Don't be so Sure Your Favorite Sports is Returning Soon
Just like almost every other Sports fan, I got excited to see the NBA make plans to return, MLB finally agree to return and talk of College Football along with the NFL making plans for a 2020 season.
However, the more I see things develop here this summer, the less likely I think any of them will actually play.
Yeah, I'm fully aware a percentage of you still think all the talk about COVID-19 is either a hoax or way overhyped/exaggerated. And I suppose those who do will go on living in their alternate universe with almost nothing me...or anyone else can say to change their overwhelmingly brainwashed minds. These political zombies will quote to you the "Death Rate" is not growing. Folks--I got news for you. That's pretty much irrelevant in that over 125,000 have already died.
No, I'm not a doctor, but it doesn't take one to see the relaxing of quarantine rules has, well, not resolved anything. And that's the reason I don't think we're going to see Popular Sports despite the best of intentions by most everyone (yes, even Baseball).
Sure, NASCAR has been running races and a handful of fans have been attending. Yes, the PGA has been playing tournaments on largely fan-less courses. That's great, good on 'em...
Neither are the same as the NBA, MLB, NFL or College Football and that's what I'm getting at.
We've not seen statistics from NASCAR about testing--so it's hard to tell if or what they are doing has worked. The PGA has a problem. They had a bunch of players pull out of their most recent tournament due to positive tests.
The question I have is simple: How do you totally control things when you have a sport that is traveling from city-to-city? How do you totally restrict access to the outside world--when you have teams or events in different cities on different days and still keep outsiders away from your participants?
The NBA, on paper has a great idea. Isolate everyone in a "Bubble" community and restrict access. The problem is, they can't completely isolate everyone over a couple of months no matter how good the plan. Playing in Florida--home of arguably the hotspot of COVID cases this summer has got to be totally never wracking.
Major League Baseball has a bigger problem. Their 100+ page plan is great on paper, but how to you restrict access to players and teams when they are on the road? How do you keep everyone from interacting with, well, only their teammates or office personnel? All the tests in the world won't solve that.
College Football: They don't even have a coordinated plan. The NCAA, operating much like the Federal Government has thus far largely left it up to individual schools. Many of those schools have already begun "Voluntary" workouts and are trying to ramp up to full-squad workouts by mid-July.
That's great, we'd love to see it. But....
I give you one example: The University of Georgia has had 140+ COVID cases on campus in the past couple weeks. No, there aren't students on campus right now.
Think about it for a minute as we cheer the return of the South's favorite sport.
Even IF they manage to get to practice and prepare for a season, how is anyone in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, California or any other state going to be able to justify allowing anyone in a stadium to watch. Do any of you really think folks in the South will put up with not being able to sit in a stadium on a Saturday afternoon? It's not a coincidence about which states are leading in the virus resurgence either. (Think about it...)
It's largely the same for the NFL. The NFL could in theory survive without fans, but they face the same logistical hurdles as the others listed here.
Talking about these sports playing this season is fine. I'm good with taking the "Optimistic" view that come mid/late July, we're going to see "Big Time" Sports on TV again. (No, I don't count the PGA or NASCAR in this list)....
But I'm also being realistic. Just like the rest of you--I read the stories, I see what's going on and all I can do is shake my head.
It sucks being confined largely to your home, the grocery store and maybe Home Depot or someplace like that while working from home, it really does.
It sucks even worse going to the few places you can go to while wearing a protective mask. But its also something which should have been required a long, long time ago. The move isn't even about protecting yourself, it's protecting the people you come in contact with. Which is the part nobody seems to get...
I hope I'm wrong here, really, I do. I hope I'm being to literal and over-reacting to something that may be only hypothetical and not the threat it's being presented as.
But I don't think I am.....
If you think I am, I'd love for you to explain why....really, I would....
