Friday the 13th.
It figures. The first
full day we know with certainty that the fate of the 2019-2020 season of the
National Hockey League is in jeopardy.
Opinionators will opine, commentators will comment, analysts will
analyze. None of them know how all this
ends, least of all some obscure scribbler who occupies these spaces.
The NHL, in concert with other leagues and associations,
decided yesterday to suspend play in its regular season for an indeterminate
amount of time as a result of the Coronavirus crisis that has swept across the
globe. It would be cliché to say that
suspending play in a sports league is a trivial thing in the larger picture of
things, and we would agree to a point. But
sports gives a lot of people a release, an escape from the stress and anxiety
that such crises often create. And now,
even that is put in isolation as we try to cope with and rebound from this
crisis.
We do not have any particularly profound things to recommend
that you have not heard before. Be
responsible. Practice good personal
hygiene habits, and practice social distancing where appropriate. Be vigilant.
Respect the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) on steps to take to prevent illness and other frequently asked questions and answers.
Be a good neighbor.
Do you have an elderly friend or neighbor? A parent or older relative? If recommendations for social distancing make
it hard to look in on them directly, watch out for them, give them a call, let
them know you’re thinking of them and are mindful of their needs.
Think of others in need.
A lot of folks are being and are going to be hit hard as this situation
unfolds, especially in service and hospitality industries. Restaurants are struggling to deal with the situation;
hotels are stepping up their efforts to
ensure safety and cleanliness; those who keep our homes and offices clean and
orderly have to work that much harder; burdens that will fall heavily on staff
of limited economic means. If you have
the means to leave a little extra for good service or at least express your
appreciation for the effort, we are all better off for it.
Be respectful. These
are tense times in the public square, even without the added anxiety brought on
by the Coronavirus situation. Viruses
are without conscience or compassion.
They don’t care about your politics, your religion, your race, or your
station in life. Realize that we are all
in this together and put aside the disagreements to care for one another and
respect each other’s needs.
As for what we do here for the time being? Like a lot of folks who are passionate about
hockey and write about it, we are at something of a loss as to how to move forward. The cousins and I will probably comb through the
archives and look back on where we were and what we were doing in happier
times. You’ll probably see quite a few “The
Best of…” pieces. Cheerless will
undoubtedly come up with something typically bizarre and head-scratching.
This is a situation we, as hockey fans, have encountered
before, and on the other hand have not.
Hockey has gone dark in-season before – 1994-1995, 2004-2005,
2012-2013. But we could see it coming,
the issues were more clearly defined, and we knew what a solution might look
like. On the other hand, we did not get
as much warning about this (who knew on Tuesday that the league would be
announcing on Thursday it would suspend its schedule?). The solution, for lack of a better term, will
not be found within the sport’s confines.
Even those with whom a solution might reside – scientists, policy makers
– seem uncertain as to what a solution might look like or when it might
occur.
So for now, we sit, we wait. Be good, be safe.
