Once the sports world stood still in March of 2019, life got quite a bit more depressing for sports fans and participants. The next few months were filled with stress and uncertainty, from players and owners quarreling to a global pandemic raging through a world at an alarming pace. When Major League Baseball returned in late July, a sense of normalcy finally returned for many around the country. With the other three North American major sports leagues returning shortly after, life returned to relative normalcy for many. However, the atmosphere of these events are far from normal, and it is now time to examine how these leagues have done during this time.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
The MLB had a lot of trouble getting their season to start, and this is mostly a result of the owners and players disagreeing on the payment situation for a shortened season. Eventually, both sides agreed to play a 60–game season with an expanded post season. The teams played home games at their own ballparks, without fans and only within their respective divisions.
A few issues did arise. Early on the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals both ran into issues with the virus spreading through their teams. In both circumstances, some blame was relayed towards players going to clubs and casinos. However, the season carried on and as the teams are looking towards the playoffs, a bubble format will be the chosen platform and the season looks to be in minimal doubt.
National Hockey League and National Basketball Association (NHL and NBA)
These two leagues are grouped together due to their similar situations. Both leagues had their seasons cancelled after about two-thirds had been played, and also both used a bubble format. The NHL split the conferences into two separate bubbles. The Eastern Conference moved to Toronto, Ontario and the Western Conference went to Edmonton, Alberta. After the first two rounds, all games were moved to the Edmonton sight.
The NBA was able to have the entire league in one location; Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. The teams lived within the park and stayed their for the remainder of there stay in the playoffs.
The NHL had no big issues during their playoff tenure to this point, and the players only had a few issues with players leaving the bubble. Both leagues proved that the bubble is a viable option for these leagues to ensure the safety of their players, and this definitely influenced the MLB to take this route with their postseason.
National Football League (NFL)
The National Football League is the most recent league to start off, and was perhaps the least affected by the pandemic. The 2020 NFL draft was conducted over Zoom, and pre-season training was significantly lessened, but the start date was pretty typical for a normal NFL season, and certain teams have even been allowing a small amount of fans to enter games. This has been an interesting concept, and so far no major issues have arisen.
Overall, these leagues are doing better than was originally suspected. At one point, it didn’t seem like any of the leagues were going to last. However, they persisted and the focus now will be on next season, albeit less so for the NFL than the other leagues.
It is also important to note that other leagues, namely the Women’s National Basketball Association, the National Women’s Soccer League and the Professional Golf Association all were able to participate in their respective seasons with little to no issues.
Sports can work in a pandemic world. The question is how long will they be sustainable without fans present?