Here’s something you’ve never seen before: NCAA, Big 12 tourneys with no fans around
As the infections and deaths and mystery and fear grew exponentially, the once-remote notion that the NCAA Tournament might be played in a virtual vacuum because of the COVID-19 coronavirus became increasingly tangible.
It sure was a worthy thought exercise, hypothetically wondering what such a fundamental twist might look and sound and feel like.
Then, like so much of the unpredictable pace of all this, it suddenly seemed inevitable as states and cities and institutions all over the nation yielded to the momentum.
And then, wham, it became a bewildering reality on Wednesday afternoon when the NCAA announced the men’s and women’s tournaments would be played “with only essential staff and limited family attendance.”
The Big 12 followed suit Wednesday evening, announcing that fans will be banned from the rest of its conference tournament games this week in Kansas City starting Thursday. More specifically, the conference said the games will “be played with only family, friends, credentialed media and essential staff permitted in the arenas.”
Even limited to the tournament itself, the broader implications (impact on the games and what this action will mean for containment of the virus and how it will affect local economic impacts of host cities) are so vast and murky as to perhaps be beyond comprehension.
But at the granular level, this also will make for a fascinating different sort of perspective on the essence of the game and competition itself, a viewpoint almost eclipsed by the fact that its context now is a zillion-dollar industry with its marquee moments in mega-stadiums.
On the lighter side of all that, maybe coaches will mind their manners more, as KU coach Bill Self suggested the other day when he said, “The sportsmanship code would certainly be stressed in that situation, because everything you say will become public.”
(On Wednesday, he joked that there are a lot of “bad actors” … at other Big 12 schools.)
All at once, the games will be in sensurround … and feature the sound of one hand clapping.
And maybe playing without cheerleaders and bands and mascots will make it hollow in itself. And how will cutting down nets and hearing “One Shining Moment” resonate merely on camera?
But nothing looms larger and could mess with the minds of the players and mood of the games more than the absence of fans, from the interactive energy they can create to how their presence might affect shooting backdrops.
Speaking after a practice at Sprint Center only a few minutes after the news had broken, Self had a remarkably keen grasp on it.
So much so that it reverberated as yet another challenge in this crazy KU season that he appears poised to will and otherwise navigate his top-ranked team through.
It’s an uncanny strength of Self’s, alchemizing potentially burdensome situations into fuel.
Not that he in any way would have wished any of this, least of all the circumstances that led to it, but you could make the case this plays right into Self’s wheelhouse.
In this case, he set an immediate tone with comments steeped in perspective.
For starters, he made the point that this “doesn’t just stink for us,” noting that everything from the markets to schools to concerts and other sporting events have been impacted by this.
“Far bigger than just men’s basketball,” said Self, who said he appreciated the notion that this action can reduce the risk of spreading it.
But then he eloquently made the point at the crux of seizing this strange new landscape, a point that will prove pivotal in who prevails.
Now is the time to get back to the roots of their love of the game, before they came to play to the crowd on so many levels.
“Certainly it’s sad. Sad for the fans, sad for players, because you dream of playing in the situation where you’re playing for the highest stakes on the brightest stage,” he said. “Certainly, it’s hard to imagine that being the case if nobody’s there in person to see it.
“But I told our guys, ‘Why did we all start loving this game? Why did we start playing it? Did we do it because we wanted people to watch us? Or did we do it because we actually loved it?’ ”
At a time when so much is out of control, there will be renewed emphasis and value on controlling what can be.
To Self’s way of thinking, the team should still be mentally capable of playing like there’s no tomorrow, per the single-elimination nature of the tournament. Players can control their attitudes, he said, and control whether they appreciate the opportunity still before them and make the most of it.
Moreover …
“There’s not going to be an asterisk next to it: ‘Well, they played without fans’ in the record books,” Self said.
He also found another silver lining: Chances are this tournament will result in the highest-rated television ratings ever.
Making for a fascinating different view of all this in every way, including a chance to both appreciate the reason for the distance and to see the game in a fresh light not to be taken for granted.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 6:05 PM.