By Tyler Sonderholzer
After a brief hiatus due to COVID-19, the National Hockey League (NHL) restarted their season in August with their “return to play” format, which led to two bubble cities: Edmonton and Toronto.
“Bubbles” are when all players, coaches, staff and media are quarantined in a small area that includes arenas, hotels, restaurants, practice facilities and other amenities. Everyone is tested daily and there are strict restrictions, such as that no one can leave the bubble and that there are punishments for those who leave.
A Sept. 28 statement from the NHL says that out of the 773 tests that were issued in the previous week, none were positive cases. The release of that statement marks the ninth week of testing in a row and has yielded no positive cases.
Since the players first entered the bubble in late July, there hasn’t been a single positive case out of more than 30,000 cases. Meanwhile, the National Basketball Association also has no positive cases since players arrived in early July for their own bubble at Walt Disney World. Bubbles have been proven effective and may pave the way for other sports leagues to follow if there is no vaccine for COVID-19 available during future seasons.
The Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL), two sports that have not used bubbles, have different stories to tell.
At the beginning of the MLB season, several teams had COVID-19 breakouts, causing games to be postponed. Some questioned if the season would continue; however, there have been no outbreaks since early in the season. Now the MLB postseason is underway, beginning on Sept. 29.
The NFL has avoided the bubble and has largely avoided any breakouts with teams causing postponements. However, it was announced on Sept. 29 that the Tennessee Titans had several positive cases among players and personnel. This led to their game getting postponed on Oct. 4, leaving the door wide open for issues to arise later on in the season.
COVID-19 has impacted the sports world in unimaginable ways, and the loss of revenue for some leagues may severely affect their longevity. While some NFL teams are allowed to have a limited amount of fans, other teams and leagues might not have fans until 2021.
The general consensus is that it will take a while before professional sports return to normal, and whenever that time comes, it will certainly be welcomed with open arms.
