This superfan can’t wait for sports to return
SUMTER, S.C. (BVM) — The spread of COVID-19 across the world has shut down sports indefinitely. Leagues across the globe have been postponed or canceled, meaning little to no games are being played anywhere. Many people have been talking about how this impacts athletes and their careers, but not enough have been discussing how this impacts fans and their livelihood. And for fans like Sumter, S.C. native Ian McCormick, it hurts even more.
McCormick is the ultimate sports superfan, having attended 4,496 high school, college and professional athletic events since 2007. Yes, this number is exact as McCormick has been logging his attended events in an Excel spreadsheet, updating it periodically. Now this enjoyable hobby has been taken away for the time being.
On top of that, McCormick works as an Uber and Lyft driver and that has been slowed down as well. Between reduced working hours and even less time of sporting events, life has been particularly frustrating for McCormick.
“The past few years of my life have been all about being out, as well as keeping people out and active and society running,” McCormick said. “That’s not happening now, so that’s why I find it particularly tough.”
In the meantime, he has been finding ways to keep busy related to sports. McCormick says this has included watching lots of YouTube, and the development of a new spreadsheet.
“This spreadsheet tracks each country and state daily as far as number of coronavirus cases to see if things are getting better or not,” McCormick said. “I just want to see when we can start to think about getting back to normal life.”
Until then, at least he will be able to look back on sports through his incredible resume of lived experiences. Thus far, McCormick says he has visited every NCAA Division I basketball arena in the states of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia and at least half in Tennessee, Florida and Virginia. He says he has been to a similar percentage of minor league baseball stadiums in these states as well. As much as he relishes taking in the actual sporting event, McCormick loves getting to new places.
McCormick says that although he’s been to many new venues, his favorite is actually right at home in Sumter. The local ballpark, Riley Field, has made a forever-lasting impression on him.
“It hosts junior college and American Legion baseball games right now,” McCormick said. “It has a roof that protects you during the summer and you can move around. It has a big capacity of 2,000 people.”
But in his time as a traveling superfan, the games he has witnessed have been equally as exhilarating as the new stadiums. One of his personal favorites was during his undergraduate time at High Point University. His High Point Panthers were taking on the Winthrop Eagles, fresh off of the Eagles’ round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament a season before. After years of close defeats, the Panthers were finally able to edge Winthrop, leading to a rushing of the court. He says this was his one and only experience rushing the floor as an undergraduate, making it memorable.
His graduate years at the University of South Carolina produced some electrifying games as well.
“I got to rush the court when we beat Kentucky, and that’s when they had John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins,” McCormick said. “I saw the baseball team win a couple close games to make the College World Series. I also saw our football team beat Alabama when they were No. 1.”
All of these experiences have come at a cost, but McCormick has some assistance. He says his parents have been willing to contribute by helping him out with some of the funds associated with his sports addiction. Depending on the month the price varies, but McCormick says on average, between tickets, parking and concessions, his hobby costs him about $500-$1,000.
Since McCormick, like the rest of the world, is quarantined, he’ll be able to save up some money for games in the future. And he has certainly been eyeing up some possibilities for the next sporting event. Following a resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been considering four different options.
“One plan I had was to go with my parents to Wisconsin and visit family in the northwest region, close to the Minnesota state line.” McCormick said. “Hopefully, we could catch a Brewers game and a Twins game along the way.”
He says he also dreams of getting up to northern Alaska to catch some high school football games, and even Europe to watch some of the best soccer in the world. But one thing that he wants to do for sure is visit the western part of America.
“I’ve been all around the eastern and central parts of the country, but not really the west,” McCormick said. “At some point I want to go on a coast-to-coast trip where basically every day for a couple of weeks I’m going to a different game.”
With major plans in sight, the career of this professional superfan will absolutely continue. While COVID-19 may be able to shut down different sports leagues, it can’t stop the heart of this passionate sports lover. McCormick will be ready to go as soon as he gets the all clear.