Canaries in Coal Mines

I've been watching the NCAA March Madness men's basketball tournament since I was a pre-teen. 

Coming from a family of sports fans, I have always been a sports fan myself. I've played a little of mostly everything - softball, volleyball, basketball. While I was never good enough to make senior sports teams in high school, I grew up in and around sports, and even worked as an athletic trainer for many teams while in high school. 

In January and February every year, NCAA college basketball games and conference tournaments become increasingly important for the players, as wins and losses contribute to seeding, determining who the teams will play in the big show. 

One of my best brackets ever, from 2019
when Virginia beat Texas Tech

 

And then finally, March Madness begins. I recall viewing parties at friends' houses, watching the games on weekends and after basketball practices. Filling out brackets and keeping track of who had the best bets. (To this day, I keep a soft spot in my heart for the 1997 Arizona Wildcats led by Mike Bibby who, incidentally, went on to be drafted by the Vancouver Grizzles the next year. That was also my last year in high school and the end of my time as a trainer.) 

As an adult, there are less viewing parties with friends but I keep my own rituals: settling in on the couch with a whole pot of mac and cheese (now vegan, of course) for multiple-game weekends, watching the finals in sports bars with my brother. In modern times, I've taken to online bracket games and tweeting with other March Madness fans about our standings. 

When I was a kid, I'd asked my brother why he enjoyed college basketball so much. He said it was because for so many of these students, this is their only shot at being on a big stage. While some will go on to have careers in the NBA, this won't happen for everyone. As a largely unremarkable, "just okay" athlete myself, I can certainly relate to this. I think this is also the reason I remain a fan after all this time, and look forward to this tournament every year. 

So on this day last year, when I saw the news that the NCAA March Madness tournament was cancelled because of COVID-19, I remember exactly where I was (at my office), and exactly how I felt (heartbroken, devastated). It would be the first time the tournament would not be played since it was established in 1939. 

The NCAA released this statement: 

Sure, there had been plenty of lead-up to this decision so it shouldn't have been a surprise. But it was at that moment I realized I had been secretly hoping, deep down, that there would be some kind of miracle and the tournament would continue. But with the games traditionally being hosted in multiple cities in the United States, with significant travel for teams and fans, and so much about the virus and its method of transmission being unknown, it made sense to cancel it altogether - despite its popularity and significant economic upsides. As sports writer Pete Blackburn said at the time, "The right decision isn't always easy... it seems like this was the appropriate route given the circumstances and the risks at stake." 

Shortly after the NCAA cancelled March Madness, professional sports followed with either suspended seasons or outright cancellations: NHL, MLB, MLS, NFL. The NBA soldiered on for awhile, but with increasing numbers of positive tests amongst players and further discussions on what to do with the rest of its season. The Tokyo Olympic Committee seemed to be the last holdout, but in a few weeks' time they, too, eventually decided to cancel the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Even if you're not a sports fan, all of this warranted attention. There is no denying that the sports industry is a money-making machine. Salaries for top athletes aside, there are thousands of ordinary people that depend on sports: food service companies, housekeeping, stadium staff, the hospitality industry, sports broadcasters. The ripple effect caused by the cancellation of sports is huge, with the ramifications felt most significantly by normal people just trying to make a living.

Apart from the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declaring a global pandemic, for me, the sports world was the canary in the COVID-19 coal mine equivalent - the last definitive harbinger of things to come. If sporting events continued, things would be okay; if not, they would not. Sure enough, sports were cancelled and that was when it hit home for me that the world was going to go to hell. And then, it did. 

Download and play along with me this year?

This year, thankfully, is different. There have been a lot of learnings in the sports world from the past twelve months on how to deal with COVID-19, with much trial and error, and iterating of plans. Now here we are: conference tournaments being played in NCAA basketball for seeding, bracketology and analysis being provided to fans. And while considerations for coronavirus are obviously being instituted, with modifications to the tournament and how conferences are played, it looks like all things will be a "go" this year for March Madness. (Well, except for the Duke Blue Devils, who announced just yesterday that their tournament has been cut short by a positive COVID test within their program. Shame, that.)

Sure, it's not the same. There won't be thousands of fans packing the stadiums. And the entirety of the 2021 men's tournament will take place in Indiana, with 67 games to be played in Indianapolis, versus being held at multiple sites across the country. 

But, it's something - a little bit of hope that perhaps better things are to come. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this canary continues to sing. 

Ahh, tournament music. As the Barenaked Ladies once said, "You can call me Pavlov's dog."

Update: shortly after publishing this, I saw the news that 2019 champs Virginia Cavaliers are also out for the season, after a positive COVID test. Not gonna lie... starting to feel a little doom comin' on.