In no other country are college sports as big a part of the university experience as they are here in the U.S. In most of the rest of the world, college sports are played similar to how America fields intramural sports.
When I try to explain to my Israeli relatives what college sports are like here, their eyes glaze over and they don’t understand. On the other hand, when I talk about the NBA, they get it right away as pro sports and especially basketball is ingrained in their society.
Our love for pro sports is not unique. Whether it be pro soccer in Europe, baseball in the Caribbean and Far East, or hockey in Canada, the vast majority of countries love professional sports.
On the other hand, college sports as big business is unique to our culture. I am not criticizing America for loving college sports, but I am saying that with fall sports being canceled across the country, we will now know how the rest of the world operates.
Like other countries, college campuses will exclusively be a place for education this fall, while sports will be left to the pro leagues.
If you find yourself missing IU playing, turn on the NBA, which has worked beautifully in their bubble and has several former Hoosiers.
If NBA is not your thing, you can watch the Cubs, Reds, or White Sox locally on cable each night in Indiana; as a bonus the Cubs have former Hoosier Kyle Schwarber.
If you miss College Football, the NFL will almost certainly give it a try this fall, and several Hoosiers play there as well. Finally, many former Hoosiers litter the MLS. which is also competing.
Also, while IU has no former players in it, the NHL is on the ice. Individual sports like the PGA and Auto Racing are humming along as well.
While not having college sports is unfortunate, at least it is not like March again without any sports at all.
Like other countries all the time and currently, we have our pro sports to watch now to keep our appetites full until Coronavirus is under control. Only when that happens, will we go back to our unique American love of watching college sports.
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Photo by Filip Mroz on Unsplash
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