We are about to learn just how desperate the nation and the world are to see the return of professional sports to our lives.  With every group activity for anyone shut down at this point, the possibility of returning to sports as normal seems far out of the picture.  This assumption would be correct.  Right now, any plans of returning to the games include massive restrictions and altered playing formats and seasons.  If we are to come back, what will the landscape look like, and how can we, the fans, expect to tune in to the type of entertainment we so desperately want?

In a video interview, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that there is a possibility that sports could return in 2020.  “There’s a way of doing that.  Nobody comes to the stadium.  Put teams in big hotels wherever you want to play.  Keep them very well surveilled. … But have them tested, like every week, and make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family and just let them play the season out.”  Essentially, any type of return would mean games only being broadcast over the television with no live spectators.  To everyone, the question of whether sports would be the same with only television viewers is up for debate, but what about they players, how would their lives change?

According to Dr. Fauci, players would need to be isolated at all times in order to make sure that any professional league did not infect itself during the season.  If this is the case, playing an entire season in one city appears to be the option that many leagues are looking to.  One of the first proposals came from Major League Baseball who looked into, and are still looking at, finishing the season in Arizona.  The NBA has also taken note and is looking at Las Vegas as a potential landing spot.  The largest question, however, is how to keep all of the players on lockdown.  Of course they could interact amongst themselves, but what about family, how would living and practice situations be accommodated?  What about visiting with agents and athletic trainers?  There is a lot more that goes into the professional game than just players and coaches.  Essential staff would also need similar levels of testing and monitoring before they came into contact with any of the players.  Either way you put it, playing a sports season under the blanket of a pandemic is extremely difficult.

This leads us back to the opening question.  How bad do we want sports to come back?  I know in my opinion, it feels extremely hard to not be able to turn on ESPN and watch the latest highlights, or read about breaking news and exceptional games.  Nevertheless, I believe that for the moment, I would rather have sports not return.  Setting a standard for the public to follow is important and bringing back team sports could encourage people to act in a way that is detrimental to the world situation.  Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures, what will we decide to do?