By KOREY DEBEER 12/10/20
Earlier this year, the Coronavirus put professional sports in America on hold. On March 11 2020, the NBA was the first to suspend their season after a player tested positive for the virus. That created a domino effect, and about a week later there were no sports being played in the United States. Many leagues were left wondering about how they would start or continue their seasons. Fortunately, there was an answer: bubbles.
In May, the NBA announced that they were going to continue their season by incorporating a bubble in Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. The teams found a way to isolate the players and staff from outside contact - and the risk of infection - making it safe to play. The NHL soon followed by having their bubble in two Canadian cities.
The biggest questions at that time were if Major League Baseball was going to have a season because time was ticking. Finally in late June the MLB announced that they were going to play a 60 game season starting the next month. Even though the MLB were one of the last leagues to say whether or not they were going to have a season, they were the first to start or resume play. The only key factor was that they didn’t have a bubble.
The bubble was one of the greatest successes in restarting the NHL and NBA seasons as the virus was kept at bay. The restart of those seasons ran smoothly and did not have many issues. The MLB on the other hand, had many postponements early on in their season due to outbreaks in the Marlins and Cardinals organizations. Overall the MLB had a total of 43 games postponed due to the coronavirus. Fortunately, every team played their 60 games and for the postseason, the MLB incorporated the bubble. After the postseason ended, the MLB announced that they only had 1 positive case in the bubble, and that happened to be during the last game of the season. The message was clear: bubbles work and they work effectively.
A big question looming around was if the NFL season could play and play on time. The answer: yes. The NFL started their season on time but also without a bubble. They have had a few postponements this season, but are on pace to finish it with every team playing all their games. While this is hopeful, it appears that bubbles might be a good option for sports until we can return to attending sports in person.