All Flu-ed Up

The growing concern with the swine flu may well affect the pro, college, and high school sports scene sooner than later. Alabama and Texas have already postponed high school sporting events statewide to address the potential pandemic. Professional sporting contests gather large amounts of people in condensed areas, and upcoming NBA playoff games and MLB contests may be identified as potential problem events in certain areas as health officials seek to reduce the human-to-human spread of the flu. The available strategies to thwart an outbreak are very limited, with perhaps the most effective means being keeping people away from each other. Local, state and federal government entities are instituting pandemic plans geared toward reducing close human contact, and with each confirmed flu diagnosis the efforts to keep folks away from each other will only increase. The sports world will be significantly affected …soon.