The author, John Marek, is a writer and executive director of the Anson Economic Development Partnership.
For the first time in more than a year, I attended a live sporting event on Sunday; the Charlotte Knights game with the Gwinnett Strippers Stripers at Truist Field in Uptown Charlotte. It would be an exaggeration to say things seemed “normal” again. The stadium, which usually seats 10,000, was limited to 2,700 by COVID protocols, and in reality there were far fewer than that in attendance. Fans were required to wear masks (in theory) at all times they were not actively eating or drinking, and only a handful of the concession stands were open. Even so, it was a live baseball game on a sunny afternoon with a cold beer and a hot dog, and that’s not nothing. And the Knights lost 12-9 in 10 innings after rallying to tie it up in the bottom of the ninth, so I guess some things haven’t changed at all.
There is a part of me that feels a little guilty for being so excited about a ballgame. People have lost jobs, businesses and even loved ones to this pandemic, so it seems a little selfish to raise a fuss about a lack of entertainment options. Still, the last year has been a drag on everyone, and the inability to get out and do things has had a detrimental impact on all our mental health, and that’s worth talking about.
During slow spots in the game (it’s baseball, after all) I went through the photos on my phone, deleting ones I don’t need any more, to free up some space. As I was scrolling through pictures of 2019, it occurred to me what an exciting and adventurous year it was. And then I came to 2020, which, after a few photos of a pre-pandemic trip to the Bahamas, became a depressing record of me hanging out around the house with my dogs. I love the neighborhood where I live and its two-plus miles of tree-lined sidewalks, but when those walks are your sole source of exercise and just about the only time you spend out of the house, things start to feel a little claustrophobic.
It wasn’t supposed to be like that. I had plans for 2020 that rivaled, if not surpassed, what I did in 2019. I was going to take a business recruiting trip to the Atlanta area in May that would have included a Red Sox-Braves game. The Mother Earth News Fair, customarily held in Asheville, was scheduled for Polyface Farm in Virginia, and I was planning to drive up for the weekend, stopping to take in a Salem Red Sox game on the way. I was even thinking about a mid-summer trip to Moncton, New Brunswick, for the Atlantic Canada CFL Football game, at the suggestion of some Monctonians we met in the Bahamas. And that list doesn’t even include Panthers and Hornets games, movie nights and live concerts that fell prey to the virus.
As further proof that things are returning to something resembling pre-COVID life, however, the U.S. National Whitewater Center resumed its “River Jam” concert series last week and Our Town Cinemas, the Davidson theater/taproom I enjoy, announced yesterday that they would be reopening Memorial Day weekend. While I’m certain attendance will be reduced, and the mask mandate will likely still be in place, I’m champing at the bit to get back to live music and the movies. Watching Netflix in the spare bedroom with the shades drawn IS NOT a suitable substitute.