The pandemic that started in 2020 and is still ongoing has definitely caused a plethora of issues for people all around the world. Obviously, there are more serious issues that the pandemic caused, such as people getting sick and dying from various complications of the virus, hospitals overflowing with patients, and overworked medical staff. The issues range from more serious to less serious, but nonetheless meaningful problems for people. One of those is definitely the effect it had on organized sports events. In 2020 all sporting events were canceled, but indoor sports took the hit harder than others.
The athletes
The life of an athlete, although it sometimes seems glamorous, is not that easy. Sure, they earn a lot of money, represent some of the best sports brands out there, have fans, and extravagant lifestyles – but most of that is just on the surface. What’s underneath all of that is hours and hours of training to get to where they want to be, and then some more training in order to remain there. That means a lot of hours spent with your teammates or with a trainer and a lot of sacrifices. Can you imagine putting all that work in just to one day stop abruptly and not be able to continue working on your goals? Not to mention the fact that these people train every day and even a month without training, not to mention a whole year can be detrimental.
The fans
Fans of indoor sports had to go almost an entire year without seeing their favorite teams or athletes in action. If you love sports and follow some of them, you can definitely understand what I mean. For some of us, sports are more than a hobby – it’s a passion that moves you forward. Being without them is like removing an important component of life. Everybody who has ever been to a sports game knows the energy of the whole stadium chanting together. For a while, even when indoor sporting events started to be organized again, fans weren’t allowed to attend. This wasn’t only a blow for them, but for the athletes as well since they rely on their fans’ support a great deal.
In conclusion
Did indoor sports suffer because of the pandemic? Yes, definitely. But will that be a long-term effect? I don’t think so. Indoor sports are now again organized and fans are even allowed in the stadiums, with proper safety measures being installed. If nothing else, people are now even more excited to watch their favorite sports again and athletes to get back to what they love the most. We have suffered some months without sports, but luckily, no permanent damage. Sports are simply something you cannot destroy that easily.