I'll say it even though there is no need... 2020 has been a $^!@# (fill in your favorite explicative)
As we walked into 2020 it seemed we may have to live without sports. Like seriously, especially here in sports radio, there was a real concern we were going to have a full 365 days with no major sports. Especially as summer dragged on and NOTHING looked like a sure thing. But as the weeks turned into months, and as the COVID talk started to get overwhelming, sports started back up. Major League Baseball had some hiccups in the beginning, but they made it worked. The NBA was first ridiculed for the bubble, then the players had to adjust, then they were heralded for it, but we got basketball back (even though apparently most of us didn't watch it). Then the BIG DOGS came back!! The NFL was on and poppin!
And as much as we've enjoyed and tried to enjoy each level, with the Lightning as Stanley Cup Champs, the Heat in the NBA Finals, the Rays in the World Series and the Bucs looking very promising for this season, we have to face facts.... This season doesn't actually count. I mean, well it does. BUT, it doesn't.
Hear me out.
This season doesn't count LIKE other seasons would. Truth is, it probably counts MORE! (ahhh weren't expecting that twist were you)
Seriously. We've got to give credit to these players, who in the midst of a pandemic, with more uncertainty than ever about their sport, their teams, their families, and their lives, CHOSE to play a game to help entertain us (and collect stupid big paychecks). That's at least admirable, if not fully dynamic. NBA players spent months quartered off from the rest of the world, away from their families, their routines, their homes, their kids, and ALL the things that made it cool to be a ball player. Same with our baseball players. And these guys have had to go in day after day and play this game with the same intensity, the same care, and same passion that they would have it it was just another regular year.
No Kravitz, I won't sign on to the MASTERISK. But I will agree that this season has showed us even more the strength it takes to play professionals sports. We won't even talk about the NFL!!! (that's code for I'm about to talk about the NFL)
They've had to go to work every day NOT KNOWING and relying on "trust". They don't know if their teammates are being safe. They don't know what will happen if there is an outbreak. They don't know how the precautions and changes will affect their game. They don't know if they are even guaranteed to HAVE a game each week. We've seen SOOOOO many schedule changes... but these guys (players, staff, coaches, building maintenance workers, locker room cleaning staff, ALL OF THEM) have showed their determination and commitment week after week.
With everything that has happened and all the problems and division we've seen in our country this year, sports are loyal. They still unite us, even when we're mad at them. They still entertain us when we need an escape. They still inspire us. They still empower us to conquer what ahead! Does this season count? HELL YES IT DOES!!
Probably, even more than any other year.
#ThankYouSports