The Impact of COVID-19 (Corona Virus,) has hit this year’s March Madness tournament as the NCAA will be limiting attendance to tournament games.
This announcement covers both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments. Only essential staff and family will be permitted into the arenas. This is obviously a huge disappointment on many levels for many people. Media availability will also be limited.
This announcement comes after the Ivy League and CBI tournaments were canceled.
The Impact
The fans and student sections helped create the atmosphere that makes the tournament so fun and memorable. Tickets have already been purchased, hotels booked, weekends planned, and sick days being used.
But you also have to think of the business side of things. Some cities have planned on these games for weeks, and maybe even months. Local businesses are going to miss out on what would have been a huge time of year for sales.
Overall, this just stinks. But, I understand why it was done. It’s the smart and safe thing to do. You can be mad about it, but it’s a completely understandable decision.
This is a scary time. We have now reached the point where the disease is being spread throughout communities. We just don’t know how severe this is, but it is inevitable that this is going to get worse.
Is this an overreaction? Possibly, but what if one person with COVID-19 comes into contact with a 20,000 person crowd. Then those people are roaming around spreading the disease everywhere. This is the unfortunate decision that the NCAA had to take.
There is going to be a different feel to this year’s tournament, but it’s not going to take away from the fun of watching all the games. So just sit back, relax at home, grab some drinks, and win (or lose) all your money betting on the 12-seeds to go to the sweet-16.
