This is how sports fans across North America feel right now as most of the pro sports leagues are either starting, or about to start, re-opening their seasons after putting life on hold, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, that has decimated the country.
The roller coaster of emotion for fans has been stomach churning to say the least. One day hope springs, and the next day despair sets in, as more positives tests are announced. Pepto-Bismol should take over as the sponsor of the games restarting.
I have said from early in April that there was no way any season could happen unless a vaccine is in place, for any league. The other hurdle, which is starting to already take place, is the testing is a mess and no lab can keep up with the amount of tests needed to keep players safe.
We've already seen about a half dozen MLB camps shut down for a day because test results were delayed, once again, as I predicted they would. Players are increasingly getting worried about their safety and every day brings another one, or two, MLB players deciding to sit out this season. So far 66 players have tested positive in the latest rounds of testing, and 83 in total.
Two sports leagues already have players locked up in a bubble, with the NHL announcing they will be doing the same. The NBA and the MLS have kept players segregated from the general public for a while now, and only 10 MLS players and staff have tested positive, while the NBA has had 25 test positive. Remember, they already are in a protective bubble.
The NHL, which is sending teams to two cities in Canada to hide, have already had 35 players test positive. The NFL hasn't even started camp yet and the two Texas teams have had to shut down their facility because of multiple players on both teams testing positive, and, the 49ers have had a couple players positive who were working out in Nashville.
The NCAA, and a few conferences, have announced plans to play this fall with teams at the same time announcing multiple players testing positive. Clemson and LSU had nearly half their teams positive already. And by the way, a note to the Big 10 and PAC-12, only playing conference games is not going help. Do you think players from other conferences are more dangerous than your own?
Everybody is ready for sports to return, but there is just no way to keep everyone safe enough to chance it right now. This rush to play is going to either end up getting someone killed, or there will be no stars playing because they fear for their safety. If things continue to trend in the direction they have been going, this is what it is going to look like when you tune in to watch a game.
