Things change fast in the sports world. Maybe that’s why they say “keep your eye on the ball.”

Recent developments have restored nearly all sports that were threatened by the spread of COVID-19, setting up a shocking, late-game comeback for big-time athletics.

“It’s possible that could happen this semester,” Arizona State University President Michael Crow said about a return of Pac-12 football. “But it was definitely not possible that we could make that decision a few weeks ago.”

The nation didn’t take seriously the threat posed by the novel coronavirus until the sports world shut down in the spring, so it’s fitting that sports are showing us how to come out of hiding. Major League Baseball has made plans for playoffs in a “bubble.” The Big Ten and Pac-12 are considering plans to play college football. And NFL teams are discussing ways to allow fans into stadiums on a mass scale.

The moves don’t come without risk. Coronavirus remains a threat, and experts fear that with the upcoming flu season, we could be poised for a deadly new wave of infections. COVID-19 already has killed nearly 200,000 people in the U.S., and a variety of factors make older people and minorities especially susceptible.

But as businesses and schools have re-opened, and society has generally come to accept the precautions of wearing masks and standing at arm’s length, sports have showed us that we can come through this if we make adjustments, as any good coach or player would do against a tricky opponent.

‘An extremely important issue’ 

“We’ve got to make sure that we’re very responsible about this,” Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said. “We’ve got an obligation not just to our fans and our employees, players, coaches and staff — but also to the public at large.”

Bidwill spoke to The Arizona Republic on the sidelines of a racial justice panel discussion organized by HeroZona, a Phoenix-area non-profit that connects veterans and first responders with communities in need.

It was somewhat ironic, since the biggest stall for big-time athletics was a result of a one-day player strike after a video emerged showing a police officer shoot a Black man in the back in Wisconsin.

MLB play was threatened by a July outbreak that started in the Miami Marlins organization. The league made its protective measures more restrictive, and the season was able to continue without a major disruption.

The playoff bubble will involve the final eight teams, with the World Series being played entirely at the Texas Rangers home stadium in Arlington. Tentative plans would allow for about 10,000 fans to watch games in a 40,000-seat capacity stadium.

It’s possible NFL games could have fans across the league. Already on opening weekend, Kansas City and Jacksonville allowed spectators in open-air stadiums at about one-quarter capacity.  

The Cardinals won’t consider entertaining fans until late October.

“It’s an extremely important issue,” Bidwill said. “We’ve said that there are not going to be fans for the first two games. We’ll look closely at what’s going on in the community.

“If the time is right in the future to bring fans in, it’s going to be a very limited number. We’ll make sure that there’s mandatory mask wearing and social distancing. We’ve got a plan.”

Teams across the league, including the Cardinals, are considering a strategy that includes touchless entry, cashless concessions, blocking off seats and a constant disinfection and cleaning schedule for bathrooms.  

‘Your best decisions’

The most surprising recent development has been at the college level, where the Big Ten and Pac-12 had decided against playing, bucking the rest of the Power Five conferences. The Big Ten aims to start play Oct. 24. The Pac-12 is in discussions after governors in Oregon and California made clear they wouldn’t block teams from practicing or playing.

No one had called for a return to action more loudly than President Donald Trump, but that doesn’t appear to be the driving motivator.  

“The president can certainly say, ‘I wish you guys could work it out. I hope you can work it out. I hope you can bring in testing.’ … But we shouldn’t be playing football with young men or other sports with young men and women because the president would like to see the country operating,” Crow said, speaking to The Republic in a conference call. “That’s not the way we should be running things.” 

Crow said the virus is something that we’ll need to learn to live with as a society, and he thinks it can be done under the right circumstances.

“This is a completely scientific problem,” he said. “It’s about making your best decisions relative to the management of the virus.”

This couldn’t have been predicted when sports shut down in the spring, but things can change fast.

It’s best to “keep your eye on the ball.”

Reach Moore at [email protected] or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @WritingMoore.

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