Will There Be a 2020 Football Season?

[Guy Chamberlin]

It now appears that a COVID outbreak doesn't necessitate a cancelation of anything. MLB has players testing positive, quarantining for 8 - 10 days, then rejoining the roster as they would with injuries and other illnesses. It was a story early when the Marlins and Cardinals had some widespread positive tests, but it no longer seems to be news. The games go on, the competition seems legit, the stats and standings count, and TV gets some ratings and ad revenue. 

I think we're looking at this as the new normal for at least a year. On that particular week in those particular circumstances, the Big 10 made a perfectly defensible decision. But like everyone else navigating this s#!t, they should be open to reconsideration. 

The wild card, of course, is death. If a young person who tests positive shows no symptoms or mild symptoms, life goes on in the new normal. If there's a single death or even lasting organ damage, people might not have the stomach for this. 

 

[Undone]

If there's a single death or even lasting organ damage, people might not have the stomach for this. 

I understand what you're saying. But, I have the stomach for loading up my kids in the car and taking them somewhere, even though technically I know full well that a drunk driver could slam into us and injure or kill them.

Right? I realize that no analogy is perfect - every analogy falls apart somewhere.

But I'm not understanding how this pandemic "changes everything." It just doesn't pass the common sense test for me personally.

 

[Crusader Husker]

It now appears that a COVID outbreak doesn't necessitate a cancelation of anything. MLB has players testing positive, quarantining for 8 - 10 days, then rejoining the roster as they would with injuries and other illnesses. It was a story early when the Marlins and Cardinals had some widespread positive tests, but it no longer seems to be news. The games go on, the competition seems legit, the stats and standings count, and TV gets some ratings and ad revenue. 

I think we're looking at this as the new normal for at least a year. On that particular week in those particular circumstances, the Big 10 made a perfectly defensible decision. But like everyone else navigating this s#!t, they should be open to reconsideration. 

The wild card, of course, is death. If a young person who tests positive shows no symptoms or mild symptoms, life goes on in the new normal. If there's a single death or even lasting organ damage, people might not have the stomach for this. 

Starting to look like racial injustice is more likely to cancel season than Covid.

 

[nic]

It could not happen that way. But honestly depending how crazy the big 10 gets- it could go that way.

Hey on a seperate note- has Desmond Howard announced his apology yet for being a prick calling for Nebraska to get kicked out of the big10? 

I think he just acknowledges that he a prick.

 

[suh_fan93]

[No message]

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I understand what you're saying. But, I have the stomach for loading up my kids in the car and taking them somewhere, even though technically I know full well that a drunk driver could slam into us and injure or kill them.

Right? I realize that no analogy is perfect - every analogy falls apart somewhere.

But I'm not understanding how this pandemic "changes everything." It just doesn't pass the common sense test for me personally.

I thought my post went out of its way to say the pandemic doesn't have to change everything. That's what the "new normal" line of thinking is about -- reconsidering the risk factors. My baseball example was meant to be optimistic. 

But COVID ain't nothing, either. Numbers hold steady that it's far more contagious than the flu and five times as deadly. There are a lot of deadly things out there, but this one didn't even exist a year ago. So yeah, it changes things. We just have to decide what we have the stomach for. In the early days of college football, a dozen or so players died every year, many considered it unacceptable, U.S. Presidents got involved, and major changes were made. 

Agree that no analogy is perfect, but to run with the drunk driving analogy;  imagine knowing there are five times more drunk drivers on the road than before, and you're driving somebody else's kids to a game in order to make money for yourself.  You would take every extra precaution possible, but you'd also know that any death on your watch would weigh more heavily than a random twist of fate.

 

[Omaha fan]

If there's a single death or even lasting organ damage, people might not have the stomach for this. 

That is very true, because even a single death would be trumpeted by the media into a 24/7 story.

Everything we do involves risk. Every year there are a handful of athletes who die due to injury, heat of flu. It is a risk they willingly take to gain the benefits of playing the game. Same for us driving on the streets or just living life. There was en entire team from Marshall that died in a plane crash, yet we still transport teams via planes. Any death is tragic, but if the standard is one death, they aren’t realistic or sane imo. 

 

[Undone]

Agree that no analogy is perfect, but to run with the drunk driving analogy;  imagine knowing there are five times more drunk drivers on the road than before, and you're driving somebody else's kids to a game in order to make money for yourself.  You would take every extra precaution possible, but you'd also know that any death on your watch would weigh more heavily than a random twist of fate.

Yep, totally agree with this.

Nevertheless, the older the age group the higher the risk - if I have my facts straight there. So as it pertains to college football there's just something slightly disingenuous about some of these decisions. That's kind of where I was going with the "kids in the car" analogy as it pertained to the chances of a football player getting lasting effects.

Totally agree with your zoomed-out statistical analysis of COVID rates in general.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

That is very true, because even a single death would be trumpeted by the media into a 24/7 story.

Everything we do involves risk. Every year there are a handful of athletes who die due to injury, heat of flu. It is a risk they willingly take to gain the benefits of playing the game. Same for us driving on the streets or just living life. There was en entire team from Marshall that died in a plane crash, yet we still transport teams via planes. Any death is tragic, but if the standard is one death, they aren’t realistic or sane imo. 

It is interesting what kind of deaths we choose to overlook, and which ones spark outrage. We're pretty inconsistent that way. American soldiers, Coast Guard and firefighters will often risk multiple lives in order to save a single life, and we generally celebrate that.  4 Americans died in Benghazi in 2012, while 951 were killed by lawnmowers. 

But the pandemic has proven to have a life of its own, regardless of media coverage. 

Remember, Japan sussed out the situation in March and promptly postponed the Olympics for a year, a decision that dwarfs college football and was unaffected by American media. 

 

[GSG]

 

[suh_fan93]

 

[suh_fan93]

[No message]

 

[GSG]

 

[suh_fan93]

 

[Omaha fan]

It is interesting what kind of deaths we choose to overlook, and which ones spark outrage. We're pretty inconsistent that way. American soldiers, Coast Guard and firefighters will often risk multiple lives in order to save a single life, and we generally celebrate that.  4 Americans died in Benhazi in 2012, while 951 were killed by lawnmowers. 

But the pandemic has proven to have a life of its own, regardless of media coverage. 

Remember, Japan sussed out the situation in March and promptly postponed the Olympics for a year, a decision that dwarfs college football and was unaffected by American media. 

Japan will get the olympics one year from now, so that one time revenue is delayed for one year.  The olympics rarely come Back  to the same location. This football season revenue is a yearly deal, so this years revenue is lost forever. 
 

yes and I think we should all stop mowing, 951 lives to be saved, if we can save just one, not mowing would be worth it lol just forget about all the job losses and ugliness, great for the environment too. I’m guessing that will be the next sjw cause