It has been five years since the nightmare began.

It was the second week of March 2020 when every major sport suspended play, when the NCAA Tournament was canceled, when life as we knew it was thrown into chaos, into isolation, behind masks. It would be months before sports would return amid the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging in bubbles and empty stadiums, played to crowds of cardboard cutouts.

Somehow, The Post’s sports section continued to fill its pages every day, week after week, month after month. <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/05/02/the-post-ranks-the-top-10-faces-in-new-york-sports-today/">One story </a>during that time selected the top 10 faces in New York sports, as ranked by The Post’s sports department.

But as Mike Vaccaro noted in a <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/05/03/pitfall-to-forecasting-top-10-faces-of-new-york-sports-right-now/">companion piece</a>, the 2020 list would likely offer little insight to how the era would be remembered:

Aaron Judge enters 2025 after posting two of the all-time offensive years in the past three seasons, and his hold on the top spot as the face of New York sports has only grown stronger.{ai:summary}<p>Five years have passed since March 2020, when major sports halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to widespread chaos and isolation. Sports eventually returned in empty venues, while The Post's sports section continued to provide coverage throughout this challenging period.</p><p>A retrospective piece reflects on the top 10 faces in New York sports during this time, suggesting that the significance of these figures may not fully capture the impact of the era. #sports</p>

Five years later, the defining faces of New York sports have totally changed, but No. 1 remains the same

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