Louisville basketball: Let’s call the 2020-21 season what it really is

It’s remarkable that sports seasons have even occurred in the past year during such a time in our nation’s history. A global pandemic may start to begin to mitigate sooner rather than later. But the full story of why sports continue is a fascinating subject and a difficult pill to swallow. Louisville basketball is no different

They confront what almost any athletic department has faced with serious problems regarding the battle with Covid-19. While in most cases we will never know the statuses of players and coaches as they battle the virus, it’s fair to assume that not every case is asymptomatic and without a degree of sickness involved. We know that to be true with Louisville head coach Chris Mack right now.

Fans are still concerned about when the basketball team will be able to take their games back to the hardwood as they fight for a spot in the NCAA tournament. And that’s fair. But what you don’t see is a program that is now fighting Covid-19 for the second time in just about two months. A virus that is on record for claiming the lives of nearly half a million people in the United States alone.

We love sport. But when do we love it too much?

It’s easy to see on television when David Johnson is getting hot from three-point range or Carlik Jones is doing his best to takeover a second half. That’s all available for your viewing pleasure fairly easily and we adore those moments. Sport like basketball can give many folks some of their highest emotional moments of their week, month, year, or even life. That’s not an exaggeration. Many people genuinely love sport to that degree.

What do we not see on the television? We know that many teams have had difficulty staying on the court due to Covid-19 and we know when they pause team activities. What about their health battles they’ve had to face? Of course, it’s a private matter. But how many players are scared or nervous about the virus? How many have battled mild to severe symptoms? Maybe coach Chris Mack is even a little bit worried himself.

We might just end up learning absolutely nothing this year

Louisville was already on an 18-day layoff in December due to an outbreak within the team that apparently had “90 percent” of the team test positive to the global virus at the time.

Coming off of that pause, the team was incredibly rusty and was still dealing with the aftermath even when they got back to playing basketball as Carlik Jones was still in protocols when the matchup against Wisconsin resumed play. That was a game that Louisville got annihilated in.

Now, the Cardinals are heading over a week into another pause while more players and Chris Mack himself have all tested positive.

This likely means that almost (if not) every player on the team has tested positive including the head coach. We could break down how the team looks when they return for the second time from their Covid pause and they get back to the game that all fans of the team love to watch. But can we also consider that health could still be playing a factor days and even weeks after positive tests turn negative? If the team looks awful, isn’t it still fair to wonder in the back of our minds if the Covid pause is playing a part in this in some way or another?

You could say this for almost any team in the country battling the very same thing that Louisville currently is. Sports are made to take our minds away from the madness that is reality for a couple of hours at a time or even a full day if you’re really lucky.

Finishing a complete regular season will be next to impossible

Louisville currently has five postponed games to make up for in addition to six others that remain on the schedule (for now). As assistant coach Dino Gaudio explained, the Cardinals would be lucky to even be practicing by Wednesday. The ACC tournament is scheduled to begin on Mar. 9 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Let’s assume Louisville does practice Wednesday and gets back for the first time when they face Virginia Tech on Saturday. That would give the team 24 days to play 11 games. If the ACC is being fair about reasonable health of the athletes, that simply cannot happen for logistical and player health reasons.

There is no way this team is playing out their complete regular season schedule.

Let’s call this season what it is

It’s dangerous for a team that has been swept by Covid. While any fan, player, or coach wants it more than anything, there’s imminent risk involved. The ACC has pushed for the season and decided that the positives ultimately overrode the negatives. What even are the positives? A good sense of entertainment when teams can actually play? Do we know for absolute certain who the best teams are like we would in other years?

There are more questions than answers.

Not only is this season dangerous, but where is the line drawn? It’s reasonable to want to escape the harsh realities at this time in the world. But you can’t escape reality during a global pandemic and neither can any of the programs that are currently playing sports. If you love the game, you love the game. But where do we draw the line between safe and just plain silly?

Maybe some at Louisville are wondering the same thing right now.