Sports rolls on in the U.S. while the pandemic rages: Is it worth the risk? – By Geoff Baker (Seattle Times) / Dec 6 2020
Snow-covered stands and an empty field loomed ominously in Saskatchewan last weekend for what was supposed to be the 108th Grey Cup championship game capping Canada’s professional football season.
Instead, it was a reminder of differences between how Canada has handled sports during the pandemic compared to this country. There was no Grey Cup for the first time since 1919 because no football – pro, college or high school – was played in Canada this year compared to U.S. teams trying to scrounge enough non-COVID-19-impacted players together for games amid a national infection rate four times higher and a death toll 2½ times greater per capita than our northern neighbor.
Canada’s various governments decided by summer that allowing major sports to continue as usual was too risky and polls showed the public supporting that call. So, professional sports teams were sent packing to temporary U.S. homes, others were made to play in “bubble” zones while universities, junior hockey and other amateur leagues mostly ceased playing.
By comparison, the U.S. has had no clear federal guidance, with individual states and municipalities left to dictate rules that vary greatly.
This isn’t the first time the two countries have diverged at the intersection of sports and public policy; Americans typically more financially and politically accommodating to leagues, teams, players and the corporate interests surrounding them. But our country’s modern obsession with sports never had life-and-death consequences of a pandemic attached.
