There are far more important things in life, but boy do I miss visiting a new stadium. With each passing month, I reminisce about a trip that is synonymous with the season and right now that is sitting in a ballpark on a warm evening. Each stadium visit brings something new, yet also something familiar and I literally can close my eyes and feel that. The crack of the bat, the concession smell, the PA announcing the next batter. If I’m waxing poetic about a sport that I’m lukewarm on, you know I’m desperate to get back on the road. This is the longest I have gone without seeing a live sporting event in at least 20 years. While I badly want to see things back to normal, I more so would like to see the virus controlled (really eliminated) and pray for everyone affected. At the same time, I grow angrier, sadder and more frustrated at the ridiculous amounts of stupid idiots that live in this country (U.S.) as we continue to see setback after setback as a result of actions by both Citizens and Government “leaders”.
Things here in New Jersey and in most of the Northeast have improved significantly and I sincerely hope that trend continues going forward. In fact, it is now becoming possible to start seeing live sports as we’re seeing plans for summer-collegiate baseball leagues to have fans at a reduced capacity with safety measures in place. For me, if I were to make a stadium trip in the next few months, it would be to a place that never filled most of their ballpark, so I can have an experience very close to one pre-covid. Summer-leagues would fit that bill with some teams playing in 4,000-seat stadiums and only normally draw ~1,000. Given masks, the outdoor setting and other preventative measures, I would feel safe attending given the research and studies I’ve read. We’ll see if anything comes to fruition and I’ll also be on the lookout for trying to do something with football (ex. a Kent State football game in a stadium holding 25,000 with attendance usually 10,000 or less). In the meantime, enjoy the gradual return of sport, stay safe and please wear your damn mask!
Stadium and Arena Visits 