To our readers: Welcome to life without sports for awhile; Here’s how we’ll try to handle it

To Maize n Brew readers, Michigan Wolverines fans, or anyone who consumes the content we have to provide here,

And so ends one of the most exhausting weeks in the history of...well, ever. A week that I never thought we would see in our lifetimes. It’s something ripped right out of a movie and a situation that is every bit as haunting as the empty venues that our college athletes were set to play in before things start to take another turn.

The University of Michigan is not playing any sports for now. College athletics is done for now. There will be no March Madness. There will be no baseball and softball the rest of the year. All sports is done for now. Our escapism from the harsh realities of what our world has going on is gone due to (necessary) precautions taking place to combat the spread of COVID-19. If life needs to stop for a bit so we can spread this thing out and not overwhelm our healthcare system, that’s a concession we should probably be willing to make. These giant sports leagues and associations do not just cancel for the heck of it. There are going to be billions of dollars in revenue lost in all of this.

My heart breaks for Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske. It breaks for Michigan State’s Cassius Winston. It breaks for every senior, and really every student-athlete who put so much hard work into the lead-up and duration of their seasons to compete at the highest level. It is not fair to them, but some things are bigger than sports. This is one of them.

Obviously, we are a Michigan sports blog. Without games being played, that puts a heck of a damper into what we’re going to do here on a daily basis. I’m about halfway through my first year as a full-time employee at SB Nation and after successfully navigating a stressful football season, expanding our basketball coverage in ways we have not done before and then jumping full-time into baseball after last year’s run through the College World Series, I’m devastated that we don’t get to follow these players’ stories and perhaps even tell some of them on our own. I sat here in front of a blank screen for about four hours not even knowing what to say. This hurts a lot, and it will continue to hurt. But the pain will be worth it if things calm down. And they will eventually.

We are not going anywhere. We will continue to be a presence on our social media accounts and provide content here on the website. We simply hope to entertain, inform and maybe make you laugh a time or two while we are at it. I would be lying if I told you what that looks like as of now, but myself, my superiors and my staff will be working to brainstorm ideas for what the best course of action is moving forward.

What I am asking for from our community today is a few things. First and foremost, listen to your local health officials, wash your hands, stay away from crowds if you feel sick, etc. Secondly, I want to know how we can service you and keep you entertained and engaged throughout all of this. If you want a restaurant ranking or review, you got it. If you want a thread open at the start of every day to vent about whatever, say no more. If you want to know what my streaming service recommendations are, I’ve got you covered. If you want a daily coronavirus update, we can make that happen for you.

Whatever we can do to get your mind off of things or pass the time throughout the day, throw us a message in the comments below. Contact us on social media. Feel free to reach out and email me. I want to make it clear we are here to serve our community. We also recently opened a suggestion box for content and resources you would like to see on the site, which can be accessed here.

Our beloved sports are not available to us as a form of escapism for the time being. However we can be that to you, we would love to be. I cannot imagine what a lot of you may be thinking at the moment, whether it be sadness over the cancelations, concern for yourself or at-risk family members or whatever it is. If we can take any of that load away from you, please let us know.

Be well. Be clean. Be safe. We’re here for you. Let us know how we can help.

Sincerely,

Anthony Broome
Team Site Producer, Maize n Brew