I love watching college and professional sports with all the hyping reportage that comes with it. At one point in life, I suppose I was fanatical in my need to watch or attend games of my favorite teams (Oakland Raiders/San Francisco Giants). We who live to see our sports teams compete are a passionate breed willing to "go the distance" in order to fulfill that ……… addiction.
During this challenging year of 2020, the Coronavirus Pandemic has delayed and altered our lives in unprecedented ways. And, if sports is a big part of one's life, it is missed as much as any hobby, pet, loveable job or likeable family member.
Watching sports allows fans to indulge in a fantasy of collective achievement. A fan can leave reality behind as he/she enters the stadium. Joining tens of thousands of other screaming fans the individual becomes an adrenaline-pumped assembly of revved up energy prepared for take-off. Once unleashed, energy in the stadium is so electric and contagious it takes over all in attendance, launching them into an orbit of sports ecstasy and making all other facets of life irrelevant. Honestly, if not for the smartphone, fans attending games (real fans) are for all intents and purposes living on another planet with little concern for what's happening back on earth.
Those were the days. Today's 2020 Pandemic has crushed the fantasy of sports, forcing fans to face life without seasonal flights to stadiums, bars or man-caves. Life without sports fantasy has become a lesson in confronting real life issues back on earth. Our sports addictions have been exposed for what they are; escapes to a land of make believe. The Pandemic has stripped away all false images and hopes, only to reveal our most important needs in life; relationships and a home. Showing some love for our families, our communities and overall humanity should be number one priority during these times and moving forward.
If these past few months on lockdown have shown nothing else, it's shown how much our human society is driven by greed and not need. Who could have guessed that the richest country this world has ever seen would be crippled and brought to its knees by a Pandemic they knew was coming. Maybe this is how the Romans felt when their great republic began to teeter and fall; astonished and troubled. With all the resources at its disposal, America continues to lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to effectively fighting the Pandemic. Could it be that, like the Romans, the arrogance of America is causing its failure?
America seems to have lost its way. It rushed to re-open it's economy at the expense of human life, putting consumerism over health. We've had political leaders, ala Mayor of Las Vegas Carolyn Goodman, promoting unsafe reopening in tourist driven American cities, only to see a surge of infection and death from the virus. It's as if the virus has infected the common sense of folks who were fortunate enough so far to have escaped its ravages.
Today there are over 150,000 confirmed deaths from Covid-19 in America, and people are still dying or having their health compromised by Coronavirus. Because there's no vaccine and still unanswered questions surrounding contagion, every human being is susceptible to being a carrier and/or a victim of the disease.
When it comes to returning to a life of sports, there's only one game being played that's worth our fandom; the race to find a vaccine or cure. Science should be the team we are all rooting for, not leagues concerned with profit/loss and market share. And maybe Dr. Fauci walks away with Most-Valuable-Player award when all is said and done.
For those who put consumerism over health and medical science, you are part of the problem instead of the solution. Though we all could use a distraction and break from this Pandemic crisis, we can't let our guards down and revert back to living as if washing hands, wearing masks and social distancing are no longer a priority. Playing team sports at this time is not a winning game-plan nor should it be a top priority. It’s actually a fantasy; an artificial need that may end up doing more harm than good. We don't want our stadiums resembling that infamous Colosseum now part of the historical ruins of Rome, anytime soon now, do we.
I salute and applaud those athletes who are choosing to Opt Out of playing sports in 2020. Our professional sports leagues, with their billionaire owners, are in the business of making money. Providing entertainment just happens to be a means to an end for them. Their addiction to making money has become as dangerous as any other addiction; it selfishly puts the lives of others in danger. So who you gonna root for this season, Wealth or Health. Choice Matters!
NFL Players Opting Out Tracker
NBA Players Opting Out Tracker
MLB Players Opting Out Tracker
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