By Jeremy Bochniak
SAN MARCOS- 2020 made most of us realize that we take the simple things for granted. The daily lives of millions of people continue to change and this year has been a constant adjustment. An aspect that gets lost in our new reality is the ability to play sports, specifically Basketball. With socially distant guidelines still in place, most gyms have shut down their Basketball Courts, and most parks simply removed the rims on the backboards. A sport that people use for socializing, cardio, and competition was removed in a instant.
Jake Kotzur was a three year varsity player in high school and was always playing basketball during his college years and into his early 20’s. When he looked for gym memberships, access to a Basketball court was essential.
“A basketball gym was a huge factor in me deciding where to get a gym membership,” he said. “I would not have purchased a membership at a gym without a court.”
While Kotzur hasn’t been looking for active ways to get in some pickup games, friends and groups that he lives close to are always trying to find some way to play.
“Facebook groups, group messages, someone will find a place with a court open and we go play. But there’s very few places available, and we just get lucky most of the time.”
For Tez Dinero, having a Basketball gym was well worth paying the monthly membership, even if the court was the only thing he was using.
“I always like working out at home, so I just looked at gyms that I thought I would play the best players in town,” he said. “I play Basketball because I love the game dearly. This year has made it hard, I’m always missing that feeling of playing.” Dinero adds that while he runs to stay in shape, nothing replaces basketball. “Nothing equates to being on the court.”
For Joseph Rios, Basketball was always a fun escape, and something he didn’t realize he enjoyed so much.
“When everything first happened, it felt weird not knowing what to do on Monday and Tuesday nights, I almost felt lost,” he said. “Hopefully it returns soon, I miss the competition, it was a way to always see my friends, a lot of that has been gone since March.”
I contacted five LA fitnesses from San Antonio and Austin locations, the Gold’s Gym here in San Marcos, and all told me that they don’t plan on opening up their Basketball courts until the beginning of 2021, at the earliest, and that’s if positive numbers for COVID-19 fall in their cities. Essentially, there’s no guarantee for Basketball even at the start of next year, and that leaves many players stuck and looking for alternative options. Players are feeding their Basketball crave in ways other than physically playing.
According to Kitguru, NBA 2K20 is the highest-selling Basketball game ever made, with Take Two, the company responsible for the NBA2K franchise, reporting that they sold over 12 million copies this year with over $1 billion dollars in total sales. It was also the top selling sports game from March through July, meaning gamers and players decided to play after the pandemic had already hit and shut down the NBA as a league.
‘’The Last Dance’’, a documentary starring Michael Jordan and the 1990’s Chicago Bulls, was the most watched ESPN documentary series of all the time, with 10 episodes spanning five Sunday’s through April and May, averaging 5.648 million viewers, according to yahoo.
With the NBA resuming its season on July 31st, ratings have been inconsistent, with playoff games going directly against NFL games playing a factor. The Lakers-Nuggets Western Conference Finals was the least watched Conference Finals in 17 years, according to Sports Illustrated. However, with the NBA Finals set to start Wednesday, we will have a better indicator on whether or not the NBA should actually be concerned going forward, considering they do great on Twitter as far as Twitter interactions and other social media.
With the NBA season coming to a conclusion in less than two weeks, players who have made Basketball an integral part of their lives will continue to try and fill the void. We’re used to Basketball season starting in October, not ending. It’s an unknown territory we’re in, and this is the time to let the creative juices flow and make the best of what is happening in our world.
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