Welcome home, fellow Gator.

The Gator Nation's oldest and most active insider community
Join today!

5 years ago today (3/11), the sports world began to lock down...

Discussion in 'Too Hot for Swamp Gas' started by tilly, Mar 11, 2025 at 1:21 PM.

Page 1 of 3
  1. Mar 11, 2025 at 1:21 PM #1
    tilly

    tilly Superhero Mod. Fast witted. Bulletproof posts. Moderator VIP Member

    65,661
    88,428
    14,327
    May 31, 2007
    Floridian by Birth, Now in Wilmington, NC
    On March 11, 2020...(5 years today), the NBA shut down after members of the Jazz tested positive.

    For many of us, that was the first big shoe to drop. Next was the SEC Tournament, the NHL, Spring training and so on.

    Cardboard cutouts replaced real fans when it all returned

    Playoffs were played in bubbles.

    In some ways it seems like yesterday.

    I dont start this thread to rehash the arguments, (We have a thread for that), but just sort of to pause and reflect on what a crazy time it was.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Come On Man Come On Man x 1
  2. Mar 11, 2025 at 1:57 PM #2
    BLING

    BLING GC Hall of Fame

    9,498
    967
    2,843
    Apr 16, 2007
    I didn’t even know any sports were pondering cancellations, so it came as a shock when it happened so quickly.

    At the time I figured the tournament would go on without fans. The basketball season just got the worst of it, timing wise.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  3. Mar 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM #3
    G8tas

    G8tas GC Hall of Fame

    5,358
    1,008
    553
    Sep 22, 2008
    I knew it was bad when Disney announced that they would be closing
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  4. Mar 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM #4
    duggers_dad

    duggers_dad GC Hall of Fame

    18,166
    1,296
    2,088
    Jan 5, 2022
    What thread ?
     
  5. Mar 11, 2025 at 2:09 PM #5
    OklahomaGator

    OklahomaGator Jedi Administrator Moderator VIP Member

    125,369
    164,587
    116,973
    Apr 3, 2007
    I was in Nashville planning to attend the SEC basketball tournament. They were scheduled to have 2 games on Wed night and we arrived Wed. afternoon. They played the first game and then cancelled the rest of the tournament. Had to get a new flight to come back home without watching a single game.
     
  6. Mar 11, 2025 at 2:25 PM #6
    dave_the_thinker

    dave_the_thinker VIP Member

    1,261
    481
    1,813
    Dec 1, 2019
    Milton, FL
    Felt at the time like among all sports teams, Gator baseball got the real shaft.

    That was an upcoming CWS with orange and blue all over it.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Like Like x 1
  7. Mar 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM #7
    tilly

    tilly Superhero Mod. Fast witted. Bulletproof posts. Moderator VIP Member

    65,661
    88,428
    14,327
    May 31, 2007
    Floridian by Birth, Now in Wilmington, NC
    Pretty amazing time for Tampa sports following though.
    2 Stanley Cups
    1 Super Bowl title with Brady
    1 World Series appearance
     
  8. Mar 11, 2025 at 2:55 PM #8
    exiledgator

    exiledgator Gruntled

    11,776
    2,153
    3,128
    Jan 5, 2010
    Maine
    Such crazy times. And such a time warp.

    While I didn't lose anyone close to me, I had people close to me that did, and that left a dark cloud over it all, but:

    My kids were like 9 and 11. Great ages to be cooped up and doing Avengers marathons, learning sourdough, playing games, etc.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  9. Mar 11, 2025 at 2:58 PM #9
    tilly

    tilly Superhero Mod. Fast witted. Bulletproof posts. Moderator VIP Member

    65,661
    88,428
    14,327
    May 31, 2007
    Floridian by Birth, Now in Wilmington, NC
    Sadly my oldest lost her sophomore and junior years for the most part. No prom, no football games etc the one year.
     
