The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

I’m starting to realize I have a lot in common with timeless Peanuts character Charlie Brown. We’re both going bald, we have an affinity for beagles and possess poor taste in clothing. Lately, however, I’ve started to acquire his oppressive apathetic attitude towards one subject in particular.

The return of sports has been heralded by many as the “one good thing” to happen in 2020. They were yanked from the schedule in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned this summer after protocol was developed to ensure some semblance of player safety. The NBA and MLB were first to come back in July, followed by college football and the NFL last month.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m as big a sports fan as the next guy. There’s nothing I love more than a crisp fall day and a Hawkeye victory, or a thrilling post-season run by the Cubs. Heck, I’ll even stomach loss after brutal loss from the Detroit Lions all season if the beer is cold and the food is good each Sunday.

However, this year is markedly different. With fans absent from the stands and the threat of suspended play looming with each COVID-19 test result, I often find myself trying to find the point in playing all these games. It just seems a bit too forced, considering the circumstances.

I have admittedly tuned into a few games. We ditched our dish this spring, so most of my sports intake has come from the MLB Radio app on my phone. It helps pass the time when I’m doing yard work or tinkering with something inside, which is all you can ask for. I paid a mere $20 to have access to every single game played this season – not a bad deal.

I found myself quite confused during the first game I listened to, though. While scraping the siding on my house, the “crowd” erupted from my phone’s speaker after the Cubs drove in a run on a base hit. I was sure all fans were barred from the stadium, but maybe I was wrong?

Come to find out, that load roar was coming from a speaker inside the ballpark. My eyes rolled pretty hard when I learned that, and they almost fell out of their sockets when I saw a clip from the game that featured computer-generated fans in the stands. Everyone knows the seats are empty, so what’s the point of pretending otherwise?

My indifference toward sports’ return grew drastically when the Big Ten Conference canceled all fall competition, including football. I wasn’t mad, per se – we’re in the middle of a pandemic and these are college kids, not professional athletes. I assumed other major college athletic conferences would follow suit, but only the PAC 12 did. The SEC, ACC and Big 12 took the reigns and forged ahead with their seasons, leaving many fans to speculate if the Big Ten and PAC 12 erred in their decision.

What followed was a month of finger-pointing, confusing allegations and a billion hot takes on social media. I didn’t care about football season at that point, and it all became very nauseating very fast. Aren’t there a few things more important than college sports right now?

That question was answered in mid-September when the Big Ten backtracked and announced football would be played this fall. A conference-only schedule was eventually released, and things are set to kick off later this month.

I still find very little reason to play the season other than to ensure schools get their cut of TV revenue. There are too many what-ifs for me to truly care: How many games will get postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 outbreaks? How many teams will be playing with limited rosters due to infections or players who’ve opted out of competition? Will there even be bowl games?

Everything just feels a bit like kissing your sister. Sure, there will be conference champions and even a national champion if we make it that far, but the winners will all have asterisks behind their names. There wasn’t a full schedule, there weren’t fans and many teams didn’t have their full rosters.

All that said, I’d be a liar if I told you I’m going to ignore the Hawkeyes once pads start popping on Oct. 24. This year, though, I think the wins will be less thrilling and the losses less painful. 2020 has been an absolute bearcat and I can’t see how nine 60-minute football games are going to change that.

To borrow and tweak a classic line from Peanuts: Of all the Nick Pedleys in the world, I’m the Nick Pedley-est.

Nick Pedley is the news editor of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.