Which sports will survive the coronavirus? I am considering a worst-case scenario where COVID-19 is followed by COVID-20 and additional strains, and vaccines and therapeutics offer only partial or temporary relief. I think golf and tennis are safe. Baseball is clearly in jeopardy and things look dicey for basketball and football. Many young American athletes seem to be hardwired with a “play hard, party hard” attitude. I cannot see them enduring a cloistered life for an entire season. Baseball seems to be doing okay in South Korea, but they have a different culture.
I believe all sports will eventually make a comeback. However, I believe sports, like every other form of social interaction will be forever changed.
Sports has been hugely damaged in the US. The timing was best for football, but then they've been self destructing for a couple of years already. All Spring high school sports were canceled. This leaves colleges confused on recruitment and many athletes deciding that academics are more important. At this point, I'm not sure which is worse for pro sports, the china virus or blm.
Most college sports in the fall are finished. There are still many football teams scheduling and planning on playing games. The real challenge is that the league leaders are clueless about the virus and it's effects on the young healthy athlete. But, so are many of the young healthy athletes. Two things that ignorant administrations in colleges are falling for: 1. They think that tests have to be able to be conclusive the same day they are taken. 2. The athletes are safer at their homes with their parents. Neither are true. The number of deaths and sever side affects of the virus are almost non-existent. 1 in a million die from the virus between the ages of 1 - 24. CDC says so. The athletes at home are under less restrictions of movement at home than in the athletic dorms and supervision. Not only that, their parents are in greater danger of them being at home. More so than the coaches and teachers in the schools.
Let's hope not. My fear is that young children are not getting the physical social contact they need to learn about their world and surroundings. Young children especially need to touch everything to learn. I fear that the isolation is creating a generation of sociopaths.
I am watching Braves at Marlins right now. Granted there are no fans in the stand. Not sure why because plenty of room for distancing.
I think the worst virus of all is Progressivism. Democrats are mostly affected and have completely lost a sense of reality. BLM is just a small part of the problem.
That isn't caused by the pandemic. People have been losing socialization as technology has advanced. Many of us grew up in a time when "go outside a play" meant just that. People that have grown up on television and video games have no idea how to socially engage. We can't blame them for that and we are now paying the price. Expect to see more of this self-centeredness and apathy in newer generations. With all that said, I hope the pandemic is teaching some people to appreciate what they have and how easily it can be taken away.
I agree that socialization is not near what it used to be when I grew up. However, up until this pandemic, plenty of children were still going outside and into the gyms playing sports. Even those who opted out of sports went to band (music), robotics or media games still were in contact with other kids. Now, they get no physical contact. The pandemic has accelerated the possibility of creating a generation of sociopaths. Even psychopaths as well. I have my doubts that the right people who need to learn the lessons of this pandemic are. Democrats don't seem to have moved on understanding that their liberties have been taken from them. That they are being controlled and manipulated by their governments. Especially in the Blue States. We are being forced to be taught how to be good little pawns for the authoritarian tyrants in our Government. It's now shut up and stay inside. It's now shut up and wear a mask or go to jail. But, it's still okay to go out and riot, burn buildings and destroy other people's property while stealing from others. As the BLM leader said, it's their reparations.
All sports will survive. Some of the businesses that make their money from sport may struggle though.
We may see new leagues form separating from the bigoted NFL, NBA and MLB. Those who are still patriotic and love God and American. The ones that will struggle will be the ones where people don't watch and buy the advertisers goods.
They will survive but we might see a sizable drop in the exorbitant salaries out there. I haven't missed sports, no plans to hurry back either.
Hey, let's not be so pessimistic. Remember, the the other two majorly dangerous coronaviruses, the first SARS and the MERS, disappeared into oblivion. Sure, this novel coronavirus is more resilient but the newest studies have shown robust immunity so eventually the virus will run out of new people to infect and will dwindle. The common cold coronoviruses continue to circulate but that's precisely because they are not dangerous. Viruses that are too dangerous tend to dwindle as they kill the most severe hosts and people are more scared of them so they take more precautions.
I think that chances are that your worst case scenario won't materialize. The virus has been around for some ten months now without significant mutation and there's been strong immunity reported in the newest studies. With vaccines I'm hopeful that we'll turn this page.
I remember a science fiction book, The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov, about a planet (Solaria) where society evolved so much that people became isolated on their estates, playing videogames all day long, looking at virtual reality, and only interacting with others through holograms. They grew a distaste for the physical presence of others and reproduction was handled with artificial insemination in a "birth center." A detective is sent from Earth to investigate a murder because the investigation would require physical presence and Solarians wouldn't have it. Very good book, among his Robot series (the main murder suspect is a robot).
I didn't intend to sound pessimistic. I didn't say things would change for the worst. I just said that things, as we've known them, will change and they are.
Sports with less contact will become more popular. I see the trend currently at the high school level. Seems that track is very popular these days and football has less people.
