This Month’s 5 Questions is a composite of historians, artists, and commentators.

Compiled by Dwight Easter

The Sports Pandemic

by Tim Monaghan

On March 11,2020 Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test shut down sports for the unforeseeable future. Collateral damage of the pandemic for some, life-altering for me. I am a hard-working husband and father who enjoyed winding down with my sports buddies. I was lost. I started catching up on old shows I lost touch with. Disney+ became a fixture in my house. We watched for the wholesome programming and the ability to distract a 5-year-old for hours during a lockdown. As the weeks wore on, I found myself missing sports less and less. Even better, I wasn't so anxious and stressed. No sports was calming me down.

Slowly sports started to come back. I bring up golf for a reason. I started watching insane amounts of golf. I would read up on its history and I even went so far as buying golf clubs and learning how to play. This also happened with MMA, and auto racing. No, I didn’t learn Muay Thai or drive 160 MPH but I learned to appreciate them as sports. The pandemic has made me a better sports fan. I enjoy the sport. The game. Not the million-dollar contracts or the ads everywhere. The simple action of the game. The year 2020 may be the worst. But it's taught me not to rip my shirt off when my closer gives up the winning run, it’s made me realize it's just a game.

About Dwight Easter: Digital folk artist, family man and bread merchant. Some of the best moments in my life are experiencing the power and influence of great art. I came up in the Norfolk era of the M80’s, Buttsteak, and Antic Hay.