Is it over?
Yesterday morning, I sat down to write a newsletter. By around three or four, so many circumstances had changed I had to scrap the entire thing because it no longer made any sense.
Later that evening, I wrote another one, about the NCAA’s decision to play the entire NCAA Tournament without fans. It had a somewhat light-hearted tone, because I got the sense that fans (myself included) were trying to adjust to this development. Why not have some fun with it, you know? But by about 9 or 10 pm last night—after news broke that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the cornovavirus and the NBA had suspended its season—that letter I had written felt downright ancient.
I scrapped that as well.
Now, the Big 12 Tournament—which looked like it was going to be played as of 11 AM this morning—is cancelled.
It makes sense. If the pros aren’t playing, there’s not many good arguments for the amateurs to take the same risks. I imagine the NCAA tournament will get cancelled later this afternoon, and that as I’m writing this, things are in motion.
While I had decided that all of these cancellations were ultimately the right thing to do, from a public health perspective, it still feels so surreal. My rational side accepted the circumstance, but my emotional side (which is the lens through which I watch Kansas basketball!) is completely adrift. KU will not get the opportunity to prove that they are 2020’s champion, and that’s a huge bummer, obviously.
We might have already watched KU’s final game this season. It’s hard to process.
More to come. To anyone reading, stay safe and take care of yourself.