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  10. Mar 11, 2025 at 3:01 PM #10
    tilly

    tilly Superhero Mod. Fast witted. Bulletproof posts. Moderator VIP Member

    65,661
    88,428
    14,327
    May 31, 2007
    Floridian by Birth, Now in Wilmington, NC
    [​IMG]
     
    • Funny Funny x 1
  11. Mar 11, 2025 at 3:02 PM #11
    docspor

    docspor GC Hall of Fame

    6,290
    1,947
    3,078
    Nov 30, 2010
    My son was a senior in HS. He came home for Spring Break not knowing that he'd never go back. I gotta say a lot of people had a disastrous freshman year of college too, but he made a lot of friends as they hunkered down in their dorm. In fact, in May he & about a dozen of (mostly)those folks are going to party in Belize.

    1 of my fav things was everyone going out & howling at 8pm

     
    • Like Like x 2
  12. Mar 11, 2025 at 3:04 PM #12
    tilly

    tilly Superhero Mod. Fast witted. Bulletproof posts. Moderator VIP Member

    65,661
    88,428
    14,327
    May 31, 2007
    Floridian by Birth, Now in Wilmington, NC
    My youngest two were 9 and 14. Oldest was 16.
    My youngest (only boy) didn't like it when I went back to work after 6 weeks. A lot of catch and shooting hoops was done during that stretch. :)
     
  13. Mar 11, 2025 at 3:24 PM #13
    duggers_dad

    duggers_dad GC Hall of Fame

    18,166
    1,296
    2,088
    Jan 5, 2022
    On 3/11/2020 The WHO issued a pandemic alert and said get your hospitals ready. What ensued was sheer panic. Does this look like virus to you or a bomb ?

    upload_2025-3-11_15-24-34.png
     
  14. Mar 11, 2025 at 3:54 PM #14
    tilly

    tilly Superhero Mod. Fast witted. Bulletproof posts. Moderator VIP Member

    65,661
    88,428
    14,327
    May 31, 2007
    Floridian by Birth, Now in Wilmington, NC
  15. Mar 11, 2025 at 4:01 PM #15
    duggers_dad

    duggers_dad GC Hall of Fame

    18,166
    1,296
    2,088
    Jan 5, 2022
  16. Mar 11, 2025 at 4:02 PM #16
    channingcrowderhungry

    channingcrowderhungry Premium Member

    9,718
    2,192
    3,013
    Apr 3, 2007
    Bottom of a pint glass
    It pains me to say the bigger shafts were FSU and Dayton basketball. Neither of those teams will probably sniff an national championship in basketball again, and both of them could have won it in the COVID year.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  17. Mar 11, 2025 at 4:06 PM #17
    demosthenes

    demosthenes Premium Member

    9,551
    1,180
    3,218
    Apr 3, 2007
    I’m going to pretend you never wrote this.
     
    • Fistbump/Thanks! Fistbump/Thanks! x 2
    • Funny Funny x 2
  18. Mar 11, 2025 at 4:13 PM #18
    channingcrowderhungry

    channingcrowderhungry Premium Member

    9,718
    2,192
    3,013
    Apr 3, 2007
    Bottom of a pint glass
    We've won baseball, football, and basketball Nattys. We'll win more of them too. Dayton basically has no chance of ever getting a basketball natty again. And FSU basketball isn't far behind. One of my good friends is a huge Dayton fan. It crushed him
     
  19. Mar 11, 2025 at 4:21 PM #19
    wgbgator

    wgbgator Premium Member

    31,305
    2,026
    2,218
    Apr 19, 2007
    Reminds me of how the 94 baseball strike killed the only Expos team that ever had a chance of winning the series.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  20. Mar 11, 2025 at 4:29 PM #20
    AgingGator

    AgingGator GC Hall of Fame

    4,174
    886
    2,088
    Apr 24, 2007
    Even in a moment of extreme sensitivity and empathy, one should never feel sorrow for FSU.

    I read somewhere that UCF took the liberty to claim both the basketball and baseball NCs that year.
     
    • Fistbump/Thanks! Fistbump/Thanks! x 1
Page 1 of 3