After months without any sports in the US, some leagues now have agreements in place to return to play later this month. Since stay at home restrictions have loosened, there has been a spike in the number of reported cases both among the general population as well as athletes returning to their practice facilities. I realize the amount of money being lost by not playing is astronomical, but is it ultimately worth the risk? Do you think this can work, or is it too soon for sports to resume?
1 Like
Good questions! I do have to say – I’m not a hard core sport fan so this will either make me a poor person to comment on this topic (since I’m not very knowledgeable) OR a really good person to comment because I’m somewhat impartial to the subject matter. I honestly think that our country needs to do what is necessary to prevent the spread of COVID. If they can resume sports without spreading the virus, I’m all for it! If they can’t, I think they should wait it out.
Do others have a different opinion?
The leagues that are looking to open back up have now spent months deliberating and coming up with plans of how to keep everyone safe. There are a lot of personnel that go into running just a single game even with an empty stadium but it does pale to the amount of people that would be involved in a sold out audience. I am glad they took their time coming up with what each league decided was the best plan for them. There is still a chance that within the “bubbles” they are creating that someone does get sick and brings it to a whole team or more which could be devastating. I think it is worth that risk as these are professional athletes who are mostly at the pinnacle of health and while no one wants to get sick there is a very small chance of lasting affects for many of the people involved. So I think they should come back and play, I think it will be great for the thousands of fans who have really had nothing to do for the past few months as it’s something to look forward to once again!
1 Like
I am very curious as to what is going to happen with the NFL this year. Especially with the body on body contact sport. I’m sure we will have an NFL season, but very curious to see how it pans out. I’m wondering what they will do if players/coaches/trainers start getting sick. I’m seeing in a lot of articles that there will be a lot of “precautions” and “rules”. I’m definitely with Erick and think they should still play the season. Will the game be different with no fans in the stadiums? I think that absolutely pays a toll on players physical and mental game. The media is all over the place with what is going to happen for sure. I’m especially looking forward to seeing Tom Brady in a different jersey!
As always - FLY Eagles FLY
This type of discussion is going to bring out our sports fans and our non-sports fans! I agree with Tammy on this one - we truly need to focus on the health of our nation, and that includes our sports teams. Maybe I am biased (and I am incredibly grateful) because my career does not put me at risk of infection, and I am not in a place where I feel the financial loss of not having sports. However, how can I feel confident in restarting sports after seeing the spike in the percentage of positive cases from Phase 1 reopening, reviewing the sheer amount of death from this, and reading about the lack of control that we have over the virus? I think we need to get this under control with a vaccination before resuming any normal life, or we will just continue to see the curve “flatten” on lockdowns and return after openings.
We saw the MLB announce their return and then shortly after we have seen and continue to see the rising infection rate on the teams. Is it worth putting the players and consequently their families, children, or roommates at risk of infection or death to have them practice and play in small spaces?
1 Like
Check this out on the MLB and their infections. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2020/07/08/mlb-players-coronavirus-positive-covid-19-list/5394961002/
I think what also needs to be brought up is the idea of collegiate sports as well. Not only as a huge industry in this country, but also as it relates to the lives of the student athletes. With sports questionable to return even for professionals, and many colleges and universities are now looking at the possibility of holding classes entirely online, I think the outlook of being able to hold collegiate sports is questionable at best. According to the NCAA, Divisions I and II schools provide more than $2.9 billion in athletics scholarships annually to more than 150,000 student-athletes. Will these scholarships no longer be available? What will happen to the student athletes who have been enrolled and are in the process of getting their degree, are they no longer under scholarship? This could have a lasting impact if more than 150,000 student athletes no longer have the ability to further their education.
I hadn’t thought about this extending to student athletes and the future of their scholarships. I’m sure for the majority, without that hard earned scholarship the tuition is unmanageable. Even looking closer at those D1 schools, the sheer amount of income brought in from those sports games ticket sales, concessions, and memorabilia. This is a huge loss to the schools that will directly impact the student players.
I think it’s worth noting here that in Europe, the EPL (England), Seria A (Italy), La Liga (Spain) have all resumed in empty stadiums for a number of weeks now. Europe’s numbers in recent weeks have also been much lower than the US’s. Based on this I believe that it is possible for the US to open sports up to empty stadiums and only televised and streamed online. However, European soccer leagues are popular worldwide, and is likely better suited to financially sustain itself on remote viewership alone in many different countries. I still think the NFL, and NBA are popular enough in US and Canada alone to financially sustain themselves as well.