Charles Dunlevy – Page 2

2020-07-042020-08-29

The Return of Professional Sport

We are nearing the resumption of live sporting events in North America. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, these events will not be played in front of live crowds. For those who love sport, the compromised version will be better than nothing. Talk show hosts will finally have something to talk about besides speculation or recollection.

I am looking forward to NHL hockey (my favorite league), NBA basketball, MLB baseball, and MLB soccer (football). To be honest, it will feel strange watching basketball and hockey during the summer.

Since there will be no fans in attendance, I suppose the leagues’ main source of revenue will be the television and advertising deals. The leagues will be competing for television viewers. Normally hockey and basketball would be over by now and we would be well into the baseball season. Now people who fancy all three will have to make time for them.

The NHL and NBA seasons start and end around simular dates. My tradition has been to watch NHL games throughout the entire season plus playoffs. I would watch NBA games sporadically until the playoffs. During both hockey and basketball playoffs, I would split my time evenly… if the Toronto Raptors are involved. If not, I will spend the time watching NHL playoffs until the finals. I like to watch the finals of both leagues.

Now that we are in a lockdown, well not so much a lockdown as it was, but a restricted life, the return of sport will bring some much-needed entertainment to our lives. There are only so many movies and television shows one can watch. Sport is an entirely different ballgame, yes pun intended.

To fight boredom, I had planned to get more involved in baseball statistics. Now that baseball will be on along with the other sports, that might be a challenge. I think I will watch the four leagues but analyse statistics for NHL and MLB. I always analyse NHL statistics but will add baseball to the list. Baseball is slow-paced compared to hockey, basketball, or soccer. Basball does appear to track more statistics and looks to be a lot of fun for us nerdy types who love numbers and statistical analysis.

Bars in this province are restricted to limited patio seating only. Under this arrangement, I will not be watching sport at the bars this season. During normal times, watching sports is the one event where everybody talks and mingles with everybody else at the bars in this city. There is loud, excited chatter, hugs, handshakes, etc. In no way can we do those things while a pandemic is raging on. I will watch the games at home on my big screen TV, sipping beer, and eating home-cooked food.

2020-07-022020-09-12

I still miss these things…

A couple of posts back, I mentioned that I missed certain things. I still miss them. There have been some changes in the province, but we are far from in the clear. Restaurants, cafes, and bars may now open patios. Patio seating is limited and must be reserved in advance.

I finally went out to one of my favorite establishments this past Sunday. After a couple of hours drinking beer and eating salad, I went home to prepare for work the next day.

All along I thought that I would enjoy going to a patio after months of isolation. I was wrong. The visit was a stark reminder of how grim life has become for a social being like myself.

I had to make a reservation the night before. Fortunately the manager is a good friend of mine. I made the reservation while casually chatting about our daily lives.

Since seating is limited, we are allowed 90 minutes to enjoy our table. At the end of the 90 minutes, I went to pay my bill and was told I may stay longer since the other table left early and the next booking for my table was going to be sent to the now-vacant table nearest mine.

I sat down and enjoyed some more beer. A few people from the neighbourhood walked by and stopped to chat. It was nice seeing those guys again.

I cannot escape feeling that the overall experience was not nice. The fact that the venue was empty due to restrictions had a huge impact on me. Since the patio is small, they are only allowed to have two tables. Indoor dining is not allowed, so all business asides from the two tables at the partio was takeout.

Having to keep 2m metres apart from my dear friend made me feel depressed. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been in contact almost daily. Now that her restaurant has opened the patio for service, I was able to visit but keep a safe distance.

I grew up in a very social environment. Our friends and family tend to be affectionate and physical via hugs, embrace, fist bump, chest bump, etc. To see my dear friends and not be able to get close to them hurts me to my core.

Another thing that makes going out to patios under these conditions an unhappy experience is the fact that one simply cannot chat with new people. How do you make new friends with people who you must keep far away from? In these pandemic days, it feels as if everyone is suspicious of everyone else.

As I walk down the street, or go to the grocery store, I cannot help but wonder if other people have the virus and are asymptomatic. This causes me to steer clear of random people. I find that other people tend to do the same. The whole experience is rather disturbing.

I do not plan to visit patios much if at all. The fun is no longer there.

2020-07-022020-09-12

The End of Retail Part 2

Back in February, I wrote a piece detailing my observations surrounding the state of retail in this city. Little did I know that within two weeks the nation would go into lockdown due to an evil virus pandemic.

Unfortunately, my predictions about the future of bricks and mortar retail have come true but at a far quicker pace. Several businesses in the city have closed permanently and others are not expected to survive the pandemic.

Toronto and Peel Region entered phase 2 of the province’s pandemic recovery plan. This allows businesses to reopen under strict conditions. Bars and restaurants are not allowed to host dine-in customers. They are allowed to open patios, but with restricted seating. Phase 3 is expected to allow dining indoors, but again, seating will be restricted.

Many establishments simply will not survive under this setup. Unfortunately allowing them to reopen fully without restrictions would simply excacerbate the spread of this deadly virus.

I have heard estimates that up to 30% of businesses in the city will be closed in the coming months. This is awful.

All we can do at this point is pray. Pray that the world gets out of this latest predicament. Pray that a viable and effective vaccine is found and made available to all. We would like our lives back.