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‘They matter a lot’: Paul Finebaum gives candid interview on world without sports
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We’re encountering an unknown world without sports. For those who love competition, it feels incredibly weird not watching March Madness, turning on an NBA game or seeing anyone on the baseball diamond. For so many of us, sports provides an escape from day-to-day life.
But with the public health crisis currently happening across the country, sports have taken a backseat to real world concerns. And for those who work in sports, it has become a very strange time.
SEC Network host and college football expert Paul Finebaum talked with the Knoxville News-Sentinel this week and provided some candid responses to working in a world where no sports are currently taking place. A lot of what he said was very relatable.
“I’m not going to let somebody say, ‘Well, sports don’t matter.’ Sports do matter,” Finebaum said. “They matter a lot.”
Finebaum said it’s the escape that sports provide that is what is most difficult to cope with at the moment. For the first time in a very long time, there are very few live distractions from day-to-day life.
“Right now, I think we are going to miss it terribly. And part of the reason why we enjoy it so much and I think are going to miss it so much is it takes our mind off other things,” Finebaum said. “Let’s say you’re down and out about whatever in your life and you put on a basketball game, you forget everything. You’re screaming and hollering and jumping up and down. On a Friday in March when the temperature finally hits 75 for the first time, you head down to Kansas and sit there and watch a baseball game or softball game or a tennis match. It’s an escape, but it’s also a lot of our identity.”
Many NCAA winter championships were canceled due to the pandemic and the spring sports schedule has also been terminated. the NBA, MLB and XFL have also either canceled their seasons or postponed a return to the playing field.
While it’s very difficult right now, when sports returns, it will make us all appreciate them all that much more.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB