January seemed a premonition for what was to come to the whole 2020 sports year as its first day saw the Nashville Predators playing the Dallas Stars outdoors during the NHL Winter Classic in Texas.  On 13 January at the College Football Playoff National Championship games, Joe Burrow made a name for himself as he successfully accomplished a total of six (6) touchdowns. Several managers including AJ Hinch of the Houston Astros, Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets, and Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox got fired, as well, when a report for the MLB confirmed that they cheated.

One of the most unforgettable events this year was the untimely demise of Kobe Bryant. On 26 January, Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, along with several others were riding a helicopter bound for the Mamba Sports Academy. The world went on a standstill when news went out, informing every one of the unexpected crash of the helicopter in the Calabasas hills of California. Bryant and all his companions died.

February witnessed Sofia Kenin winning the Australian Open, defeating Garbine Muguruza and becoming America’s youngest woman to grab a Grand Slam in the said event since 2002’s victory of Serena Williams.

March was a tumultuous month for the 2020 sports year as many stadiums all over the world were temporarily converted into field testing sites and hospitals for coronavirus patients. The global first wave of infections occurred, forcing other sports arenas and similar areas to act as transient morgues and shelters for the homeless, as well.

The NBA opted to shut down during this period which, then, became a precursor for all other sports to cancel and suspend their event schedules. Another huge blow to all the different sports was the necessity to halt the already planned 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics as more and more countries had to collectively initiate massive lockdowns to stop COVID-19 transmission.

May saw a comeback of UFC as three (3) of its events pushed through. UFC 249 had to be moved and postponed several times before it was agreed to be hosted by the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

As the 2020 sports year moved on, despite the necessity to change, cancel, and postpone schedules, June witnessed NASCAR banning Confederate flags in the different race tracks due to Bubba Wallace’s urging. After eleven (11) days, however, hundreds of vehicles carrying various flags protested the decision as they paraded at Talladega Speedway’s entrance. NASCAR, however, backed Wallace but his trip to the Speedway ended in a massive display of unity and strength among the participants.

The end of the 2020 sports year is nearly approaching. The start of December saw a midweek game of the NFL. Due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the Baltimore Ravens, their Thanksgiving event versus the Pittsburgh Steelers had to be done on a Wednesday. This was the second time that the NFL had a Wednesday game since 1949. The NBA is back, as well, as some of the Association’s familiar faces join the fray.

Barcelona’s legendary star, Lionel Messi, shares that he will decide his next career move in summer. Messi nearly departed the Nou Camp after he successfully submitted a request transfer in summer. However, he opted to remain at the club. Josep Maria Bortomeu pointed out that Messi had to pay the €700 million release clause before he would be given the right to do so. Bortomeu’s words were said during an interview, alerting Manchester City as they were involved in Messi’s decision to either stay or move on.

“Nothing will be crystal clear before the end of the year. I’ll wait until the season is over.  What matters now is thinking about the team, finishing the year well and not being distracted by other things, shared Lionel Messi. “I don’t know what will happen. I’m focused on what we have here and battling for whatever we can. “I’m not thinking about how the year will end. As of today, it wouldn’t be wise for me to say what I’m going to do because I don’t know,” he continued.

While Messi declined to speak further about his next career move, he spoke fondly of his close friendship with Paris Saint-Germain’s forward, Neymar, as he mentioned that he would also want to have a chance to join the Major League Soccer (MLS) games. “I’ve always had the dream of playing in another league, in the United States,” Messi explained. “Maybe it will happen, doesn’t have to be right away. Today I am just focused on these next six months.”

He went on to speak of a possible Barcelona reunion with his friend Neymar. “It’ll be difficult to bring in players because the funds aren’t there. We’ll have to bring in plenty of top players to get us competing on all fronts again and they come at a price. Neymar would be extremely expensive. How would the club pay PSG for the transfer (of Neymar)? The situation will be tough for the new president, who will have to be intelligent and get everything in order. Changes will be needed for him to do well,” Lionel Messi speculated. “I don’t know if Neymar said that (that the two would play together next year). You’d have to ask him about what he said. We do chat sometimes and we are in touch,” he added.

Speaking of Luis Suarez, Messi also shared how he felt about Barcelona selling the striker to Athletico Madrid despite the fact that the club was one of their biggest rivals. “What they did seemed crazy to me, because of how he left. He left for free, paying him his contract and a team that fights for the same thing as us,” Messi lamented.

Although Lionel Messi plans to make his future career decisions at the end of this season, fans are still glad to have him around. Surely, wherever he decides to go and whatever options he chooses to go with, he will still be one of the main Barcelona star players for many of his avid fans.

Major leagues across all sports have transitioned to live coverage games instead of rallying over thousands of fans to fill stadiums. Most people assumed that the same amount of support from live attendees will automatically become avid viewers of televised games, however, the theory fell short. There are numerous factors that determine why pandemic TV ratings have dropped especially in sports. 

Here are the top four reasons we can examine.

Schedule Conflicts

From the onset, leagues have been forced to postpone the commencement of their 2020 season due to the global virus outbreak earlier in the year. Unsurprisingly, leagues resumed within the same period, thus causing some sort of cannibalization in terms of TV time slots. Further dividing the attention of sports fans are sudden schedule shifts in different leagues to make way for safety measures relating to the coronavirus. A perfect example is the first game of the Rays-Yankees AL Division Series which was aired on the same night as two NFL games. One game had originally been scheduled on Sunday but was suspended to the following day because of a coronavirus outbreak.

Unnatural Time Frames

Most avid sports fans find it unnatural to suddenly change their viewing habits to adjust to the new season schedules adapted by major leagues. The most recent NBA Finals, for example, which fans usually watch out for in June just concluded in October. This is far from what viewers have been used to for years and this alteration in their cycle causes a level of confusion. A former ESPN production executive shared that moving sports from their natural positions to periods where they are unaccustomed stirs a competition with other sports that are conventionally aired in those time frames. This is a huge contributing factor as to why pandemic TV ratings are suffering.

Psychological Factors

Not having the usual crowded benches and screaming fans on the stands creates some sort of psychological impact that tells the audiences that the game isn’t so exciting or is not much of a big deal. Scenes showing the crowd going wild is part of the appeal of watching sports telecasts. It gives a level of exhilaration that adds to the competitive nature of sports even among audiences who are watching at home.

Current Political Climate

The presidential elections are coming up and the political climate is stirring a lot of thoughts and emotions not only among candidates, but also the voters. In a situation where people are actively trying to become more exposed to the country’s politics and are watching out for the candidates’ platforms, viewership in news networks or commentary shows surge much higher than any football or basketball game. No matter how important sports fans would like to watch every single game of each major league, following current events during a pandemic in somehow a sounder idea.