The Cougar’s sports section was hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Now we need our readers’ help to adjust and bounce back as we navigate this crisis.
Sports, with few exceptions, are a constant in our lives, giving us a sense of comfort and normalcy no matter what is going on.
In the rare moments where acts of God keep our favorite teams off the court or field, a sporting event can be a haven, even if it’s just to distract from whatever was negatively affecting our lives.
A recent and familiar example came in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey ravaged through the Houston area, forcing UH football’s season-opener against UTSA to be canceled.
The Cougars found a way to make good out of tragedy.
Two week later, in their first game in Houston since the storm against cross-town rival Rice, UH did away with players’ last names on the back of their jerseys.
Instead, the Cougars — from the quarterback to the benchwarmers — opted to don “HOUSTON” in bold white letters to read across their bright red nameplates.
But right now, with the coronavirus pandemic quickly sweeping the country, sports seem as insignificant as a first-down rush for no gain.
When the crisis hit home earlier this month, effectively wiping out athletics at UH until further notice, The Cougar’s sports section was crippled.
The paper had a plan, a strategy so our staff would not be blindsided once things inevitably got worse.
No one was prepared for the sports world to grind to a halt the way it did, taking down many of the nation’s major professional leagues and college athletics with it.
With our main source of coverage on hiatus, some of our readers may have noticed our sports section’s decreased presence both on our website and the other platforms we use to share our content.
Despite the pandemic, it remains our job as the student-run news organization of UH to deliver our readers information and tell the stories of our University.
We had difficulty fulfilling that expectation when the coronavirus firmed its grip and began disrupting our way of life, but anticipate The Cougar bouncing back.
As we slowly begin to learn how to best navigate this new, temporary normal, for us and the community we serve, our focus will remain on continuing to do our job.
This means informing you of the news as it happens and using our access to give our readers an inside look into the world of the teams they support so dearly.
We have a plan to get ourselves back to where we were and strive to be. Starting now our reader will begin to see it take shape.
But we still need your help.
The Cougar’s purpose is to serve the UH community, and to do that as best we can during these unprecedented times, we must hear from our readers, our reason for existing.
Here are a couple things we ask of our audience:
First, and most importantly, stay safe. Your health is more important than anything our section will ever produce. Follow the recommendations of health officials and experts.
This isn’t just the flu, and if we don’t act accordingly, it will get much worse.
Second, we want to know your interests so we can best serve you.
Whether it be student-athlete profiles, analysis or anything in between, we want to know what kind of stories you want to see from us.
Is there an athlete you’re interested in but want to know more about? Or maybe something you previously saw in our coverage that you want us to dive deeper into?
Let us know. That’s what The Cougar is here for.
Email us, message us on our social media, comment under our posts, engage and communicate to us what you want — or need — from us as we all navigate this crisis.
Help us provide you with a sense of normalcy, even if it’s minimal, in a time when our world is rapidly changing.
