Thought of the Day - February 24 - Australian Open Season

New stories about the "COVID Gong Show", that is the Australian Open tennis tournament, keep rolling in.

First, there was the reaction from the athletes, dismayed that THEY were bound by the Australian quarantine regulations. Appalled there were restrictions on public training.

Then, hosting hotels, most notably the Westin, started pulling out when locals residents threatened legal action.

Of course, the situation was exacerbated when almost a dozen participants tested positive for COVID. Melbourne, who was hosting the Open, began its third lockdown on February the 12th due to a rapidly spreading COVID-19 cluster centred in an airport quarantine hotel. The lockdown was extended to the entire state of Victoria to help prevent the British variant of the virus from spreading from Melbourne. The Australian Open was still allowed to continue but without spectators for the five days of the lockdown.

To top it all off, this past weekend, there was the booing of the Tennis Australia's chief when, for some reason, the final awards speech included statements about the COVID-19 vaccination rollout around the world.

While I am not a big football fan I did find that the NFL got it right with the Superbowl. I think after a messy 2019 they kept in mind while sport may be an art form, stars are athletes, not artists, like actors they are entertainers and for the most part should stick to what they do best and keep away from politics. But then again holding the Superbowl was a far easier task: no international travel (well c'ept for The Weeknd - shout out for Canada - was this really live and in-person?), and athletes are already under contract.

I guess the amazing thing is that these types of events are happening at all. The recent experience in Australia really does put a bullet in the Japan 2020 Olympics. While it was rumoured in January they had been privately cancelled already, guess there is no chance now.

Cheers

Cliff