Speaking as someone who postponed his wedding today, it’s easy to cast your eyes away from the disappointment of current events. As an ardent sports fan, this summer looked set to be full of highlights capable of igniting passions and inspiring hobbyists. For now at least, that’s all gone: club football, the Six Nations, Euro 2020, Wimbledon, the Olympics – I could go on – is all hanging in the balance.
In the meantime, let’s hope all of these events are eventually played. Some, such as several of the Formula 1 races this season, have already fallen by the wayside and won’t be rearranged. Understandably, every tournament organiser is desperate to avoid having their tournament scratched off the calendar. Many can ill-afford to see it happen. Clearly though, not all of these events can be shoe-horned into the back end of 2020.
This means that while sports fans are currently experiencing a famine of competitive sport not seen for many decades, next year should be a glorious feast of sporting celebration. In the athletics world, it appears the Olympics and the World Championships will take place almost back-to-back, with the renamed Euro 2021 football tournament and the Women’s Euro 2021 fixtures to be played at a similar time. As matches are packed more tightly than ever before, we may see some of sports’ biggest rivalries heat up, with familiarity breeding ever greater contempt.
This is music to the ears of many fans, but the reduced recovery periods that come as a consequence will see more athletes miss major events due to injury. On a broader note, having so much sport could also generate public apathy. It’s hard to imagine now, but wall-to-wall sports coverage could see ambivalence kick in halfway through the year. World-class athletes deserve to perform in front of big crowds. It seems an easy idea to dismiss now, but I hope we fans don’t get lazy when the feast does arrive.
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