Brenna Roberts ‘21
Associate Sports Editor
When the rest of Merrimack College left for a week of spring break to spend with family or living it up with friends somewhere warm; spring sports teams prepared for their Division I debuts. Baseball, softball and rowing left for their spring training trips as Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse and Men’s and Women’s Tennis stayed behind for games back home.
But only a few days into spring break, we were made aware that the virus COVID-19 is becoming rampant and spreading like wildfire. Many teams that were on training trips planned to come home early.
As the days passed, Merrimack extended spring break for another week. Many students were excited because this means an extra long break without classes, but with the thought of returning to school afterwards.
Another day passes and Massachusetts has declared a state of emergency, and college students around the country were informed that they would now be doing online classes ranging anywhere from a month to the rest of the semester.
On top of this, all spring sports and events are cancelled for the rest of the season. Not only does this end the spring season for many athletes, it takes away the final season of many seniors.
Having your final season ever taken away from you without warning is more than heartbreaking. Many athletes played their last game without even knowing it. Feeling sad and angry right now, is valid. Many people may say that athletes are being selfish for feeling this way and there are bigger things going on in the world. And while that is true, it does not diminish the pain athletes are feeling everywhere. To have all your hard work, blood, sweat, tears, and dedication not show is gut wrenching. Many people will get another season to work hard and come back even better, but for many seniors this is it. There is no second chance. And for Merrimack seniors, this was not only their final season, but also their first season as D1 athletes. And now they will never get that chance.
While there is no question this is devastating, we must keep in mind that this is not just about us. We have every right to be mad and upset about the things that we are losing and missing out on because of this, but we must think of what is happening on a global scale.
Thousands of people are dying. Although college students are highly unlikely to die from COVID-19, we can be carriers of this virus and not even know it, which then spreads it to someone who is more susceptible to pass away from it.
It may be frustrating, but unfortunately this is the right thing to do to ‘flatten the curve’ as we have heard so many people say. The more we stay away from public places and stay in our homes, the sooner this virus will go away and we can go back to our everyday lives.
