by Hunter Richardson

COVID-19 has halted the regular lives of almost everyone in this country, especially when normally sports fills a void in times of crisis, this virus has ruined the best time of the year for sports fans across the country.

Sports came to a halt when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus and sent a shockwave through the sports world as every league postponed play for an undetermined amount of time. These developments couldn’t have come at a worse time for sports fans with notable events such as March Madness, Opening Day, the Olympics, NBA, and NHL playoffs, and much more being postponed or canceled.

College sports fans are taking the biggest hit amongst other fans during this pandemic as all college sports are canceled for the rest of the year. This included the highly anticipated March Madness tournament which had several great teams, potentially making for an outstanding tournament. This abruptly ended the college careers of several players such as Obi Toppin, Onyeka Okongwu, and arguably the greatest female college basketball player of all time, Sabrina Ionescu. 

The COVID-19 pandemic sent a shock through the NBA as it became the first league in the country to postpone or cancel future games or events. This happened right as the home stretch of the playoff race was taking place. This season remains in jeopardy with nobody knowing whether it will be completed. For LA basketball fans this comes as a major disappointment leaving fans wondering if they will get the LA vs. LA matchup that has been talked about ever since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined the Clippers. Other storylines that fans may never see play out are Zion Williamson’s race for the fewest games played for the Rookie of the Year and Giannis’s back to back MVP push and his championship push. The future is very uncertain for how this season will continue if it does at all but fans can only pray for full completion of the season.

The MLB season is taking a major hit with spring training being canceled and Opening Day being postponed. All baseball fans have waited months for this season and will have to wait longer. Dodger fans will have to wait to see newly acquired All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts take the field and join the star-studded lineup that the front office of the Dodgers has put together. 

The most dramatic effect coming from the sports world of the COVID-19 pandemic is the postponing of the Summer Olympics to 2021. The world’s biggest event will have to wait much like every other sporting event. Most athletes, in general, are fine with this decision for their own personal safety but for sports fans this just piles onto the hit they are taking where they have no source of entertainment other than reruns of old games and events.