Slowly, slowly, international sports are coming back
Lesson summary
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Sports leagues plan for gradual return
Sports leagues are among the most prominent parts of daily life to have been disrupted by the coronavirus. The absence of professional sports is certainly not the most serious of consequences, but it is nevertheless felt in almost every country.
Somebody had to go first, and that was Germany’s Bundesliga. Each team had eight games remaining when play was stopped earlier this spring; they are looking to finish the season within a month.
The first match on May 16 was called a “ghost game.” Yes, they played 90 minutes; yes, there was a winner, as Dortmund defeated Schalke by 4 goals to none. But there was none of the traditional atmosphere: no fans in the 80,000-seat stadium; no pre-game procession; no traditional handshake of the captains. Sounds that would normally be drowned out by fans echoed in the empty stadium. The Dortmund side hired a sports psychologist to help coach the team in the days leading up to the game.
Elsewhere in European football, England’s Premier League got clearance from the British government to start playing competitively and have “close contact.” The Premier League is aiming to return to play later this month; professional football leagues in Spain and Italy are targeting a similar return. Football leagues will play an intense schedule, with matches every day, to finish their seasons by the end of July.
In America, our soccer league, the MLS, is considering an innovative way to end the season. Rather than try to complete a regular season schedule, the MLS is considering hosting a tournament, with all games played in Orlando, without fans. A tournament style return to play would eliminate travel. It would also be easier, logistically, to implement all the safety measures if all the league’s games were in a single location. One player who saw the plans for the tournament said that playing the whole rest of the season in one place would be like being in a luxurious prison.
The NBA, professional basketball in the US, is also considering the same approach. Basketball and hockey were well into their schedules when play was stopped. They both plan to go straight to a post-season tournament. As I’m recording this, basketball decided to play all its games in a single complex in Florida, so players can be isolated. Hockey is still working on a plan.
Another sport to open was NASCAR, car racing in the US. Their first race post-COVID was on May 17 in South Carolina. There were no fans at track. Each driver was allowed to bring just sixteen team members. Drivers wore face masks, had to pass health screenings, and self-isolated before the race. The race was televised on FOX, but most of the production was done remotely; they had just a single pit reporter. In car racing, the pit is where the drivers stop for fuel, new tires, repairs, and such.
Formula 1 is working with health officials in Austria to make its return at the beginning of July. PGA golf is starting up right about now. Golfers from other countries coming to the US for tournaments will have to quarantine for 14 days, but they and other elite athletes have been given permission to enter the country and compete. Golfers who travel to tournaments would be required to take saliva tests for the coronavirus before traveling. The LPGA, women’s golf, will begin in July.
Japanese baseball was set to start, but the Yomiuri Giants revealed that two players tested positive for the coronavirus and they called off a scheduled game. One of the players was Hayato Sakamoto, last year’s most valuable player in the Nippon Baseball League.
Baseball is America’s most popular summer sport. Players and owners are negotiating on what an abbreviated season might look like. The players have a union, so any changes to the season have to be approved by the union. Baseball still has time to play about half its season, if it starts in July, as they’re planning. The big question is where to play. Most teams play five or six days a week, so it’s a harder sport, logistically, to re-start.
One option is to re-work the schedule so only teams from the same region play each other. Another option is to play all games in just one or two regions. There are parts of the US with a lot of training fields that could be used for games without spectators—Florida and Arizona. The problem with those two locations is that they’re extremely hot in the summer and the training fields don’t have roofs.
Baseball is rethinking its rules on the field, too. One long baseball tradition has already been banned in Korean baseball and is unlikely to be allowed here, after play resumes. That tradition would be players spitting on the field.
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