MOTOR SPORTS

Major sports are finally coming back to Indiana: 'It gives people some hope'

Dana Hunsinger Benbow
Indianapolis Star

Inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse -- fans screaming with maskless faces, concession stand crowds elbow to elbow for beer and nachos -- the Pacers took the court battling the Celtics.

That was March 10.

On March 11, the NBA suspended its season until further notice.

That was the same day Indiana University trounced Nebraska 89-64 in the Big Ten Tournament. IU didn't play another game.

On March 12, the NCAA cancelled its tournaments. Selection Sunday never happened. March Madness brackets were left empty. There was no regional in Indianapolis.

In the days following, soccer, tennis and golf were cancelled. NFL training complexes shut down. The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo were moved to 2021. High school sports were suspended.

"When the pandemic came, it changed and it changed so quickly and it was like nothing any of us had experienced before," said Daniel McQuiston, a marketing professor at Butler University, specializing in sports. "One day we were watching sports and the next day we weren't. What happened here? It made our heads spin."

In the grand scheme of things, the reason sports shuttered -- COVID-19 and its nearly 130,000 deaths nationwide – makes their absence, at most, a trivial annoyance.

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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) enters the final ten laps at the 2019 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.

But if sports are a glimpse into America’s soul, their return will surely reverberate glee among fans who love them most – and even those who don’t. 

Because if sports are playing out, maybe, too, will the rest of normal life.

“Now that sports are coming back, people start to think, 'Hey, maybe some other things will come back,’” McQuiston said. “It gives people some hope. Maybe things aren't so bad after all.”

Next week, the NBA heads to Orlando for a sequestered, shortened season. Major League Baseball is set to launch a 60-game regular season in three weeks. The Indianapolis 500 is expected to run in August at 50% capacity. The NFL, pending changes, said it will open training camps July 28 and start the regular season in September. The Kentucky Derby announced it will run with fans Sept. 5.

In Indianapolis, the first major sporting event since the coronavirus outbreak begins Saturday as a historic IndyCar-NASCAR doubleheader is held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The stands will be void of fans. But the races certainly won't be. The fans will be watching, most likely, in record numbers.

Josef Newgarden (2) of Team Penske takes the lead heading into the first turn on lap 151 during the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500, Sunday, May 26, 2019, in Speedway, Ind.

Starving for sports: 'Going to eat it up'

NBC will air the three races this weekend with the top series in IndyCar and NASCAR racing at the same track on the same weekend for the first time. IndyCar's GMR Grand Prix and NASCAR's Xfinity series will both compete on the road course Saturday. The NASCAR Cup Series' Brickyard 400 will run Sunday.

"People are going to eat it up," said Dom Caristi, a professor of telecommunications at Ball State University.

All it takes is a quick glimpse of recent TV ratings of live sporting events since the pandemic to see how hungry America is, he said. 

In May, "The Match: Champions for Charity" golf match showcasing Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson against Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods averaged 5.8 million TV viewers, according to Turner Sports.

CBS Sports reported its coverage of the Charles Schwab Challenge, the network's return to PGA Tour, resulted in the tournament's most-watched final round in 16 years. An average 3.09 million viewers tuned in, an increase of 50% from 2019.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ return to action last month drew 6.32 million viewers, according to Nielsen data. The race in South Carolina was one of the first live sporting events in the country since a national emergency was declared March 13 and it was the most watched NASCAR Cup Series race (other than the marquee Daytona 500) since 2017.

"It doesn't surprise me that if you can televise a major sport, it looks like you're going to do very well in the ratings," said Caristi. "Think about it. People are being made to watch cornhole."

As sports went on hiatus, major networks like ESPN aired replays of old games. The novelty quickly wore off, said Caristi. 

"People want to watch them live," he said. "Even if it's just yesterday's, you don't want to watch yesterday's baseball game. You want to watch today's game."

Fans, he said, "they're hungry for live sports."

When the fans return

Sports could set the tone -- and the standard -- for re-opening many parts of the country, said Sam Zietz, CEO of financial technology company Grubbrr.

Zietz works with arenas, amusement parks, restaurants and retailers nationwide as they navigate reopening plans and the changes that need to be in place when they do so.

"If the NFL were to come out and say, 'We are doing a-b-c,' I think smaller venues and high school venues will look at them and follow suit," he said. "There is not an established playbook. I think most organizations are looking to the sports world as leaders on what we should do."

The Kentucky Derby's announcement to allow fans Sept. 5 "runs afoul" of what most are doing, Zietz said.

Still, as Zietz has talked with major arenas and stadiums, they, too, have wanted to discuss ways to eventually bring fans back.

Among the most popular additions are thermal temperature kiosks at the entrance of venues, which check each guest for a fever. 

"At least you are eliminating the worst offender," Zietz said. "That’s a good initial step." 

Next, is looking at "hot spots" where large groups of people are gathered in close proximity. Concession stands and retail areas make it nearly impossible to keep 6-foot distancing.

That's where kiosks and mobile ordering or online ordering come in. Zietz also said food lockers will be popular -- a two-sided locker with the back side facing the kitchen and the front side facing the customer.

When the food is ready, it is placed in the locker and the door is closed, which alerts the guest the food is ready to be picked up, after scanning a QR code.

"You've eliminated the congestion of the ordering process," he said. "And eliminated the congestion of the pickup process."

And for now, the bottomless popcorn and free refills on soda are out the window. He's pretty sure fans will be OK with that.

After all, what they want more than anything after nearly four months without them, is bottomless sports.

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.