The new sports year is also an opportunity

No and no again. There is no annual review. Not with me. Not for me, because there are retrospectives at every corner anyway and because experience shows that they don't do much good. Or has man ever learned from the past? The answer is certainly clear. Even. And besides, it's much nicer to be able to look ahead and start a new chapter in life, even if there are always stumbling blocks in the way. But as we know, they are somehow part of it. If everything goes too smoothly, we quickly become comfortable and perhaps even careless. And that shouldn't be the case under any circumstances, no matter what the situation is. Concentration is important. Everywhere, especially in sport, where even small mistakes are brutally punished with defeats that are then often described as unnecessary. But experience shows that they will always exist. Australian Open heralds the start of the sporting year The tennis elite is making the vaccinated start with the Australian Open. The corona virus will still haunt us and will probably continue to haunt us for a long time and will force everyone involved in sports to be more careful. In addition, there are still drastic restrictions, which are probably necessary because the virus is mutating at breakneck speed, as if it wanted to show the sport: I am fast too, very fast. Athletes who have not been vaccinated will not be able to hit a felt ball over the net in Melbourne or take part in the Olympic Games in Beijing in February. This will also be the case at the many upcoming European Championships in many sports next year. Indoor sports in particular will suffer extremely from the virus regulations.

Instead of fans, only cardboard figures will adorn the stands at the World Cup in Antholz. © AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO

There are no alternatives to this, even if some call it a professional ban. In addition, spectators will have to stay away from many events in the long term. This also applies to the Biathlon World Cup in Antholz next January. So the famous “ghost games” are happening again and the wailing and lamentation will be great. While the so-called “little ones” humbly duck their heads in front of the virus and try to somehow save the situation, those who are juggling millions are guaranteed to report back at full volume. The football clubs would prefer to ignore the Corona discussion and make a pact with the devil to do so. The “Kimmich case” has shown that you cannot run away.

The virus has octopus arms that crawl into every corner of life and can catch anyone. The virus with “Delta” and “Omicron” and whatever may come after that continues to stubbornly haunt sport and severely restrict freedom of movement. The Darts World Cup currently taking place in London is feeling this; the English Premier League is actually no longer allowed to play due to the many corona cases in many clubs. The championship becomes an unfair competition. This is how it will continue. Nobody can say now whether the major tennis tournaments will be spared next year. Jannik Sinner, like everyone else, cannot plan normally. The virus swings its baton mercilessly. And again and again, top athletes like most recently the two skiers Lara Gut-Behrami and Mikaela Shiffrin, who are in Corona quarantine and have to watch idly as their colleagues collect World Cup points. The virus is becoming a numbers game. Social contact is lost Of course, top-class sport primarily dominates the headlines in connection with Corona. The situation at the levels below, especially in Europe's clubs, has long since become a catastrophe. The virus is keeping people away from their usual meetings in the gyms. In addition to the lack of sporting activity, it is above all the social contact that no longer takes place and can therefore be extremely damaging to society in the future. We become cranky loners and later no longer find our way in a community. Maybe we, the adults, can still handle it. But the situation hits the children of this virus generation without them knowing it, like a whiplash that changes their lives. It can make you feel scared and anxious.

Recreational sports are in decline and yet somehow things continue. As always. There will even be another long-awaited World Cup, perhaps even with European champions Italy (not yet qualified). This time even in winter, because the heat in Qatar in summer precludes exercise. Unfortunately, the inglorious side effects of building the stadiums for these title fights have not yet led to a boycott front being formed against them. Egoism remains dominant. Corona is still fueling him. Everyone looks for their place alone and with their elbows out. On television we are then spoiled for choice: Dominik Paris or Lionel Messi. Presumably Formula 1 will be rounding the corner somewhere at the end of a sporting year that fights the virus with a packed schedule from January to December, just as if there were no problems. Eyes shut and go for it. But only those who look into the future with a clear view can manage it. So let's keep our eyes open together in the coming sports year. There is no other chance. Sigi Heinrich wishes everyone a healthy New Year.

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The new sports year is also an opportunity

In the coming year, many things will be the same as usual, but some things will also be completely different, such as a football World Cup in winter. In his last tip of 2021, our columnist Sigi Heinrich suspects that Corona will continue to wield the baton in sport. And yet he is optimistic.

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