Welcome back, winter athletes.
I wish that had a happier meaning.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy winter sports practices have resumed, but it’s hard for me to write you this welcome back letter without taking into account this past year.
Last March, the world turned upside down. Or, so it felt, at least. A “once in a lifetime” pandemic rocked our planet, and is still ravaging certain countries. The United States is still trying to catch up, and even the small things that made us happy — like attending sporting events — have been virtually nonexistent. Throughout this pandemic, I’ve shared my thoughts through this medium, hoping to connect with or challenge our reader base. Naturally, each column has resonated with or downright pissed off different groups of people. This isn’t one of those columns. This is a letter.
In the fall, we saw how outdoor sports could operate. It was bumpy, but it worked. It set us up for how winter could work, which it definitely seemed it could. We saw what clearly looked like Gov. Jim Justice tweaking the DHHR map metrics so schools could have their moneymaker, football, despite other maps showing West Virginia rising in COVID-19 cases. We knew coming into winter sports things would look different, although if COVID-19 spreads the way it does, basketball and football truly aren’t that different.
The first postponement was understandable. The second was not. Thank God for the third order to push things forward.
Yet, the virus has bared its teeth, reared its ugly head and taken another bite out of West Virginia. Cases are rising in certain areas. Back home in Ritchie County, there have been multiple outbreaks within the school system. Here, on the edge of town, 55 boys’ basketball players and wrestlers have been traced back to one WVU intern and now have to quarantine. It’s hard to imagine what those kids are going through. After doing everything right, another link to WVU — which returned students to campus for the spring semester — is the reason a team won’t be able to compete. I’m not shaming that WVU student, nor am I shaming the school. I’ve made my thoughts clear about bringing students from around the country back to campus. I don’t need to rehash that, but wasn’t this inevitable? If not at UHS, maybe Clay-Battelle, Trinity, Morgantown or any other school that has college interns come help their program.
It’s hard to be upset about that, but also be happy to see on Twitter MHS Athletic Director John Bowers sharing pictures of the girls’ team practicing. It’s hard to read in my hometown paper that 11 boys have signed up to play basketball for RCHS so far since most athletes there also have to prepare for spring sports, while also writing stories about Trinity and C-B having deep teams, full of multi-sport athletes.
Then I wonder about the inevitable cancellations for inclement weather. The MHS swim team had their first practice cancelled due to the snowstorm that started yesterday and is still dropping snow on us as I write this. What’s going to happen if we continue to get bands of coast-to-coast snowstorms?
One reprieve is that Justice is now allowing contests to operate in orange counties. Whether that’s stupid or not, it’s currently allowing schools in nine counties, including Monongalia County, to practice. Another is that, from Saturday’s numbers, Mon is slowly dropping. At this rate, we’ll be yellow barring any new spikes. But, this isn’t a Mon-only problem. At any given moment, any county can go red and throw a wrench into the cogs.
All in all, I’m still excited to see these seasons begin. I wearily welcome you all back to the court, the pool and the mats. It’s been a long time coming, and I pray things work out as smoothly as possible. A few potholes here and there, we can weather. However, if the state’s response this winter is anything like its roadwork, patching a few potholes will only lead to a bigger, more dangerous one in the near future.
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