Greene’s Gripe: We need sports now more than ever

SANDPOINT — Practices for fall sports in Idaho begin next Monday, but it sure doesn’t feel like it.

That usual excitement just isn’t there. Maybe it’s the long layoff we’ve had since actually seeing athletes competing for their respective schools. Or maybe it’s the uncertainty of whether a fall season will be completed.

Whatever it is, it doesn’t feel normal.

That’s something we’ve all become accustomed to over the past five months. In the midst of a pandemic, we have established a “new normal.” We don’t like it, but it’s the cards we were dealt and we’re adjusting.

The past handful of months have been a struggle for me. It’s hard to replace sports. Hours of binge-watching Netflix shows I never would have thought about watching didn’t do it for me, and neither did flipping through countless reruns of my favorite movies.

Sports are my life, it’s what I know and what I love. I’ve never known life without them.

To me, taking away sports is like removing water from my life. Water is essential and without, it you would die. Sports are the same way for me. If I don’t get my daily dose, there will be consequences.

There was nothing more that I missed over the last few months than sports, so it’s been refreshing to see the NBA and NHL return to action. I’d say the MLB as well, but it’s only a matter of time before the season is significantly altered or canceled all together due to positive COVID-19 tests.

So when I heard the Idaho High School Activities Association was moving forward with a fall season, I was ecstatic. I get to cover our local athletes in person again after weeks of talking to them over the phone and I get to watch the football team play on the new turf at War Memorial Field. What more could a sports editor ask for?

But recently it has become more and more apparent that the season will not go on without a hitch. Schools will need to have plans in place if an athlete, coach or a staff member close to a team tests positive for COVID-19 and they will have to decide if fans will even be able to attend games this fall.

In Boise, where the coronavirus outbreak is much worse, school districts are contemplating whether to go online this fall, fully reopen or do a hybrid model. Those decisions will ultimately determine if sports will be played in central and southern Idaho this fall and if the usual state tournaments will occur.

In times like these, sports have always served as an outlet to lift spirits and take our minds off of everything else going on in the world around us. They are a distraction and one we need right now.

Numerous local athletes had their spring season ripped away and I can guarantee you most of them have been anxiously awaiting a chance to get back on the field with their friends this fall. If sports can be conducted safely, kids shouldn’t have their opportunity to compete taken away.

There are certainly more important things in life than sports and I completely understand anyone that says allowing sports to be played in the midst of a pandemic is dangerous and risky. But I need it, the coaches need it and most importantly, the kids need it.

If the season begins and it becomes clear that playing sports isn’t realistic, then the season should be shut down. But we should at least give it a shot. Reduce travel, limit the number of teams at an event and practice social distancing on the sidelines. Whatever it takes, Sandpoint, Clark Fork and Priest River coaches, athletes and athletic directors will do it.

We all want sports, but only if it’s safe for everyone involved.