The coronavirus is currently causing severe restrictions in sports. Some teams are therefore moving into the online world and creating lovely situations.
What has happened in sports? Due to the rampant coronavirus, many large events and even the regular club operations are currently prohibited in many places. Larger clubs from the Bundesliga, the Premier League, or the NBA are therefore moving to the internet and creating curious situations.
However, they are not just competing in the online version of their actual sport. Some clubs are also participating in other activities, such as the “Social Media” department of Bayer Leverkusen, which played “Connect Four” on Twitter against other teams.
NBA 2k20 and football simulations
What are the basketball teams doing? In America, the NBA is currently on pause. The Phoenix Suns have therefore decided to continue “playing” the season online through the game NBA2k20 and also on Twitch.
The season isn’t over yet…
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 13, 2020
We will continue to play the Suns season games on @NBA2K!
Saturday’s game will be moved to tomorrow. Join us live on @Twitch as we take on the @dallasmavs! pic.twitter.com/745QIuvCMc
On the specially created Twitch account, up to 12,074 people watched at peak times on Saturday, March 14 (via Sullygnome). The game was played in real time against the Dallas Mavericks. Although the match was lost, the mood in the chat was still good.
How is it in football? For those who prefer watching football over basketball, they could watch the English club Watford. They ran the simulation “Football Manager 2019” to simulate the match against Leicester City.
Watford managed to secure a draw here. On Twitter, the tweet received over 11,000 likes and many funny comments, including:
- @Goal_Hanger: “How many times did you have to close and restart the game until you reached at least a draw?”
- @Danielpeters191: “Imagine if the FA [The Football Association] decides to finish the rest with Football Manager 2020.”
The show must go on ?
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) March 14, 2020
Watford vs @LCFC brought to you by @FootballManager!
Come on you ‘Orns…#WATLEI pic.twitter.com/VFDaWJKDhg
Furthermore, football star Özil is currently using the break to explore online activities. However, he streams the shooter Fortnite instead of FIFA.
What other sports are experiencing curious things? Formula 1 is currently on pause. Therefore, the organization Veloce Esports is holding an F1 tournament that will include real Formula 1 drivers and professional gamers.
Taking part are not only McLaren driver Lando Norris but also well-known figures like the German streamer MontanaBlack, who was briefly the worldwide number 2 on Twitch, and xQc (via Talkesport).
It gets even more curious – With “4 wins”
What are the “Social Media” departments doing? The currently forced break is allowing some teams to thrive on social media. Besides looking back at the past years or holding Q&As with the players, some are also engaging with current trends.
Currently, the popular game “Connect Four” is being played on Twitter. This was also done by Hull City and Bayer Leverkusen, two football clubs. The German team, however, came off worse after an exciting exchange:
IT’S ALL OVER!!!! THE TIGERS HAVE DONE IT!!!
— Hull City (@HullCity) March 15, 2020
⚪️???⚪️⚪️⚪️
⚪️???⚪️?⚪️
⚪️???⚪️?⚪️
⚪️???⚪️??
⚪️???⚪️??
????⚪️??
???????
???????#HULB04 | #hcafc | #theTigers https://t.co/K03BxzqJnE pic.twitter.com/OLKIzVRNsq
Leverkusen seems to be generally very active on Twitter. A game of chess was also played, to which even the world champion Magnus Carlsen briefly commented, although it was regarding the appearance of the chessboard:
This board needs to be an option on @chess24com and @PlayMagnus https://t.co/ERYj5p9VHj
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) March 15, 2020
By the way, even chess players have now discovered Twitch for themselves. They are doing all sorts of crazy things there.
Many eSports tournaments are becoming online events
Are there also eSports? Aside from the curious ideas of some clubs, some long-planned eSports tournaments are being held. Even though the European LoL league LEC is currently on pause, many online tournaments continue to be held.
Moreover, some offline tournaments are switching to an online format. The Chinese league in League of Legends is already being conducted online instead of offline. The Overwatch League is also supposed to be held online now (via Sport1).
- The coronavirus is currently influencing the development of consoles.
- Even as a Pokémon GO player, you should be a bit cautious right now. That’s why we have put together activities that you can do from home.
