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The last night of NBA action before suspending the game was March 11. (Photo by Ezra Shaw / Getty … [+]
The coronavirus devastated the city of Wuhan, China for most of January, prompting the Chinese government to block the densely populated urban center of 11 million people. The infectious virus continued to spread worldwide in the following two months, with the first case publicly known in the US. USA Announced on January 21. About a month later, US health officials. USA We were told to expect “serious disruptions” in our day-to-day lives, which have paid off, with at least 316 million people in 42 states and territories currently under orders to stay home.
And yet, professional sports leagues continued to play, drawing hundreds of thousands of fans to arenas every night. But that all changed on March 11, when Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. The NBA suspended the game that same night, and by the end of the week, almost every sports league had followed suit. (The UFC, in an extraordinary display of challenge, has secured a private island to continue hosting events.)
The United States appears to have started taking the coronavirus threat seriously on March 11, when President Donald Trump announced travel restrictions to Europe and legendary actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, announced that they had tested positive for the virus. . We know for sure that there was a catastrophic shift among sports fans, according to the online ticket marketplace TickPick, which recently surveyed 1,000 sports fans about their attitudes toward the coronavirus pandemic.
A staggering 84% of respondents said they started taking the virus more seriously after leagues canceled or suspended play last month. The postponements also had profound impacts on their mood, with 66% of respondents saying they were more stressed after the cancellations.
Sports leagues serve as a giant economic engine for the country, with the top four leagues generating nearly $ 40 billion in revenue annually. Furthermore, sports have a profound impact on the hospitality and catering industries, which have been devastated by the coronavirus.
With those numbers in mind, it’s not surprising that 2/3 of sports fans felt more anxious about the coronavirus pandemic once the leagues suspended play. While sports serve as an escape from entertainment, they are also an indicator of economic prosperity.
President Donald Trump continues to push for the return of sports, saying last weekend that he believes they will return “sooner rather than later.” Health officials and some governors, however, disagree. California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he can’t imagine NFL contests being played at the Golden State this fall, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says it’s too early to predict what will happen in the fall. . MLB has discussed playing its season in Arizona, though the logistics behind executing a league-wide quarantine is complicated, to say the least.
The NBA has also talked about hosting tournaments in individual cities, including Las Vegas, but league executives acknowledge that it will be difficult to resume play throughout this season.
According to the TickPick poll, 33% of fans were more upset when the NBA suspended operations. After that, 25% of respondents were saddened to see March Madness march, followed by almost 20% of people clamoring for baseball.
Overall, although the vast majority of sports fans say they took the virus more seriously after the NBA stopped playing, 20% say they believe sports leagues responded too slowly to the virus. Knowing what we now know about the rapid spread of the coronavirus, it’s hard to understand that countless basketball and hockey games were played in front of fans every night as recently as last month.
To fill the sports void, 56% of people say they are watching old games, while 47% say they are searching the social media profiles of athletes and teams. For sports fans, fortunately the NFL is proceeding with the Draft as planned on April 27. Nearly 1/3 of respondents say they are spending their free time with NFL Draft coverage.
