When the pandemic shut down the world last year, outside of the impact on my life as a teacher, the other area that rocked my foundations was sports being absent from the scene. The NCAA basketball tournaments, high school sports, and the MLB season left me in a boat without an oar. From April to mid-July, where most of my days usually involved a baseball or softball game of some sort, there was nothing but reruns.
And when MLB returned, it wasn’t quite the same. Knowing that the piped-in fan noise was fake was disconcerting at first and then just annoying after a while. The giant cardboard cut-outs of heads could be amusing, but I can only imagine that was distracting to the players. Imagine a giant Sid Hartman head staring at you every pitch!
Don’t get me wrong: I was extremely happy to be able to watch baseball games again, but the fan experience is one aspect of sports that makes those games so unique. Whether you are in person or watching the folks with a ticket on your screen, the atmosphere is what makes a game so much fun. As the tension rises and the fans get louder, even if you’re sitting at home, it’s so natural to lean forward or stand up to try and be part of that experience.
The NFL season was similar in that, while it was enjoyable to watch football, the games never felt quite right, as if they were out of sync somehow. At least at high school events, even with a limited capacity, there was real noise, and spectators seemed to try to recreate the sound level of a full gymnasium. You could see players respond to that, so I can only imagine how much more difficult it was for the pros without any fans.
Like with other events of enormous impact, the sports world has kept on rolling. Think about the World Wars and other devastating events like 9/11. There may have been a brief pause, but sports is something that kept our country going through difficulty. During World War II, while stars like Bob Feller and Warren Spahn fought for our country, others stepped in to keep the games going.
All indications are that ratings are down across the board for sports, except for the WNBA last summer. Perhaps people have found other activities to take up their time. Maybe folks realized they didn’t miss the games as much as I did.
For some, it might have been the increased social justice movements among professional athletes. The NBA players wore slogans on their jerseys. MLB players took days off after some of the riots last summer. And more and more, we’re seeing players take a knee during the National Anthem.
I wrote a column a couple years ago about that topic. At the time, I decried those who did not stand for this very important moment before a game. After all the kneeling last summer, though, I started to think about it some more. I moved a bit on the dial; while I don’t think it is right to kneel, I decided not to let it bother me. There’s nothing I can do about it, and it’s not worth me getting frustrated.
I have yet to see a high school player at any of our games take a knee. I was reading about some announcers who have changed what they say prior to the playing of the National Anthem because of all this. I plan to continue with what I’ve said for years: “Ladies and gentlemen, please rise, remove your hats, and stand respectfully for our National Anthem.”
As the NCAA basketball tournaments rolled around, it was fantastic to see students from the schools at games, cheering on their classmates and friends. High school tournaments will have that as well. As many of you know, being at a state tournament is a memorable experience, and I’m glad kids and friends and families get to watch the competitions.
I watched the Minnesota Twins opener in Milwaukee, and outside of the disappointment in watching my favorite team kick away a 9th inning lead and lose, it was so nice to hear REAL crowd noise and watch fans scramble for foul balls and listen to the volume swell when a pitcher had a full count on the batter with the bases loaded and two outs.
I hope to attend a ballgame or two this summer, at least one at Target Field. I hope the capacity gets opened up as more people get vaccinated. Otherwise, I’m afraid of what I’ll have to pay for some tickets. I might pay it anyway, just out of a sheer NEED to be at Target Field and watch this sport for which my love has not waned.
Sports are exceedingly important to me. I’m so glad they’re creeping toward normalcy. I hope to see some of you at local games this spring and summer. Trust me, I’ll be smiling beneath my mask!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is yichus, which means prestige or social status, as in, “Paige Bueckers and Jalen Suggs gained yichus on a national stage during the NCAA basketball tournaments.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!