Opinion: With sports shut down, we realize the importance of them in everyday life
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
What a time to be alive.
Suddenly, I’ve found myself saying that over and over again ever since the 2010s.
Why start with the 2010s you might say? Well, in my 22 years on earth, I’ve lived through and seen some historical events. It all started in August of 2014 when Napa was hit with a magnitude 6.0 earthquake. Only three years later, in October after the conclusion of the Safeway Open, we had some of the worst wildfires in California history when the North Bay Wildfires hit on the night of October 8th.
However, none of those events have anything from what transpired on March 11th, 2020. The main reason March 11th will forever be etched into American History is that it is the day when LIFE CAME TO A STANDSTILL.
How we got here
The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed day-to-day life as we know it. But it’s more than that because sports, which a lot of people use as an escape, has shut down due to the fears and concerns of spectators or members of teams to be exposed to the Coronavirus.
Why is March 11th forever etched in history? Sports were going on without a hitch amid the pandemic, which saw many people taking precautions to save themselves. Then, it happened. Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for Coronavirus. He was the first pro athlete to test positive for it.
After that, the frenzy and all-out pandemonium started. The National Basketball Association (NBA) postponed its season indefinitely and after that other pro sports leagues like the XFL, MLB, MLS, NHL, NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, the PGA Tour, and WWE all followed suit in an unprecedented move.
Yet, the biggest one of all doesn’t even have to do with professional athletes. The NCAA canceled what’s been an annual tradition for as long as I can remember, which is the 68-team March Madness tournament a few days before Selection Sunday. That wasn’t all. Along with the women’s tournament and every other winter sports championship. It only got worse from there as they canceled every spring sport as well, which means there won’t be a College World Series for NCAA baseball or softball.
Local effects
Along with the NCAA, the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) also canceled the spring season, which means I won’t make it out to a Napa Valley College baseball game this season.
And then, it finally hit me at the local level. It all started on Thursday when I found out the Napa Valley Unified School District would continue school but cancel sporting events through April 1st. On Friday, the NVUSD made it official that they were canceling classes until April 13th, which means a month without games to cover. That includes local battles like Vintage at Justin-Siena in softball and baseball on March 24th and 25th, followed by Justin-Siena at Vintage matchups on April 16th and 17th. The next week it’d be Napa at Justin-Siena in softball and baseball on March 31st and April 1st, followed by Justin-Siena at Napa matchups on April 23rd and 24th. The biggest blow of all is the loss of four Big Games between Napa and Vintage. The softball meetings were scheduled for April 2nd and 28th, with baseball on April 3rd and 29th. It’s been proven year after year that records don’t matter in Big Game, which would’ve made this even more intriguing.
For now, there is a bit of good news. The second meeting can still possibly happen between all the local schools because the CIF will meet Tuesday to decide the fate of the spring sports season.
We need these games to happen too. It would bring a sense of normalcy back to a town that’s in a panic. Of course, there are the many storylines so far that are on hold. In no specific order, they are Vintage softball’s dominant pitching and quest for the Vine Valley Athletic League title, Napa High baseball’s promising rise, Justin-Siena baseball and their flare for the dramatics, Justin-Siena softball and a very young and green team looking to compete in a tough league, Vintage baseball’s return to the playoffs despite no per se “ace” pitcher for the first time since 2013, and finally the prospect of Caity Newburn roping home runs for Napa High softball.
Why I’m writing this
I was hoping it’d never reach this point, but it has. Because it’s reached this point, I’ve become very bored without sports to either watch on TV or to go cover. I know I’m certainly not alone either.
I’m not writing this because I think that the Coronavirus is something to mess around with because it’s definitely not. While I’m on the subject, make sure to take protective measures to stay healthy.
The main reason I’m writing this is that the week of March 9th through the 14th will forever be remembered and I wanted to make sure to have my own take on it in words so I can tell the story for a long time to come, put words down because it’s a way of venting, and lastly remember how weird, peculiar, and remember how important sports are to our lives. I’ve learned that without them I am very, very lost.
