As the coronavirus pandemic continues, it appears that ideas to return to life as normal become more and more radical.  The sports world is no different it seems.  When I heard news that Dana White, owner of UFC, was making moves to buy a private island with which to hold professional fights I knew that this was the topic of the week.  Professional leagues that are in season have all had their own proposals to return to action sooner than the general public.  The NBA has thought about playing games in recreational gymnasiums where media crew would not have as much area to cover.  The NHL is still holding out hope of finishing the regular season and playing a condensed playoff fixture schedule.  The MLB is considering playing all games including the playoffs in stadiums in Arizona where all of the athletes and coaches could be monitored around the clock.  To capitalize on an audience stuck at home with nothing else to do and continue to bring in big sponsorship and advertisement revenues, all of these plans appear to be fantastic ways to try to keep as much parity with regular times as possible.  However, should professional sports really be happening during such challenging times?

Some might argue that by having new entertainment and news to watch as opposed to the cyclical media that appears on the television today would be encouraging for people to stay at home and continue to practice the ever important social distancing.  By allowing players who could be medically monitored to entertain the public, it could make everyone’s lives a bit easier.

To a certain extent, this argument is valid, but it misses a key point in the way that the public views professional athletes, and for that matter famous individuals during a time of crisis.  If the world can see that one of our collective favorite pastimes in watching sports has been halted, they will also understand the gravity of the situation.  Hearing from the superstars of the sports world as they send updates on social media about how they are spending time with family and training from home reminds the fans of what they should be doing as well.

Whenever we see a great play on the court, the ice, or the field, we continue to think about it for hours and even days after the game has been finished.  For some of us, we will go out to a basketball hoop, or to a yard and replay the scene in our head as we run through the motions ourselves.  Athletes are idols to fans and emulating their lives is something that we can constantly strive for.  For once, living the life of an athlete is possible as both are at home and doing their best to stay in a rhythm.  In this grave situation, having professional matches carry on would be failing to acknowledge the seriousness of a pandemic and it would take away from the role model position that these individuals hold in our hearts.  Keeping athletes and fans at home is the best way to move forward until we know how to do so as nation.