How Sports Will Help Get Us Through the Pandemic

2020 has tested humanity in so many ways that it will likely become ingrained in our minds as the year that the world stopped.

No one probably realized back then just how much of an impact not having sports in our lives would have been to not only the die-hard fans, but the casual viewers as well. When sports were taken away, no matter if you bleed team spirit or can’t even name a team in your state, that moment echoed loudly, like it was reverberating off of empty seats and unfilled arenas.

Sports bring communities and individuals together. In a time when we are striving to connect with others, sports have always been the perfect bridge across community groups – yet we had to learn how to adapt without them. People across the country and the world began to realize how much we rely on sports to not just entertain us but to bond us with one another through shared experiences.

In this time when everyone is hoping to gain back some sense of normalcy, the return of sports acts as more than a beacon of hope, it is truly a gift to be enjoyed as we near the end of a tumultuous and unprecedented year. After all, experts were not expecting to have sports teams play again until 2021, at minimum, yet 3 months before the end of the year there are NFL and College Football games (with some stadiums allowing fans in attendance) along with playoff and championship games for the NHL, MLB, NBA, etc.

If we continue to be mindful of safety protocols, to protect ourselves and those around us, we will be able to sit (or stand!) in stadiums, watch from fairway galleries, and cheer in arenas once again soon. And for that moment – we cannot wait.