Virus strikes down sports

T
he stadiums and arenas are empty, and this year has taken “March Madness” to a whole new level. 
The NBA has suspended/cancelled their season, the NCAA cancelled their tournament, and the WHSAA cancelled the 3A/4A State Basketball Tournament just as it had gotten underway.
Wyoming had one confirmed case of COVID-19 as the tournament tipped off last Thursday, but it took only half of the first contest for the Natrona County Health Department to put the kibosh on the rest of the culminating event.
Without a doubt, it was the right call, but there were many broken hearts left in the wake of the cancellation, and I feel it remiss not to take a moment to mourn the loss.
The Lady Dogies had punched their ticket to the Big Dance for the first time in four years, and had fought tooth and nail through an initially difficult season to get there. They did just what a team is supposed to do...they took their lumps early and learned from every game, they maintained and continued to build their skill and confidence which resulted in them peaking at just the right time to take third place at the 3A East Regional Tournament. 
It turns out, they were among only four teams to be fortunate enough to get to play a game at the state tournament last weekend.
Pinedale and Douglas girls were getting set for their starting lineups when the news came across the loudspeaker at the Event Center in Casper that the remainder of the tournament would not take place.
The news was stunning to everyone, and my heart immediately went out to all the players, the coaches, the officials and the fans who put so much work into achieving this ultimate goal, only to have it ripped away from them because of a global pandemic.
The Pinedale girls hadn’t earned a trip to the state tournament for around 20 years, and they were so close to playing their first game they could taste it!
The Lady Bearcats of Douglas missed out on the opportunity to continue their dynastic run at the title.
The seniors on every team at the tournament, saw their careers as high school hoops players slip away. 
Coaches had to confront and minimize their own sense of loss while comforting their players as they tried to wrap their heads around what was taking place.
Senior parents were also grieving the fact that they had no idea the last time was the last time they would see their child play. 
While some might say this is all a bit frivolous — it’s just sports - and that there is much more we need to be concerned about at this moment in time, I disagree. Though we do indeed have a serious global pandemic wreaking havoc on the world, these teams are part of the carnage of Corona and that needs to be recognized.
There is one thing that these teams can claim in the fallout of COVID-19, and that is that they made history. The last, and only other time the state basketball tournament in Wyoming was cancelled was in 1936 and it was because of an outbreak of Scarlet Fever. 
I’m sorry to all the athletes who had their seasons, their goals and their dreams taken from them before they were ready, and know that we share in your disappointment. You are among the casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, so take some solace in the fact that you will go down in Wyoming high school sports history books.