At first it seemed like they were going to play on, but in sealed venues that would broadcast or stream to us. I thought: how weird would it be for them to play in these empty, massive arenas? The silence would be deafening, except for the echoes. In places that big with no people, sound would inevitably carry and bounce off the empty seats and rafters. Then I thought about crowd-team dynamics. No fans to help you rally. No smack-talkers supporting the opposing team to fire you up. No love or fire from your biggest source of fuel.  

Really, that was never going to work. It wouldn’t be the NBA or the NCAA or the NFL or Premier League or any league without us.

So, fam, if you can get out to safely play, PLAY. Exercise your body and your mind. Leave it all on the court, the pitch, the field, the ice.

Honestly, though, most of us will get through this with a lot of help from YouTube, ESPN+, Netflix, Hulu, the myriad of streaming services available. A month ago, it seemed like there were too many, and now I’m extra grateful for all these options. They’ll help, at least a bit to fill this enormous void for the next little while.

Oh, and we can’t forget about 2K and Madden and FIFA and Pro Skater and NBA Jam. And, of course, Punch-Out!!. I can’t be the only one who still has an NES… Anyway, we can play alone or online, recreate individual games or playoffs, even create full seasons and tourneys.

Let’s spend some time looking for a way to revisit some of the greatest moments in the history of whatever it is we love most. Let’s break out the old tapes and discs. Let’s search and stream and fire up our consoles. Let’s get a little fix, let’s bask in the glory of the game, let’s relive where we were and what we were doing at those moments.

Let’s remember that whatever this is, we’re all in it together. Be safe. Be healthy. Be kind.

 - Donna B.

Donna leads the marketing team here at SNAPS. She still idolizes Doc Gooden while pretending he never played for the Yankees. Mets fans can be pretty good about maintaining illusions.

 #together

March 13, 2020 — Donna Bruschi

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