Patrick Chung Reflects On Life During Coronavirus In Piece For “The Players Tribune”
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As sports fans across the world continue to practice social distancing and limit travel, The Players’ Tribune introduced a new series called “The Iso” which provides a behind-the-scenes look at how their favorite professional athletes are handling life during the pandemic.
Last Friday, New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung shared some of his personal quarantine experiences so far, most of which involve his son Taj.
So what is Chung’s new daily routine?
“Cooking a lot, cleaning a lot, and finally getting to those little house chores. I put up the lights, installed cameras outside, working on making a field for Taj in the backyard. I like being outdoors and doing stuff. We’re cooking and grilling. Me and my family truly are homebodies, so this works for us.”
The stay-at-home quarantine practice has led to creative new forms of entertainment between Patrick and Taj.
“I’m playing new games with Taj,” Chung said. We did a push-up competition. I made up an egg challenge — you hold an egg on a spoon and walk around the house. But the trick is it’s timed. (You gotta try not to break it!) It’s been a really good time getting to hang with him and spend time with the family.
However the three-time Super Bowl champion wasn’t going easy on Taj when it came to their video game battles.
“I beat on ’em in 2K! I’m whoopin’ on him the whole day in games — basketball outside, 2K, NHL. We give each other crap the whole time, but it’s all love and it’s hilarious.”
Chung went on to add he’s trying out different board games for the first time in his life.
“We’re playing Scrabble of all things. I have never played Scrabble for fun. For the first time, I can actually say I do now. And what do you know? I’m actually not bad. My highest score was … maybe in the high 40s for a word? That was luck, though.”
Like most stuck in quarantine, Chung expressed more serious thoughts when thinking of family members he can’t see or visit, especially his parents. He also voiced a warning to those not listening.
“I think a lot about my parents — they’re older. I also have nieces and nephews that I worry about. We all have to be talking to each other about this stuff, make sure everyone’s being safe and being smart.”
“This is just one of those things where we don’t really know what could happen. All you can do is follow the rules, hope for the best, and make sure your people have what they need and go from there. This is something where you can’t be ignorant to what’s going on in the world. Be smart. Don’t think you’re Superman, or think that this can’t affect you or your family.”
While Chung misses playing football, he understands there are far more important matters right now.
“Football can wait. There’s a lot more things in the world to be worried about, to be honest. We gotta be safe. Football is a job, it’s a sport. It’s done a lot for me. But at the same time, we got this thing going on, we have to make sure that everyone is safe. Football will be there when we get back, but we gotta make sure that everyone will be there to watch.”
In the meantime, Chung appears to be taking full advantage of quality father/son bonding from the comforts of home.
You can read more on Chung’s story or other athletes from “The Iso” HERE.
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