This week, more than six million Americans submitted new unemployment claims as a result of the #COVID19 pandemic. The numbers demonstrate the impact of the coronavirus on the public’s health, but also the impact on the financial health of the country and the global environment.
The #COVID19 has exposed us through the point of impact effects and the rippling effects throughout the society and its component parts.
As sports leagues have closed, the impact has been evident and devastating to local economies and beyond.
Games cease and vendors, arena staff, parking staff, support crews, bars, restaurants, and an endless list of direct and tangentially-related sectors of the economy have taken a hit.
It should be mentioned here that these impacts are necessary to put a stop to the spread of the coronavirus spread. There is little else that can be done without an effective therapeutic drug or protective, immunizing vaccine.
The impact ripples have been scarcely touched throughout the economic landscape. At the NHL level, some players have donated portions of salaries to cover pay for arena staff. Some teams have committed some level of support as well.
As the minor hockey leagues started to suspend games, postpone season schedules and finally cancel the season, a degree of nervousness settled into the local impact zone. Minor leagues and their member franchises operate on a margin thin enough to read the New York Times through.
A recent social media post coming from the Fayetteville Marksmen of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) stood out among the doom and gloom. As the pandemic swept across the globe and landed in the US, the SPHL suspended and then canceled the remainder of its season. The Marksmen were said to be in jeopardy of making it through the suspension and cancellation and rumors surfaced of the team ceasing operations.
Chuck Norris, the owner of the Marksmen, was said to be considering closing the team down. That was dispelled this week in a series of social media releases assuring the team, the front office and the fans in Fayetteville, that the Marksmen were alive and well. that the rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.
“The support of our fans has been second-to-none. Their generosity and compassion for our organization and our Marksmen Family during this time has been nothing short of incredible,” Norris said. “I’m grateful for the work our staff has put in to keep us moving forward, and for the fans for everything they’ve done to alleviate our losses. We’re ready to get back to work and continue to improve in every sense next season.”
This week, Pro Hockey News spoke with Shawn Bednard, the Marksmen’s Community Relations Director and Play-by-Play Broadcaster about the announcements.
“The coronavirus was a blow to the team and the league,” Bednard said. “We were not sure what the next days were or whether there was a future.”
The Marksmen were created from the ashes of the FireAntz franchise in Fayetteville. The FireAntz had early success, but faded in their later years. Norris resuscitated the franchise and rebranded the team.
“Chuck is a sports guy and a military guy and he saw Fayetteville as a great place to keep hockey alive,” Bednard said.
Despite the rumors, Norris stepped up this week and assured staff that payrolls would be continued through the lockdown and layoffs and cessation of operations were not in the cards.
The decision also settled the front office jitters.
“It certainly has been a relief,: Bednard said this week. “We are thankful to be here representing the Marksmen and Chuck in the community and seeing a path to the new season in the fall.”
The future is still a it murky, given the forecasts for #COVID19.
“We are needing to look at hockey and sports in a new light,” Bednard said. “How we conduct games, how we greet fans and manage arenas an teams.”
For now, Chuck Norris dropped a pebble in the lake and disrupted the ripples of #COVID19 in Fayetteville, and hopefully beyond.
Fan support has been strong for the Marksmen, with encouraging signs through the refund program and various mechanisms between season ticket holders and the team.
Hockey will return to Fayetteville, in fact, it has not left. 
In the meantime, stay safe, listen to health experts, scientists epidemiologists and healthcare professionals.
We will get through this.
This article includes reporting from Thomas Pope via Fayetteville Observer.
You must be logged in to post a comment.