Over a year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic started in the United States.

All major sports and big events were postponed, and the entire world was on a major lockdown.

After months of being quarantined in our houses and not able to go out, vaccines started to come out, and the world started to open once again.

“I’m excited the world is getting back to what it used to be,” senior Mackenzie Stewart said. “Having to watch [cutout or virtual fans] in the crowd was sad and almost hard to watch. I’ve watched basketball for as long as I can remember, so getting it watch it normally again is so awesome.”

Now, sports and some other major events are finally back up and running. After a full year of lockdown, basketball is back in action: big NBA games – and even small local games – are being played all over.

Social distancing is still required, and masks are also needed. They are taking precautions and being careful and helping the community stay as safe as possible.

“Basketball has always been a big part of my life,” senior Annabel Serna said. “I’m glad basketball is finally being played again and people can see it in person. I’m also glad they got as far as they did into the season without having to stop because of COVID-19. It felt like such a long lockdown, and I wasn’t sure when I was going to get to watch basketball again.”

The NBA has hosted around 72 games this season.

Other than the NBA, there are many more sports leagues that are back to action as well, including the MLB, NHL, and professional soccer leagues.

The NFL even hosted an in-person draft this past weekend, which was very different than their online draft that took place in 2020. Only those that were vaccinated with the COVID-19 shot were allowed to attend the 2021 NFL draft.

The MLB is currently in the regular season, as are the NBA and the NHL. They have played around 25+ games each. One way that the MLB is adjusting their schedule this year is by adding 7-inning doubleheaders for teams, where some teams play each other twice in one day.

The NHL has a similar season format length to the NBA, both of them starting and stopping the regular season and playoffs at around the same time.

There’s no doubt that it’s great for the average sports fan to be able to see fairly normal seasons being played and fans back in the stands. Someday, professional sports leagues will not just go back to “normal”, but they will go back to better than they were before.