Essen. Corona brought clubs and athletes unimagined problems in 2020. But in every crisis there is also the chance of a new beginning.
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People tend to forget things quickly. This can even be a blessing: only those who can let go of something are open to liberation and new experiences. On the last day of the year it is actually unnecessary to ask what makes sense, whether 2020 is still useful for something or can be quickly suppressed. Because: the past can no longer be shaped, but the future can. This also applies to sport. Special in 2021.
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Some of the past few months seem lost to the virus that has taken the world into its clutches. In times of crisis, a dark coat weighs heavily on the mood. Admittedly, while a popular epidemic like the corona pandemic presses the minds, the general rhetoric is determined by prohibitions and fears, confidence is difficult. Still, you have to face the problems. In every crisis there is also the chance for positive changes – if you are ready for it.
The sport wanted to make a name for itself in 2020 with the European Football Championship and the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Instead, his specialist vocabulary has been expanded to include a few absurd terms, while others that were already available but seldom used experienced a boom. Alone: ghost games. The fan ran down the spine when the Borussia Dortmund footballers celebrated the derby victory over Schalke 04 in front of the empty yellow wall in May. Or: training ban and hygiene concept. Athletes in so-called bubbles, teams in quarantine. Nothing that one would like to have in parlance from a sporting point of view.
Not only the professionals and their clubs are affected: Amateur clubs also fear for their existence if 50 spectators are not allowed to stand on the sidelines on Sundays in the district league. Talents are in danger of being lost because sports facilities and halls are closed and funding programs are being scaled back. From top-level to popular and rehab sports: If you can no longer get together to compete or keep fit together, the sport loses its greatest strength. He teaches young people to achieve goals, but also to deal with setbacks together. Instead of progress, there is now a standstill – with unpredictable long-term consequences.
How does sport, which groans under the Corona restrictions, deal with the situation? Does it necessarily have to change? Or is it at the end of the day: Corona game, set and win when clubs have gone down the drain and competitive athletes beyond the wealthy professional leagues can no longer practice their profession?
The outcry was greater than the joy of games in front of empty stands when the Bundesliga resumed playing after the interruption in May. System relevant? Under no circumstance. A source of danger for the spread of the virus? But neither under the self-imposed hygiene measures. This is where a branch of the entertainment industry drummed for itself – and was heard because it has political and economic influence. Which does not find acceptance everywhere when cultural and catering establishments are closed at the same time.
FC Bayern wins the Champions League in Lisbon
This dream sports world is about a lot of money, for the producers as well as for the main actors. And so FC Bayern was able to become champions again and win the Champions League in Lisbon, while the German ice hockey league had to wait almost 300 days for the next face-off or the handball and basketball league had to learn painfully that their business model, which was dependent on audience income, was on shaky feet.
Alienation from the fans
However, the hairs on the back of the neck of many fans stand up when there is talk of humility in professional football. When everyone had to put on mouth and nose protection against the virus, this industry took off its mask: Where does a player with a seven-figure annual salary limit himself if he temporarily waives 10 to 15 percent of his salary, while layoffs and layoffs in other industries Company closings pending? As long as they do not only deal with social media such as Tiktok, but also with a little tactics in life planning, this privileged professional group will hardly experience any cuts. The din in some places about the waiver of wages, however, contributes to alienation among the fans, as does the bleak atmosphere in the deserted arenas.
Kimmich and Goretzka lead by example
The professional perspective is different when athletes in Wattenscheid, swimmers in Essen or hockey players in Mülheim, who train under professional conditions, sometimes lose a sponsor. It is uncertain whether the supporters will return there. But the top of the football mountain will recover and continue as before. It is gratifying, however, that not everyone is the same there and that stars like Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka are aware of their social responsibility with the solidarity campaign “We Kick Corona”.
What may not lead to changes in the most widely watched sport in the world can, however, apply to all other disciplines. Will there be a move away from the always-bigger-always-more plan? Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee and thus Lord of the Five Rings, explains in an interview with this newspaper: “It will be decisive what this post-corona world will look like. The question will primarily affect sports organizers: Will the growth of events continue? Or will there be a consolidation, also due to economic constraints? ”In individual World Cups and regionally, for example, in the many popular races, perhaps, but probably not in the Olympic Games.
In July, the summer games in Tokyo are to be rescheduled. If the corona situation does not worsen dramatically, it will. If necessary as a ghost Olympia. But the fact that vaccinations have started worldwide is a sign of hope that Germany’s sportswoman of the year, for example, athlete Malaika Mihambo, can jump for gold, silver and bronze. At the Olympic Games, as in professional football, there are too many billions in circulation for the IOC – and, to put it further, the world sports federations – could do without them when distributing the money. Bach has ruled out compulsory vaccinations for athletes, social distancing is the catchphrase that means that the Olympic Village with 10,000 athletes should not become a super spreader. The Japanese are very cautious in dealing with the pandemic, but they also associate hosting the Summer Games with a lot of pride and horrific costs: Only recently, the organizing committee in Tokyo announced that the budget would again be 12.6 billion euros due to the shift needs to be increased.
No vaccination for Olympic athletes
At the same time, football and the 2021 Olympics can send a signal of the departure from this pandemic if stadiums can be visited again without fear and without a mask and all other disciplines can be practiced by amateur and recreational athletes. Sport in general – taking all worries and risks into account – can make it easier to return to normal. Not immediately, but then “when there is a lesson from the crisis and people understand that they will only be able to master the great challenges of the future if we all stand together,” says Thomas Bach. “When social awareness becomes more prevalent again, sport as a connecting element of all classes and with its internationality has a lot to offer.”
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The statements of many top athletes give reason to hope that the Corona crisis can initiate or accelerate a positive process. At least psychologically, by developing a new awareness of values, serenity and togetherness – regardless of the level of performance. “Sport is only valued again when people lack it. It is part of the human being to notice what something means to you when you no longer have it, ”says Bach.
It doesn’t have to be all bad in 2020 if the right conclusions are drawn for 2021 and beyond.
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