NESN Diary: How Lack Of Sports Affects Mental Health (And Other Random Thoughts)

Each day during the sports pause stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, NESN.com will publish a diary full of random thoughts, opinions, takeaways, and other cool tidbits we’ve stumbled across in the absence of actual games. Because why not? We’re all in this together.

March 11, 2020: Going into that day, it was quite normal for everyone in the United States.

Sure, COVID-19 already had struck other nations, but in no way was it affecting the way people think or live in the U.S. as it is right now. Once Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, however, everything instantly changed.

It all happened so fast, and no one — or at least myself — was prepared to say goodbye for this long.

Sports have been one of the few things that always have been there for me. Whether it’s spending hours on end every single night watching games to destress your mind, having conversations with your friends and family about whatever happened the night before or even going out and playing something: It was a chance to distract yourself from life. That’s what sports provided.

I think back to my days in high school and thinking about having my final season of baseball being taken away. I don’t know how I would have handled it. I don’t know if I could have.

I will be completely open about this. I am an intern and my connection to the sports world will be gone in a week. I will be on my own. And while that scares me, I believe I — much like everyone else — can absolutely get through this. We have to.

Mental health is really important right now, especially as people lose their normalcy day after day. And now, all they have is time to think. People have their own ways of coping, with sports being one of the main ways of doing so. It was for myself and a number of the people I know. That makes what we can do together so important.

Mentally, people can go to dark places that scare them. They can get stuck in a rut that they can’t get out of. I know I have been there. And more than ever, this quarantine makes it hard for people to not get down on themselves.

That said, recognizing that you are not alone can only better your mind and life moving forward.

People are missing sports. That is no secret. All we hear are rumors of when a league “may” come back, but nothing is concrete. That doesn’t help fans or athletes. It just gives false hope.

No, sports are not the end-all-be-all when it comes to people’s mental health, but it was something that helped some feel better. It gave them something to look forward to night after night. Now, it’s a discussion point that is gone. A passion, a love that no one has any clue of when it will come back. That can affect your head more than anything.

In this time of fear, uncertainty, and tons of unknown, sports fans need to come together. If you’re an athlete, a sports personality or simply just a fan, you likely are missing those moments that forever sit in your mind.

The point is simple — we’re all in this together. Rivals can become friends and talk about the moments they miss. Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees fans would do anything to be at each other’s throats again.

We are all out there looking for something, folks. Reach out, talk to each other, reminisce about what made you a fan, and enjoy each other until the athletes can return to the field to entertain us once again.

On May 9, the regular returns when UFC returns to the octagon for the first time since March 14. Toward the end of May, Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning will face Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in a game of golf. Slowly, sports are coming back. Maybe it’s not in the way people would prefer, but they’re coming back nonetheless, and that’s all fans can ask for right now. I know that’s what I am looking forward to.

Until then, all we have is each other. So, utilize that. That way we can enjoy games again. Together.

Anyway, here are some other random thoughts from Thursday:

— Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals officially parted ways Thursday, ending a nine-year run for the team and its one-time franchise quarterback. Dalton went 70-61-2 in his time as a starter.

Twitter and oddsmakers might have you thinking Dalton can be the savior the New England Patriots are looking for. But it seems like it’d be a lateral move unless he was brought in to strictly be a backup. Let the kid (Jarrett Stidham) get his shot with nothing to worry about.

Sorry, Brian Hoyer.

— According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, Major League Baseball is considering using their home ballparks as their homes for spring training if the league were to resume instead of their ballparks in Arizona and Florida. The league is continuing to eye an early July return to play.

Any chance of baseball coming back will be welcomed by all, no matter where they play.

— The Kansas City Chiefs, meanwhile, exercised their fifth-year option on 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes on Thursday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. They will look to give him a contract extension now that he is locked up through 2021.

Seems the only questions that remain are for how much, and how long? Mahomes is on his way to greatness with an MVP and Super Bowl in his holster already.

— LeBron James revealed the official “Space Jam” sequel logo, with the release date being announced by Rotten Tomatoes to be on July 16, 2021.

This is some news that everyone needed. In the wake of “The Last Dance” debut on ESPN and plenty of uncertainty regarding the game of basketball, news of the long-awaited sequel is some of the best news in a long time. The Looney Tunes will be facing the Monstars once again.

Photo of the Day
It’s okay to double dip when it involves Bugs Bunny’s return to the big screen.

Stat of the Day
For those Dalton-to-Patriots fans out there:

Video of the Day
Two basketball alphas having a fun conversation. Can’t get much better than that, can it?

More COVID-19: Adam Silver ‘Preparing Teams’ For Possible Delayed 2020-21 Start