This piece is from October 20th, 2020, but has added to the site.
On March 12th, the MLB decided to cancel their spring training in the midst of a panic caused by the new COVID-19 virus. Anyone who was around during this time knew there was confusion, pain, and panic. Within the week, nearly every sporting event was cancelled, including March Madness and the CWS. It seemed as though the world was on hold as national and state governments struggled to withhold the outbreak across the United States.
However, as many know, sports are something that binds us together. For many, they are a place where those of all backgrounds can come together to support their favorite team. And in a year where we may be more divided than we ever have in our lives, sports may be what this country needed to bind us together.
You see, I don’t believe that sports are a reward for a functioning society. Sports are instead what helps create a functioning society. By giving every person a common point for which we can join together, sports allows us to create a conversation about the world around us through a medium that we love. And in a year where we need to have these tough conversations, sports is needed now more than ever.
I mean, look at the history of the United States. During the Civil War, baseball was a sport played in free time between battles. During the Great Depression, baseball was again a sport for the country to rally around in tough times. And while the First World War raged on, opposing armies played soccer during the Christmas time. Throughout wars, depressions, and tough times, sports have been the glue that held us together. Just thinking about 9/11 and the New York Mets brings a tear to my eye.
And during a tough year like 2020, sports are needed more than ever. So when MLB announced that they were going with a 60-game season on July 6th, I was joyful, but many were against the idea. And when the Miami Marlins had a 20-person breakout come into baseball on July 27th, those critics were more than happy to call baseball’s restart a foolish endeavor.
But for the first time in my life, I need to give Rob Manfred some credit.
Instead of allowing baseball to fall to the quick cries of those who were against the idea of baseball in 2020, Manfred instead used the outbreak as a warning and a test for what was to come. Players needed to take the rules of the season seriously, or else there would be no season.
The St. Louis Cardinals would have another outbreak on August 1st, but again baseball was able to make it past the roadblock of COVID-19 again. And now as I write this on October 20th, Game 1 of the World Series will be played between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. The NBA and NHL seasons have now been both completed, while the NFL season is about to start week 7. And with all the critics of the 2020 sports season still talking, it seems as though 2020 sports was able to defy those who disagreed with its existence.
Now as I watch the World Series, it reminds me that it won’t just be a win for the Dodgers or the Rays, it will be a win for America. Baseball has gone through a lot this 2020 season. And it serves as a reminder to all of us, whether we are battling war, depression, pandemics or injustices, that like sports, we will get through this, and we will prevail. We have gone through a lot of this year, but like Americans and baseball seasons throughout the test of time, here we still stand.
Ready to win whatever game life hands us.
This article was written by TK. To contact TK about this article, email digitalzsports@gmail.com.