Sports On Lockdown - Sh!it Just Got Real Folks

Let me start by saying my heart goes out to all victims of the coronavirus to date. This world health crisis is something that we're all battling together. No human being is immune. With each passing day the realities of just how impactful and threatening a world pandemic can be on our daily lives is brought into focus. We are seeing unfold right before our eyes a social shift from living our lives bunched together to having to distance ourselves from one another for fear of contracting or transmitting a deadly virus. 

If like myself you live in a good size major city then you know it's almost impossible to distance yourself from others. Whether it be buses, trains, elevators, grocery stores, office buildings or, Lord forbid, hospitals, humanity is right there pushing up next to you and usually you're pushing right back.  It's something you learn to tolerate when living in a city, it comes with the territory, like homelessness. Same with those of us who enjoy large entertainment venues packed with thousands of people. Whether it's a music concert, sporting event or street festival, we brave the crowds for a few hours of cheerful ecstasy and harmonious entertainment. 

Well my fellow consumers of sports, music and cultural outdoor events, those days are cancelled while our society does battle with this deadly virus. When they cancelled the St. Patrick's Day Parade I figured oh well, some poor chap won't be dressing up in green and drinking himself silly, too bad. When the weekend Coachella music festival was recently postponed I thought, there's gonna be a lot of disappointed partygoers, oh well. 

Today, when it was announced that the NBA was suspending its season indefinitely I wasn't all that disappointed since my Warriors have basically taken the season off after five consecutive trips to the Finals. But that basketball news was followed up this afternoon with a bombshell headline.

"March Madness Cancelled Amid Coronavirus Pandemic"


Are they crazy? Don't they understand the significance of this annual college basketball tournament? What about my bracketology predictions? This is Madness! 

Then it hit me; March Madness 2020 will be remembered for more than any game or event. March Madness 2020 is the month and year that a flu-like virus named Coronavirus caused the civilized world to shrug and pause.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the president's task force on coronavirus, said Wednesday that the outbreak in the U.S. is only "going to get worse."