It’s been just more than two weeks since the CIAC canceled its 2020 winter state tournaments and championships and not two weeks since a majority of the state and country has settled into a self-imposed quarantine to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus across the country.
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the state’s athletes, their parents and coaches. And it’s been a rough couple weeks for our staff here at GameTimeCT, which suddenly has no local sports to cover and has transitioned to new, hopefully temporary, gigs.
So, as we settle into new responsibilities at Hearst Connecticut Media, we will endeavor to keep everybody abreast of what’s going on in the Connecticut high school sporting world with our new GameTimeCT QuarantineCast.
RELATED: Jeff Jacobs — The rule of new reality, high school athletes must keep their distance
On Tuesday, producers Pete Paguaga and Sean Patrick Bowley sat down in their respective homes to do the pilot episode, which turned out to be more of diametrical word salad, with Pete listing all the television he’s watched and puzzles he’s solved, and Sean coming to grips with what the virus’ impact will have on society.
We also muse about how a spring sports season might look if schools somehow open by April 20 and we’re back on the fields a week afterward.
It’s a work in progress. Regardless, it was still nice to get back, test out the new home-office broadcasting setup for a chat and prepare for what we hope will evolve into a weekly discussion on the issues facing us.
The big takeaways from this pilot episode are:
⊕ We will be doing at least one or two (maybe three!) shows per week, with guests from around the state.
⊕ WE’RE CALLING ON ATHLETES AND COACHES to send us a short — under 5-minutes — video on how this pandemic has affected their lives, not just athletically, but personally.
How are you staying in shape in case the spring sports season is played? Or, if your season or career was cut short, what have you done to cope.
How have you been interacting with your teammates and coaches?
Most importantly, how have you and your family been holding up? By all means, share with us any stories of how this pandemic has affected you personally.
Videos should be kept under 5 minutes, unless you have an important story to tell that requires more.
Submit them via direct message to the GameTimeCT Instagram page, or by sharing a link on another media platform, like YouTube or emailing the link at gametimect@gmail.com
We’ll be posting all worthy entries on Instagram and GameTimeCT as we all weather this unprecedented challenge.
(Also: If you’d like to join one of our video chats, email either Pete Paguaga or Sean Patrick Bowley).
That’s it for now, be safe and stay home everyone!
