Sports are finally back (Sort of)

It's been a long time away from sports. Over two months ago, major sports leagues around the world announced the suspension of their respective seasons. Some of America's most heralded competitions were foregone. March Madness. Major League Baseball's Opening Day. Covid-19 has taken sports away from us all.

It is not clear skies moving forward. Bringing sports back will be a rocky and uphill climb for many of our favorite pastimes. Whether that be a tailgate before the big game, or a round at the local pub after a full ninety. The things the we savored but took for granted as a society, are things we now look forward to enjoying once we overcome this pandemic.

Korean baseball has filled many of the gaps on ESPN as of late, but fans are still craving some of their favorite entertainment.

For me, my favorite sport came back this weekend as the German Bundesliga resumed play. I sat in the living room and watched Borussia Dortmund play Schalke with my father. I am not one to lie about my love for the English Premier League. They receive most of my attention, but I am still up for a game of footy in Europe's big five leagues. Despite my dad not knowing anyone on either side, it was the experience and connection with the sport that made the game enthralling for both of us.

The sound of cleats touching the football. Or the keepers yelling orders to their defense. It was something many of us have not experienced watching professional sport. A stadium that usually holds 80,000 beer infused Germans, was totally still. The only sound was the game.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp penned a beautiful quote this weekend saying, "We all started playing football without supporters and we loved this game not because of the atmosphere in a stadium." He is spot on. Covid-19 can take away our fans, and how loud our arenas are for a short period. But it will never take our love for sports away from us. It won't stop beer and wings on Sunday, or betting the spread in Vegas.

See the things we love about sports can never be taken away. They can be postponed, delayed, even suspended. But they will always come back. As kids, most of us dreamed of game winners or walk-offs on our hot top or local field. Nobody was really present unless our parents were inside. It was that moment of sinking a shot or connecting with a ball thrown by yourself that we fell in love with sports.

Fans enhance sports; they do not make them. So let's embrace sports as they come back into our lives. It may not be the same, but it sure as hell is needed for all of us to return back to sanity.