It is in times like these that you just simply cannot think about what life was like prior to this whole fiasco.
I got bored earlier, so I sat down and watched some random highlights. I came across a clip from this basketball season, a match-up between the George Mason Patriots and Duquesne Dukes at UPMC Events Center in Moon Township on February 29.
That game was the second of the day that I enjoyed with my brother at Robert Morris' brand-new arena. Earlier in the day, Robert Morris defeated Saint Francis(PA) to the clinch the top seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament.
The next day, March 1, was going to be an even better day. We got to travel to Columbus, grab lunch at Winking Lizard and attend two marquee sporting events. First, we watched a blue-blood hardwood rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State at Value City Arena. Shortly after, we were treated to a great hockey game at Nationwide Arena between the Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Four sporting events in two days. That is what we do and that is who we are. I would not have it any other way.
I rewatched the highlights from that Duquesne victory, and I could not help but realize how naive we were to the situation. Then again, so was almost everyone.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told the nation on February 29 that we should not worry about the coronavirus too much. School continued onward. Sports continued onward. Normal life continued onward.
Just 11 days later (March 11), we would see our last sporting event for a LONG TIME, and it was nothing more than a high school basketball game (no disrespect to Butler or Upper St. Clair...two tremendous teams), but that was not really the game to go out on.
Robert Morris' championship victory over Saint Francis(PA) the night before would have been the game to leave as my last sporting event prior to the abrupt halt to our everyday lives. If I could have made that decision, I probably would have. But the suddenness of the series of events did not even allow me to see that path.
I sat awake at 5 AM the other day, talking with my brother about the abrupt (but inevitable) heartbreak that transpired on March 12. We joked about the St. John's mascot meme where the mascot is sitting in an empty Madison Square Garden as all the remaining conference tournaments were cancelled.
That dry meme is the only thing to come out of what was a truly horrendous day for the sports world. The NCAA Tournament was cancelled. The NHL, NBA and MLB locked their doors and may not return for a long time. College athletes had the last handful of games they would have played RIPPED from them, never to be seen again.
I am just a mere spectator and sports fan. I cannot imagine what the seniors who worked their tails off to get to the NCAA Tournament just once are still going through, even exactly TWO MONTHS after the fact.
That is right. We have been shut down as a sports family for two months. And it seems like we have not made much progress. The NFL held their draft (virtually) and released their schedule, but that season is seeming like it could be up in the air as well.
The MLB is in the process of presenting the MLBPA with a proposal on starting this season, but it seems to be up in the air as the two sides argue over revenue sharing and wonderful topics of the sort.
I am on record, and will continue to say, that I will take sports without fans in the temporary. Over a course of months, however, that will not cut it.
John Steigerwald raised a great point today: Imagine Sidney Crosby skating around an empty PPG Paints Arena while hoisting the Stanley Cup for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dejan Kovacevic made a similar sentiment the other day: Imagine the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers battling under the lights of Heinz Field on Thanksgiving evening with a bunch of empty yellow seats.
Simply put, that is not going to work. That is not what sports are for, and they can not be seen like that over an extended period of time.
I do not want to make this piece controversial. But with so many facts and figures presented to us all every day, it really makes you start to think.
I read a report today that in Ohio, cases of successfully recovered COVID-19 patients could be traced back to January. JANUARY. That was four months ago...two months before this shutdown began.
Brendan and I were harder on governor Mike DeWine than a lot of people at the outset of this. He ripped the NCAA Tournament away from us. He was the easy target when our hearts were first broken.
I must say, however, the state that I live just 45 miles from has handled this with precision. They will be reopening sitdown restaurants (with precautions in place) on May 22. You better believe that we will be heading back to Winking Lizard and back into the state for the first time since March 9.
When you consider the fact that a study like this exists, in addition to the fact that the virus yields an approximately 98%-99% survival rate, we are going to have to get back to the real life at some point.
I never thought I would say this, but even as I completed my first year of college at Duquesne, I would kill to be back on The Bluff right now. Not because of the academics, but because of the friends, the faculty and the NORMALCY that I had developed in my freshman year.
