THE virus from China has virtually stopped the world from turning.
Even the one universal marvel that cannot be stopped, historically, has been stopped: sports.
No more NBA for now.
Even America’s other big-money sporting events are no more, the NCAA’s iconic March Madness being one of them.
Will the Augusta Masters next month be scrapped, too?
Closer to home, practically all of our sporting spectacles—from the UAAP to NCAA, from the PSL to PVL, from the MPBL to PBA—have been declared on hold. Indefinitely.
Just one virus so deadly and virulent has triggered the worldwide sporting stoppage.
The tournaments are being cancelled because officials want their personnel and league performers protected from the spread of the coronavirus now pestering the universe.
But, most of all, the safety of fans was the paramount concern because the Covid-19, like the brutal terrorist, loves to inflict havoc on crowds. Short of, if not almost, being a mass murderer. Like the thief in the night, it strikes the unknowing, the hapless innocent. Heartless.
We already have close to 115,000 people affected by the virus in 114 countries, with more than 4,200 deaths reported—including nearly 3,200 lives lost in China.
But, hey, wait.
How come the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has remained unscathed? Meaning, it’s a go insofar as the Games’ fate is concerned?
Clearly, Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president from Germany, has stood out as the last man standing to defy the lethal threat of Covid-19.
Doesn’t he care about the welfare of both our athletes and fans if and when the Tokyo Olympiad is on from July 24 to Aug. 9?
He has but one reason for the non-cancellation, if non-postponement, of the Games: “I rely only on the expert, which is the WHO (World Health Organization).”
While he may have a point, Bach is proving to be a weakling.
Don’t tell me he isn’t aware of many cancellations of Olympic qualifying tournaments?
What kind of Olympians will he offer when the Games are on?
Half-baked, what else.
Behave, Bach.