There is NO sugarcoating this. For millions and millions of athletes, coaches, families, labor force, elderly, and sport fans, THIS REALLY HURTS!!!! March Madness is GONE!! State Tournaments are GONE!! Lifelong Dreams are SHATTERED!! The list of HEARTACHE is forever ENDLESS!!
The son of a former athlete of mine is a senior. His basketball team was 25-0 and ranked #1 in the state. They were well on their way to the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP! IT’S GONE! Stories like this will be told forever. HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THIS?
As I am sure you have heard before- THERE IS NO PLAYBOOK FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING! Nothing we can draw from- Nothing we have ever seen before in our lifetime. Just the PAIN of knowing we will NEVER get these lifelong memories and experiences back.
We have always known-ESPECIALLY IN SPORT– “Life never seems to be quite FAIR.” A bad call- A bad bounce- A half court shot that goes in- So many times we were RIGHT THERE- SO CLOSE!
I have talked to many that think we are OVERREACTING! It is just another case of the flu. Right? MY RESPONSE! YES– we just might be however, the opposite is to UNDERREACT and IF we are wrong, there is NO DO OVER!! It will be way LATE in trying to REVERSE course. We have all used the phrase “better safe than sorry.” We are talking about a killer virus that has taken thousands of lives worldwide. We have never seen this flu strain before and that makes us nervous and has now been LABELED a PANDEMIC!
As I feel so very sad for all that can’t realize their athletic dreams, I am reminded of so many that have lost not only their lives, but also those that have lost their jobs and cannot put food on their table. The suffering from this away from the ATHLETIC SCENE is also endless. A bit of perspective for all of us.
This is what I know to be true. The “great athletic spirit and toughness” is and will always be extremely POWERFUL! If there was EVER a demographic group of people that will move on from this and BE JUST FINE– they are ATHETES and COACHES and TEAMS!! They have always been BUILT for this!
SO– It is absolutely ACCEPTABLE to be saddened by this chain of events. Let’s all pray and hope that this virus will be eradicated sooner than later. Once that happens, I think you find that many, ESPECIALLY ATHLETES, will MOVE ON from this much faster than you think, ready to take on the NEXT CHAPTER in their lives.
COACH EDDIE ANDRIST 