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KYW Newsradio spoke to 11 die-hard fans to find out.
“We just got so used to them being on that we never thought they’d go away,” SportsRadio 94WIP’s Ava Graham said.
“It’s like, you just take it for granted,” said Tim Hindin.
“(I learned) definitely that I love my girlfriend more than I thought,” Danny Gant said. “That’s why I got engaged to her.”
“I think we all need a distraction to get away from the thoughts of how terrible this year has been,” Gant said.
Season ticket holders are accustomed to feeling the energy of a crowded arena or stadium. They live for the experience — but that's all a memory this season.
“Going to live sporting events was such a fabric of what I do—I have a void I can’t fill,” Eagles and Flyers season ticket holder Kenney Justice said. “I tried watching old games, and that worked in the beginning. ... There’s nothing that replicates being in a stadium that’s 60,000 people and rocking, and strangers just hugging you and the high-fives and the electricity.”
Now, it’s dangerous to get within six feet of someone.
On top of that, there haven't been many options to choose from — other than UFC, WWE and, more recently, soccer, golf and NASCAR.
What do you do when the thing you like best is gone? "That’s a great question,” said WIP’s Bill Matz.
Joe Schneberger has been a game day employee for decades in South Philadelphia, and he says he gets bored easily.
"I took a part-time job at a local food store just to eat up my time. I worked for the Phillies, the Flyers, the Sixers, Eagles — all great organizations — and it’s a killer just not being around it," Schneberger said.
Eagles season ticket holder Anthony DiTrolio says he has been getting accustomed to a new way of doing things.
“I’ve learned more how to occupy my time, I guess,” DiTrolio said. “I started exercising more, taking walks. ... About 7, 7:30 at night, I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll go take like a two-mile walk,' because obviously there’s no sports, and that’s about what time they would come on.
“It’s kinda shocking because, when they said they’re gonna start it up, I’m like, ‘OK, now my schedule might actually have to change now.’ It’s like, ‘Wait a second, I’m altering my schedule to watch sports now instead of the other way around.’”
Only in 2020.
Shirley A. Dash is a huge Philadelphia sports fan. The passion and energy she brings for her teams, especially the Eagles, is hard to match.
“I had to re-adjust the way I look at TV because, on certain days, you would have something on them,” Dash said.
She says some extra worship books she has on hand have come in handy.
"It’s just to help get you through … you know, in a positive way, because it’s a lot of negative .... I’m trying to stay positive as much as I can, as long as I can. It’s so hard to do sometimes with a lot that’s going on, but then I revert back to what I know. I know to pray, and that’s just me. That’s who I am.”
Dash says she looks forward to the workplace sports talk that will pick up as other leagues resume operations.
“It’s gonna be fun times, I think, to hear the chatter around the office ... to take your minds off the reality of what’s really going on with COVID virus.”
While all of the fans who spoke to KYW Newsradio said they are looking forward to games resuming, the athletic hiatus has created different perspectives.
“It hasn’t been the catastrophe that I thought it was,” said Troy Leatherbury, who learned how much more he can get done in a day. “It hasn’t been the void that I thought it would’ve been. If it was 10 years ago, I’d be lost right now.”
Brian Griffin says he learned that life goes on, but he misses that feeling of looking forward to games.
"The whole idea of predicting — not necessarily gambling, betting on it — but just the fun of thinking about the competition, thinking about the players involved and just sort of looking forward to the outcomes," Griffin said.
At the same time, both Griffin and Leatherbury say they think if sports do return and stay for good, it will do wonders for everyone’s psyche.
“We’ve heard the term ‘normalcy’ — the whole idea of getting back to something that’s familiar,” Griffin said. “So, I think having sports return would actually help just with the mental aspect of people.”
Leatherbury says sports rallies people and brings races and communities together.
“If we could have sports, the world would just simply be a better place right now,” Leatherbury sauid.
Whether sports are able to continue depends directly on health and safety. Will the big leagues be able to pull their seasons off amid a pandemic?
Many fans said they recognize the risks.
“One guy gets (COVID-19), it’s still not OK and everything,” said WIP Overnight Producer Mike Angelina, who learned his show still had plenty of content to talk about despite the leagues being on pause. “But, I totally get why they’re coming back. It’s just in a perfect world, it’s probably not the safest.”
Another point of view fans expressed is that — while there’s absolutely a risk for athletes, coaches and team staff — many essential workers have put themselves in harm's way throughout the pandemic.
“Are sports the most essential thing? No," Matz said. “Everyone’s got to get back to work. We need this badly. I know it’s not fair to everyone — oh yeah, go live in a bubble for three months — but we need this. We really need sports back.”
In the end, let’s hope everyone stays safe and that the daily distraction millions have been accustomed to will help avoid months-long suspensions and delays.