Ford Games
The Sports Season That Wasn’t The pandemic brought an abrupt end to the dreams of Haverford’s student athletes, particularly its seniors. But athletic director Wendy Smith ’87 says the Fords are uniquely positioned for resilience: “That’s what sports are. …. It’s adjusting to different circumstances all the time and finding a way to succeed.”
PHOTO: HOLDEN BLANCO ‘17
BY CHARLES CURTIS ‘04
Swan Field saw no play after the pandemic, and the College’s shift to remote learning, ended the sports season early.
n March 11, 2020, everything changed in the sports world. That night, a National Basketball Association game between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder was called off before tipoff when Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, which led to the immediate suspension of the league’s season. The next day, the National Hockey League followed suit, Major League Baseball delayed the start to its sea-
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son, and all National Collegiate Athletic Association championship tournaments were canceled. Hours earlier, Haverford College President Wendy Raymond had announced that the College would switch to distance learning for three weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic. Although it would be another nine days before remote learning was extended to the end of the semester, many suspected the year—and the spring athletic season—was effectively over. SPRING/SUMMER 2020 19
