badass enough and cool enough for that franchise. The Knights did it right and the Raiders was even better move, timing was horrible with Covid. But Raiders Death Star will see better days and host bigger super-bowls. Las Vegas was made for the football fun. When it comes to Brady and He’s plan of winning without Belli Man , I get it but as a Buc’s fan I would’ve prefer seeing the franchise building a stronger team rather than squeezing a desperate good record out of Brady. But it is still sad to see my team winning in an empty stadium…
Thanks for your response, Dani. The relocation of NFL teams is obviously a topic with several schools of thought. Again… I’m a traditionalist, and I grew up on the exploits of Kenny Stabler, Fred Biletnikoff, and Marcus Allen. Their rivalries with the Miami Dolphins back in the ‘70s were the stuff of legends. The NFL may be about the “big bucks”, but there is a lot of history and tradition there also. You might have never thought about going to Oakland to watch a Raider game, whereas I would’ve jumped at the chance to get a glimpse of the famous “Black Hole.”
Yeah… I get the allure of going to Vegas to watch an NFL game. You get the best of two worlds… pro football during the day… and the Vegas nightlife at night. Cool. But I wonder just how intense and rabid the Las Vegas Raiders fans will be in comparison to the Oakland fans… win or lose. Look at Cleveland. Certainly there are “sexier” places for an NFL franchise than Cleveland. But how would a move sit with Cleveland fans, and most NFL fans in general? Not good. Some things you just don’t mess with… and one of them is the Cleveland Dawg Pound.
In the end, it’s all about the money… and everyone stands to make more money by playing in Las Vegas than by playing in Oakland. But is it preferable? That’s a good topic for debate.
Regarding Brady, I totally understand your preferences to have the Tampa Bay Bucs invest in the future than to latch onto an aging quarterback for a short run. That’s what Monday morning quarterbacking is all about. We get to second-guess General Managers and owners on every decision they make. No matter how much Brady takes care of himself and fights Father Time, his fight will eventually be a losing one. But I have always liked watching sports legends who turn out to be G.O.A.T.s. That way I can tell my grandkids someday that I watched Tom Brady win seven (7) Super Bowls, the last one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As a Buc fan, I’m sure you won’t mind.