We are nearing two months or more of a shutdown and lockdown intended to flatten the curve amid the coronavirus pandemic, and various local governments are beginning to ease restrictions. Accordingly, we are starting to see a limited return of live televised sports.
On Sunday, NASCAR returned to competition with the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway, which was won by Kevin Harvick. The event lacked fans, included a limit on staff and team members, and involved temperature checks.
Watching the race without fans made it seem more like a practice, but the stakes being real reminded viewers that the event counted.
The biggest takeaway from the event was the positive psychological effect it had on the participants, and likely the fans as well.
“I was up this morning at 6 a.m., pacing around my porch trying to decide when I was going to leave. I was excited to get back in the car,” Harvick said.
NASCAR executive Steve O’Donnell shared a similar thought, though he noted the lack of fans left a void.
“As far as the vibe in the garage area, I think everyone’s spirits were really, really high,” O’Donnell said. “They all knew the effort that this took collectively to pull this off. This was not easy, but everybody came together in a real spirit of collaboration. It was odd just with limited number of people here and when you look up into the stands, you certainly miss the fans, that vibe, that energy.”
The race also marked the returns of Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman. This was Newman’s first race since his big crash at the Daytona 500 in February.
The press box was spaced out to follow social distancing protocol, providing for a weird sight.
The PGA Tour is set to return to competition in June, but on Sunday, fans got to see some of their favorite players in action.
Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson teamed up to face Matthew Wolff and Rickie Fowler in a charity event called the TaylorMade Driving Relief at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida.
Players carried their own bags to limit the amount of people involved, the announcers were 200 miles away, and Mike Tirico hosted the event from his home office. The players wore microphones, but more talking from them would have been nice to liven up the program.
All together, over $5 million was raised in the skins game.
“It was an awesome day,” McIlroy said. “It was nice to get back on the golf course and get back to some sort of normalcy.”
Sports on TV probably won’t feel completely normal until fans are present, but for now, we are making the best of situations. Athletes being able to participate in events in some fashion is a good step, and having something to watch is a positive development for fans.
