I will always remember March 12, 2020. It started off simply as my mom’s birthday, a normal day in Arizona covering the White Sox. What it turned into was the day sports went silent.
You can actually trace it back to the night before, when Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the Coronavirus, aka COVID-19. The NBA acted quickly in suspending its season and the NHL soon followed. The NCAA canceled conference tournaments and then in a stunning turn of events, called off March Madness.
On an off day in Arizona the news came down: no baseball for a while. Wow, this is really happening! A virus that seemed so far away several weeks ago came close to home. There was a feeling of “ok, what now?”. I scrambled to get a flight back to Chicago and when I got home, it already felt like the off-season.
I was curious about what some of my fellow broadcasters, beat writers and even a few media relations folks were thinking about that day. What was their initial reaction to finding out your season was either postponed or cancelled? Here are some of their reactions.
Brian Anderson, play-by-play, Milwaukee Brewers TV, Turner Sports: I worked an NBA game on a Tuesday in front of a sellout crowd. Wednesday, I was shocked to learn about NBA players testing positive for COVID19, then expected the NBA to postpone games. Postponing the season surprised me and it was sobering to grasp what this virus was doing to our way of life.
Thursday morning, I was sitting court side ready to call the Big Ten Tournament in front of no fans. Minutes before tip, they cancelled the tournament. A few hours after that the NCAA Tournament was cancelled, then MLB suspended play and delayed opening of the season. In a flash, everything I do was no longer. My only thought was to get home and get to my family.
Wayne Randazzo, play-by-play, New York Mets: To me, it was the worst day as a baseball fan since the beginning of the 1994 strike and eventual cancellation of that year’s World Series (I was 10). I understand all the reasons for this, and safety is obviously the most important thing, but it still hurts to see baseball, which has always endured, not being played right now.
It’s wild how quickly things turned. I don’t even think Howie (Rose, Randazzo’s partner on Mets’ broadcasts) and I really discussed the virus on the air. It went from being something to sort of keep an eye on to a monster problem with extreme speed. I also broadcast a decent amount of Big East and Big Ten basketball over the winter, and I’m sad to see a bunch of great stories from those two conferences won’t ever get to be completed.
Mike Ferrin, pre/post game and play-by-play, Arizona Diamondbacks, co-host MLB Network Radio “Power Alley”: I follow the news pretty closely, and, even while the league and players association worked to come up with concepts of what “might” happen early in the week, with no recommendations of a shut down, it certainly felt inevitable. My professional passion is baseball, so while it was a disappointment to see college leagues, then MLB, then Minor League Baseball shutdown in rapid succession, I also knew that it was 100% the right thing to do. Listening to the NIH and CDC talk about what we need to get through this, the idea of continuing to play in front of crowds of people was dangerous.
Joe Brand, play-by-play Kane County Cougars (Class A), sportscaster WGN Radio Chicago: I didn’t take it seriously at first. Once the NBA season was suspended, I came to an understanding it was only a matter of time before the NHL, MLB (along with MiLB) would follow. That day I felt disbelief, helplessness, awkwardness and misunderstanding.
The past couple of days have just opened my eyes to what type of global experience we are dealing with. Aside from rain during baseball season, it’s very difficult to suspend/cancel any games at the professional level, let alone multiple sports’ entire seasons. This is definitely a historic time we’re living and working in. I’m trying to soak in the responsibility of being in the media during this time.
I’ve been searching for things to try and keep me sharp and ready to go during this hiatus. I wanted to see what these guys are doing to keep their minds in it.
Anderson: I call 150 games per year and spend half of every year on the road. I am not thinking about staying sharp. I am using this time to rest and spend time with my wife and daughter. To be fully present with them.
Randazzo: I am voicing over some things including a passion project that will probably never see the light of day, so I suppose that’s my way of staying sharp. I have a bunch of books, baseball and otherwise, that I want to read or reread so this will give me some time to do that. Perhaps I’ll do something for WCBS or WFAN in the meantime, but that hasn’t been determined yet.
Ferrin: Well, fortunately I still work every day, though it’s with our programming being altered to ensure the safety of our studio staff, so that makes it easier. Hosting a baseball talk show with no baseball is a challenge, but, a fun one. Jim Duquette and our producers, Hunter Reiser & Brady Gardiner, have some ideas on what we want to do. Deeper player breakdowns, a few goofy things to lighten the mood, maybe looking at some random baseball games or matchups to create some fun baseball-reference inspired worm holes.
We realize we have to cover the news as it pertains to COVID-19 and how it impacts baseball, but we also need to give people a distraction. Something they can get lost in for 30-45 minutes at a time that give them a mental release.
Brand: Clearly, I can’t call any games, so I’m planning on updating my reel and website. One fun thing I’ve done to make light of the situation is ask Chicagoland coaches and PE teachers to share their scores from games on Friday or student athletes to recognize. I’ve been using them in my weekend sports updates. We’ve had people texting in YMCA basketball scores, kindergarten gym class stories, and plenty spotlights on HS seniors that had abrupt endings to their seasons.
Something most of us have in common now is a little downtime. What are you actually doing with this unexpected time to yourself?
Anderson: I’ve been doing a few projects around the house every day. I cleaned out the garage, cleaned up the floors, ran some Cat5 cable to various spots from the router, cooked a bunch of meals, worked out, read, and organized some accounting projects. But mostly I’ve been hanging with my family doing all the things I can’t do when I’m on the road.
Randazzo: It is always nice to spend as much time with my 6-year old daughter as possible, and she’s off school too so this will give us more time than usual. Even during the season, I’ll fly home on off days to be with her as close to 100% of my free time as I can. That’s certainly a great thing even under these dubious circumstances. Otherwise, I’ll do a few things around the house and constantly check the news for updates on flattening the curve and when I can call the curve again.
Ferrin: Cooking. Lots of cooking. My wife is working from home too, so, we’ll cook, walk the dogs, I’ll ride my Peloton and just try to weather the storm. Our hatches are battened, so we’re ready for it. I assure you though, I’ll be ready when baseball is back. I miss it, but, it ain’t going away. It’ll be back and I’m excited for that.
(Writer’s Note: Mike is a very good cook, grilling out is a specialty of his. He forced me to eat lots of BBQ one night recently in Arizona.)
Brand: Making sure my mom is okay. Cleaning my apartment. Catching up on some shows/movies. Updating my website will be a big one. I’m comfortable with the free time now, but I know I’ll get pretty restless eventually. So, keeping my mentality in check will definitely be something to keep in mind too.
Things of this nature really put sports into perspective. There are bigger things to worry about like the health and safety of family, friends and strangers around the world. The only down side to there being no sports is we can’t provide a much-needed escape from all that is going on today.
I’m reminded about how sports can bring people together in a time of need as well. This is a time of need. Right now, as the diamonds, courts and links are empty let’s think of better days to come, that should be helpful in getting as all through this awful time.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
