As I write this, I am entering the third week of lockdown in the UK brought on by the current COVID-19 outbreak.
While I can clearly see the bigger picture, I am realising how big a role sport plays in my life, now that there is no live sport to follow.
That’s evidenced by my profile here on The Roar, with 62 articles penned over the space of twelve months. To go from everything to nothing in a short space of time is quite a significant change for a sportaholic like myself.
I’m sure that there are many others out there in a similar situation.
So what do we do now?
I’ve come up with some recommendations as to what you can do to get your sporting fix while sport is put on hold. I haven’t explored all of them yet but I’m planning on doing so over the coming weeks and months.
This article may be a fortnight too late but hey we’ve all been dealing with stuff over the past few weeks which has taken priority over our love of sport.
The first recommendation is one that I have followed already, which is to watch old matches and old races (in the case of my favourite sport, Formula One).
Sports channels are awash with these and some terrestrial channels are also making an effort to schedule replays to give us our sporting fix. Do look through the TV guide with a fine-toothed comb. You may find some e-sports, which is doing a fine job at filling the void.
There are also plenty of documentaries and films being shown as well, some of which will be available on streaming services. ESPN’s 30 for 30 is a good place to start and Amazon Prime’s All or Nothing series are worth a watch as well with their behind-the-scenes insight into teams such as Manchester City, the All Blacks and the Arizona Cardinals NFL team.
You can use these re-runs to look into sports that you don’t normally follow. This is a great time to broaden your sporting horizons before you go back into your regular routine once the sporting calendar is filled once again.
Now would also be a good time to read those sports books that have lay waiting on the bookshelves for a while. And just a note that if you want to add to your collection during isolation, make sure you support the independent bookshops which may be struggling at the moment.
Don’t forget audio as you could use this time to catch up on some podcasts, of which there are many. While there’s nothing new happening, you won’t feel rushed into catching up as quickly as possible so that you can get up to date.
Then, when the sporting action returns, you can sit back knowing you’ve already done all the hard work in finding your new favourite podcast.
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list but it should give you an idea of what’s available to you sports wise during this lockdown period.
Just because there’s no live sport on, it doesn’t mean that sport cannot be used as a welcome distraction from the mad world we live in.
Take care, stay safe and enjoy your sporting discoveries!
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