OPINION
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Remember when the biggest thing we had to worry about was "six again"? Even that seems like a simpler time given what we've seen transpire in sport over the past two months.
Coronavirus has given the world time to pause for thought. The lack of team selections and try-scoring acrobatics has sent us into the dark hole of TikTok breaches, players quitting rugby contracts and AFL clubs complaining about where they have to train and play.
It's the underbelly we've always known was there, and it will exist long after the coronavirus passes. The villains this week were NRL referees (if you believe NRL officials), Channel Nine (especially for Canberra Raiders fans) and a trio of Queensland Reds, who have copped it from all angles after terminating their own contracts and refusing to take a pay cut.
They join a long list since sport was shutdown in March and we started to focus on life away from the field. Pending changes, this will be the last weekend without live sport. The NRL will restart on Thursday, giving sports fans a chance to rediscover some normality, even if it is only from the couch and in empty stadiums.
That's not to say we'll only talk about wins and losses when it all resumes, with the AFL to follow and Australian Super Rugby likely to join them on July 3 or 4. Drama off the field can enhance the drama on the field. We feel a connection to athletes because we watch them rise and fall ... and rise again.
What became clear this week is that some at a local level feel a disconnection with elite sport. Every coronavirus conversation has been geared towards when sport will be back on television rather than about whether those who play for the love will play at all this year.
Canberra sports clubs at all levels - those backed by licensed clubs and those who find their own funding - have deep concerns about the immediate future of their competitions. Some have started training already, others will start next week and juniors are hoping to join in, although soccer has already flagged the prospect of scrapping finals this year.
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Some clubs were planning for player numbers to swell this year. They introduced new teams, recruited new coaches and were keen to thrive in 2020. Now they're fearing a major downturn in the short-term, which will potentially spill into next year and beyond. "If grassroots sports collapse," one official said, "where are the players going to come from for the elite level? This could be a crisis for some teams."
It was a reminder about the impact of the pandemic. It's not just the professional clubs and players who have suffered. Their amateur counterparts who have given up weekends for as long as they can remember are feeling the pain just as much, if not more.
There are concerns for elderly volunteers, who give up their spare time to help teams. There are concerns for young players who might miss out an entire winter football season. There are concerns clubs won't be able to afford jerseys, balls, sanitiser and anything else needed to restart. There are concerns some players won't come back because they won't want to give up weekends again.
That's where a return to play at the top next week can really help, even if fans are stuck at home. It can remind us about why we love it and about why we dwell on a "six again" decision until the Raiders finally break that premiership drought. We're almost back to the simpler times, but maybe we won't take live sport for granted when it comes back. Well, at least that's what many of us hope for.