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Updated: May 18, 2020 Other Voices

Sports can help lead economic rebound from COVID-19 pandemic

HBJ File Photo Hartford's Dunkin' Donuts Park, home of the Eastern League Double-A Yard Goats.
By Bill Field
Bill Field

Sports, thought by many to be trivial and the last thing we should be concentrating on during the pandemic, are truly important.

Sports are a series of never-ending interwoven threads that are part of the mosaic of many of our lives, both nationally and internationally.

Sports essentially faded to dark on March 12, here in the U.S. Many international countries were canceling their beloved soccer games at the same time. Ball fields went silent and ice rinks were melted, with no assurances of coming back in the near future.

Today, one’s need for a sports “fix” can’t be satisfied. The appeal of old-time classic reruns only lasts so long as the outcome has already been determined.

Gimmicks like NBA players competing in shooting or video games fall flat. Fans want the real thing with winners and losers and box scores to pore over.

Sports have tentacles that reach deep into the economic engine of the world economy. Hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the sports industry from ticket takers to multimillion-dollar athletes, and even wealthier team ownrs.

TV networks rely on games to reap advertising revenue. Bars and restaurants reap the benefits of pre-, during- and post-game festivities.

Sports have led the way out of dark periods in our country before. Thanks to the vision of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, baseball continued throughout World War II and made significant contributions to the war effort.

On Sept. 21, 2001, 10 days after the terror attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City, Mets catcher Mike Piazza’s two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning provided a small dose of healing for a city rebounding from tragedy.

Few things in life bring people together more than the love for their teams.

Want further proof that the nation is starved for sports as folks ride out the quarantine in their bunkers that house big-screen TVs? ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary series about the NBA’s illustrious Chicago Bulls championship team, drew a huge following, doubling a previous ESPN “30 for 30” series ratings record.

Meantime, the first round of the NFL draft had ratings that were 40% higher than any previous year.

Sports as a salve for a nation that’s been shaken to the core is much needed at this time.

We need to lose ourselves watching a game and not think about economic fallout or grim death statistics. The economic benefits of the industry go hand-in-hand.

Sports have power over so many of us. It brings us together. We forget about racial or economic divides. It’s anything but trivial or frivolous as some suggest.

My take — sports have never been more needed, both socially and economically. I’ll be waiting to hear the two words I love best in the world of sports, “play ball.”

Bill Field is the founder of FieldActivate, a Connecticut-based marketing firm.

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