Sport and the entertainment business on a whole had to take an extended break due to the coronavirus pandemic. This not only led to mass cancellations but also postponements, with the likes of the Olympic games being moved to next year. It has been a similarly difficult period across the US, with many sports looking at a means of dealing with the situation, as spectators continue to be unable to attend games. But this has certainly led to many more fans moving online and placed bets on sporting events. The BetRivers IL affiliate code has been one that has enabled for Illinois residents to also continue their sports betting on these returning events.
Despite this difficult period, sport has remained as popular as ever, with many seeing great success since returning. The UFC is one of them and were the first to return and were always pushing to get back to action from the off. The shows continue to take place behind closed doors, with Abu Dhabi and Las Vegas being the venues at choice for the organisation. They have been seeing some remarkable success, with the numbers continuing to increase for the shows. Next up will see the much-anticipated show on Fight island between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and challenger Justin Gaethje. The pair will be headlining UFC 254, with rumours also being put forward that this show could see the return of some spectators. That is very positive news for the UFC and sports fans in general.
Many other sports have continued to return across the US from horse racing, which actually did continue throughout behind closed doors in some locations. Others included the likes of NASCAR, MLB, NHL, tennis and of course Basketball and the NBA. The latter was much anticipated moving into the latter stages of the NBA championship and it did not disappoint. This proved to be one of the most memorable occasions, with the Lakers progressing through to the final, to take on Miami Heat.
The Lakers were led by LeBron James, who ultimately picked up the MVP for the finals, following his incredible performances. The Lakers won the championship final, which was the 17th in the franchise’s history and the first in 10 years. It was a return to the top of the sport for the most successful side in the competition. It also was a memorable victory for the fans, as they look back on the late Koby Bryant, who was one of the greatest in the history of the sport.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WallpaperWednesday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WallpaperWednesday</a>: Championship Edition 🏆 <a href=”https://t.co/D3WOqGBDPk”>pic.twitter.com/D3WOqGBDPk</a></p>— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1316442396327116801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 14, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
These are just a number of examples of the great success that sport has seen since returning across the US. Let’s hope this continues and we also finally see a return of sports fans to the events in the near future, with the likes of the Breeders’ Cup coming up in the near future.