With that being said, sports cannot return with fans immediately. I get that. I wish they could, but it just simply will not happen.
Every weeknight, I set my alarm at 5:15 AM. I grab some milk and get my scorecard ready for that morning's KBO broadcast on ESPN.
I have never kept score from home until now. I am just trying to simulate the thrill of an in-person baseball game experience as best as I can. I plan to do the same thing when/if the MLB season resumes.
Honestly, I really have been pleasantly surprised with the spectator-less KBO games. Fans are a wonderful and integral part of the sports experience, but shear talent of athletes can temporarily override the intensity fans bring.
I can handle the beginning of the MLB season being void of fans. That is fine.
NBA and NHL playoff games need to have fans, regardless of if it is in a limited capacity or not. This is the optimist in me telling you all that things will get better very quickly, and we are going to have an unbelievable summer. I will not be afraid to admit if I am wrong, but life needs to be lived with optimism.
Do whatever you can to accommodate this interest of the American people. Push back the start of and shorten next season, if that is what is necessary.
South Korea has baseball. I truly feel (and hope) that we will have some too in the months to come.
It is a shame, but I have become numb to such a dull routine:
-Go to bed in the late hours of the night
-Wake up (temporarily) to keep score for a KBO game (if applicable), then go back to bed
-Wake up (permanently) between the time of 12:30 PM and 2:00 PM
-Ready myself for the remainder of the day
-Visit my girlfriend (if applicable...that part is not dull)
-Repeat
That is what this virus has forced us to do. It has caused to shift into an unnatural and unsatisfactory way of life. It needs to end very soon.
I am certain that I am not the only one who has reached the boiling point, but I am beyond willing to admit that I have.
Maybe this is what it takes to learn how much I have taken for granted.
All the PNC Park nachos, the scorecards, the beautiful pictures of our city's sporting venues...all slashed from my routine in an instant.
Right about now, we should be in the midst of a typical Pittsburgh summer.
The Penguins should be battling the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the fourth time in five years. The Pirates should be right around .500, making us think that they just might have a shot at sneaking into the playoffs via a mediocre National League Central division before falling off a cliff. Yinzer Nation should be getting ready to wave the towels in Latrobe, Canton and at Heinz Field.
This is shaping up to be the furthest thing from a typical summer. It still has a chance to be rectified, though.
In the coming weeks, we should gain some clarity on the immediate futures of our major sporting leagues. The optimist tells me we are going to receive good news. As Americans, we deserve it,
I am an eternal optimist. I update my weekly quote (on my desktop website's homepage) weekly. This week, I decided to add two quotes.
The first one, from Aristotle, reads, "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."
Eight words tell the story of us all. It is bitter being patient...it really is. It is so hard, but I know that the fruit (return of sports) of my patience will be sweeter than anything I have ever tasted.
The next quote, from Maya Angelou, reads, "All great achievements require time."
The return will be a great achievement for our country. Not just the return to sports, but the return of spectators at sporting events will symbolize the foundation of this great nation. It will show us that no matter how tough the adversity we face as a country is, we will always persevere and come back stronger than we have ever been before.
Like I said, when sports return, no fans will be present. For now, I can take that.
In the following months, fans will need to return. Life needs to return. No matter how much we have adjusted to this kind of life...we need our real lives back. This is not who we are.
Luke Henne is not a bum who sits at home all day watching whatever movies he can salvage on Hulu or Netflix. Luke Henne is a nerd who goes to 50 baseball games a year to keep score, tries to convince his family that the Pirates actually have a shot, and down buffalo chicken tender baskets like nobody's business.
I have learned not to take sports for granted. The first time I am back in a sporting venue, I will ball my eyes out. You can take that one to the bank.
I ache for the countless amounts of Americans (and those across the globe) who have been affected by this pandemic. But it is time to get back to real life.
For me, sports are real life and always will be real life.
I need sports back. As Americans, we all do.
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