2021 sports outlook | WORLD News Group - WORLD News Group

No one could have predicted 2020’s crazy sports season.

Governing bodies at all levels of sports truncated, canceled, or postponed events and even entire seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams competed for championships before mostly empty venues. Separately, athletes protested and teams dropped controversial nicknames in the name of social justice.

Against that backdrop, here are five sports predictions for 2021:

Expect the lowest attendance and television ratings in Super Bowl history. Tampa will host the National Football League’s signature event this February. While Florida is among the few states whose economy is completely open, the NFL isn’t likely to allow a packed house at Raymond James Stadium—not with the surge in COVID-19 cases in late 2020.

The NFL’s decision to let players protest racism and police brutality by kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner” has alienated many fans. The website Deadline in December blamed, in part, “backlash from some fans over the league’s social justice efforts” for the NFL’s struggling ratings, down 7 percent through the season’s first 13 weeks. In an October Rasmussen survey, 32 percent of U.S. adults said they were less likely to watch NFL games due to players’ Black Lives Matter protests.

COVID-19 will continue to impact sports beyond the Super Bowl. The NCAA is already considering hosting the 2021 March Madness men’s basketball tournament in a single “bubble” city, as the NBA did with its playoffs. Indianapolis, home of the NCAA’s headquarters, is a leading candidate.

The Summer Olympics, meanwhile, are scheduled to start July 23 in Tokyo after being postponed due to the pandemic. Both the International Olympic Committee and Japanese officials have expressed confidence the games will take place as planned.

Still, if the pandemic does not subside in early 2021, expect the committee to move the Summer Games to 2022—after the Winter Games take place in Beijing.

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