Classic Sports Games to Re-Air Amid COVID-19
By Tess Farrand, Associate Content Editor
“Let’s get ready to play ball!”
Looking for something to keep you occupied during COVID-19 to satisfy your longing for sports? Maybe a classic sports game is just the thing for you!
With national sports leagues on hiatus due to the coronavirus, sports executives are getting creative to fulfill their fans’ needs.
“It’s a really serious time, and we think we have an opportunity to help our fans through this,” said executive VP and COO of NFL Media, Hans Schroeder. “We believe that people still have a vested interest in sports.”
Sports executives are recycling iconic sports games so that their fans feel a sense of pride or nostalgia during this season of isolation.
In addition, the sports video game community are calling for gamers to stay healthy but encourage community during this time through fan favorites like Madden.
Stay safe. Stay home. Play together. pic.twitter.com/kuNZG9m9MF
— Madden NFL 20 (@EAMaddenNFL) March 24, 2020
Who is ready to play? 🎮 #stayandplay
Dropping codes through the weekend 👀 pic.twitter.com/OgZ8TPKnSY
— Madden NFL 20 (@EAMaddenNFL) March 26, 2020
Brian Steinber of Variety pointed out how the NBA is adding content to their wheelhouse too:
The old games can provide new opportunities. Once the NBA suspended its season, executives felt they had a “mission” to “bring together all of our fans, try to build a community,” says Bob Carney, senior vice president of social and digital content at the NBA. The league can seed its social venues with clips of games, and, as they air at night, “resurface” old tweets that may have been attached to the action. There’s also a chance to burnish footage that may not have been seen widely in the past. “We have a number of people documenting every aspect of game. All of that content is in our library,” says Carney. “If we want to resurface a classic Finals game, we can then also resurface all of the extra content that surrounds it,” which could include players’ arrival at the venue.
In 2020 where content is king, one can’t help but think of the wise words found in Ecclesiastes, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9 NIV).
Let us know what games or nostalgic pop culture things your family is doing to keep spirits high during COVID-19![socialpoll id=”2615488″]
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