Are we going overboard by cancelling sports?
On Sunday, I risked a shopping excursion to Giant Eagle. I saw no panic buying. A few staples were low or out, but otherwise the store was well stocked, and the workers efficient and cheerful.
Then I came home to see the headline of the 蘑菇视频, which reported the commissioners as issuing a “State of Emergency…in Fayette County.” (I wonder, since no COVID-19 cases have been detected here, why scare everyone to death?). If one watches the news too much, it would seem that the End Times are coming. These times are precarious, for sure, and everyone should practice good hygiene, but could the panic be worse than the pandemic?
China suffered this epidemic first, so a look at stats from their CDC might be instructive. In a study of over 44,000 coronavirus patients, 80% of cases are mild. And, if under age 50, the mortality rate is tiny, well below 1%. It spikes to 3.6% in the 60-69 age group, and doesn’t reach 8% until 70-79, and around 15% after 80 according to the Feb. 27 edition of the Business Insider.
Which leads me to ask, why all sports have been cancelled? Even if played to empty arenas, since a few NBA players have tested positive for the virus, and with the players sweating all over each other, perhaps a good case can be made to cancel basketball. But, it’s sure sad to lose March Madness.
Which brings me to golf, where the TPC Championship was cancelled after only one round. Their initial plan was to keep playing without fans, which I thought pretty reasonable. But then they cancelled the whole spring schedule, and the Masters, (what is spring without it?), soon followed suit. I can’t stop but think that, as golf is a no-contact sport played in the beautiful outdoors, what is the problem? I’ll bet that the pros are out on the course most days, anyway.
Now what happens to baseball, which has been delayed whose season is in flux? Playing without fans is again not enough. In contrast, during World War II President Roosevelt insisted that baseball be played, even though the rosters were depleted, with the best players off serving their country. He rightly reasoned that the people, hard at work in the factories, needed baseball for diversion, and to keep up the country’s morale. Perhaps we were hardier people then.
That brings me back to the millions of unsung often underpaid workers who are keeping the economy afloat. Working from home, and staying six feet apart, is not an option for most. We can live without sports if we have to, but we sure cannot live without food. It goes to show whose job is more important, and it sure isn’t that of pro athletes.
In conclusion, let’s avoid unnecessary panic and heed the words of FDR who, in his first inaugural address said: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Ken Satifka
South Union Township