Sports are back in action at Segra Field with the inaugural home opener for the Old Glory DC professional rugby team. Old Glory is one of 12 teams in the Major League Rugby league in the U.S. and Canada. The league is in its fourth year and this is the team’s first season at its new home – Segra Field in Leesburg.
My latest post was a full six months ago a few weeks after the professional soccer season came to an abrupt end at Segra Field due to the COVID pandemic. The fall high school sports season was dead in the water and there was little hope of restarting anytime soon. Athletes hoping to have a great fall season to impress college coaches and get a precious scholarship offer were out of luck at that point.
Things changed a few months later as sports leagues found ways to get back in action. Professional teams broadcast their games with empty stands, piping in crowd noise to give some appearance of normalcy. College sports leagues did a variety of approaches from out right cancellation of seasons to delayed and shortened seasons. The Virginia High School League decided that they would play abbreviated seasons for all of the sports beginning with the winter season, followed by the fall season and spring season. Fan attendance was extremely limited to start but gradually was allowed to increase as a vaccine was released and to number of vaccinated people increased.
This approach was the best that could be done safely under the conditions at the time. Players had their seasons and their chance to impress scouts. Those chasing school career records were hamstrung by only playing six games instead on 10 or 11.
Professional sports found their way to play through the winter and are in the preseason preparations for the sports playing throughout the summer. Baseball is starting in April, although the Washington Nationals had to cancel their opening day game due to COVID infections among their opponent. Soccer leagues are playing preseason games and starting their season next week. Major League Rugby already started their season.
Multiple vaccines are now on the market to protect against the coronavirus and jurisdictions around the country are loosening restrictions. Hopefully, we will soon see all sports going on as before, or at least some semblance of normalcy.
