Wow. It’s all so hard to believe when you look at the schedule for what would have been the 2020 March Madness tournament — one of the most celebrated competitions in sports.
We all would have been gearing up last week for the Final Four. Planning out our weekend. Deciding where we’d watch the game … who we’d watch with. Perhaps how we would engage with our fans leading up to the final days of play. I wonder which teams would have made it to the final rounds.
Turns out the competition we’re all watching this year is not on the court. It’s in hospitals across the globe. Instead of watching our teams compete against each other, instead of rooting for our alma maters, instead of placing wagers on the spreads, we’re all banding together to root for our health care workers — our doctors, nurses and hospital staff. These people are the real champions this year.
I am proud of the colleges, athletic departments and student athletes who have taken their place in the stands — where all of their fans would normally be — to join in this historic competition. Even though we won’t see the confetti, the trophy, the fans flooding the court, we’ll all have the shared memory of the leadership and selflessness that our health care providers have shown. These people are heroes every day — but right now, they are the stars of the Big Dance. Thank You.
Sue Thaden is founder and CEO of From Now On and CRi in Omaha, Neb.
Questions about OPED guidelines or letters to the editor? Email editor Jake Kyler at jkyler@sportsbusinessjournal.com
