Sports and The Pandemic

The NFL, in response to COVID, is banning post-game jersey exchanges and all other post-game close contact.

Players have, of course, reacted at the obvious disconnect between 3 hours of game field physical contact somehow being safe, but post-game not being so.

Nashville pulls out of the MLS tournament because of positive tests.

Nashville has a MLS team?

https://www.espn.com/soccer/nashvill...

New expansion team I think.

*Legion* wrote:

The NFL, in response to COVID, is banning post-game jersey exchanges and all other post-game close contact.

Players have, of course, reacted at the obvious disconnect between 3 hours of game field physical contact somehow being safe, but post-game not being so.

Lolz. That'll help!

I haven't been following what the NFL is planning, but the logistics of trying to make their season work is so many levels harder than other sports.

I'm still shaking my head that they're apparently expecting to have fans in the stadiums?

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/kaq6GnxDlJaBq/giphy.gif)

Looks like the Big10 is going the "conference games only" route, at least initially

https://sports.yahoo.com/reports-big...

I imagine a lot of them will try to do this as a halfway measure to preserve football revenue streams.

Mr Bismarck wrote:

In Australia the V8 Supercars teams based in the state of Victoria had a midnight exodus

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/D6wyaB7.jpg)

*Legion* wrote:
Top_Shelf wrote:

Do these institutions value the safety of some students more than others?

When you replace "student-athlete" with "unpaid employee", you get your answer.

Athletes should take universities trying to put them back on the field as the final push to go through with unionizing instead.

Agreed, money is key. I am also thinking about the WHO.

Cross-country
Field hockey
Volleyball

Who plays those sports?

Who plays football?

I know this is the pandemic and sports crossover thread and not the George Floyd Protests and sports crossover thread but I just really feel like the institutional heads even further devalue these "student athletes" because of who they are, and their lack of institutional power. Changing which songs get played at stadiums is fine; but if we want real change in this country we have to start looking at these types of impactful decisions (white kids stay home; black kids will keep "working" for the moneyed interests).

Personally I don't think race had much to do with it, money is the motivating factor. 40% of D1 college football players are white. Maybe I am just naive.

Fair enough. It could very well be just about the dollars.

I'm just finding it hard to believe that ADs aren't thinking about the parental blowback from wealthier prep school sports parents than from public school parents of D1 football players.

I'm not going to say it can't be partially about race, but I think the money is by far the biggest motivating factor here, the same as with professional sports. They need the money, desperately, the entire economic model falls apart without the kind of income they'd been getting.

I think it's a combination of money and symbolism; to be blunt, the people who care about field hockey are likely current field hockey players, past field hockey players, field hockey coaches, and any associated parents. There's not exactly a huge following. College football is very much part of "normal", and cancellation of sports in this country is going to be huge, and the outcry will be massive. You already hear a string of morons who sit on their couches and complain that a player isn't tough because they won't play through major injuries; you think having the entire sport canceled won't cause a huge freakout?

That's also very true. You can find it all over the internet, there are PLENTY of people (generally of the "it's just the flu" variety) who are already calling players who have pulled out of restarts or are asking questions cowards. CFB is a HUGE part of the American landscape, symbolically.

What's endlessly infuriating is that we could've still had CFB this fall, if we had and continued to take the appropriate steps to handle this!

Prederick wrote:

What's endlessly infuriating is that we could've still had CFB this fall, if we had and continued to take the appropriate steps to handle this!

We could have had March Madness still if we had got enough tests produced in Feb, maybe accepted the WHO test that every other country did instead of developing our own, the first of which didn't work.

But instead we had leaders with their heads in the sand, who still are doing the same and hoping it "goes away".

Looking forward to getting blocked from the 2022 Olympics because we still don't have our sh*t together.

Mixolyde wrote:

Looking forward to getting blocked from the 2022 Olympics because we still don't have our sh*t together.

By 2022 Olympics you mean the Summer Olympics, right?

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

College football is very much part of "normal", and cancellation of sports in this country is going to be huge, and the outcry will be massive

In college football's case, very big in places that disproportionately believe the whole COVID thing is a hoax.

DSGamer wrote:
Mixolyde wrote:

Looking forward to getting blocked from the 2022 Olympics because we still don't have our sh*t together.

By 2022 Olympics you mean the Summer Olympics, right?

Sure. I don't generally pay enough attention to know which one is which year. I just know they are every two years.

Mixolyde wrote:
DSGamer wrote:
Mixolyde wrote:

Looking forward to getting blocked from the 2022 Olympics because we still don't have our sh*t together.

By 2022 Olympics you mean the Summer Olympics, right?

Sure. I don't generally pay enough attention to know which one is which year. I just know they are every two years.

I thought you were making a prediction that the 2020 Olympics (now 2021) were going to be pushed back another year.

@Ben_Baby wrote:

Between FC Dallas and Nashville FC alone, there have been at least 19 positive COVID-19 tests.

The English Premier League has reported 19 positive tests -- across the entire league -- through 11 rounds of testing that started on May 17.

Didn't a bunch of Nashville players go to a bar together? The first time one of these contracts gets revoked because they use the morality clause for things like this, then it will stop happening.

LeapingGnome wrote:

Didn't a bunch of Nashville players go to a bar together? The first time one of these contracts gets revoked because they use the morality clause for things like this, then it will stop happening.

You're right. I mean, those clauses clearly stopped all domestic violence by players, kept them from drinking and driving or using drugs, and completely ended them posting asininely offensive things on social media.

Can someone explain to me why so much of the MLS Is Back tourney is not on TV? This seems crazy to have whole days with multiple games scheduled but they're not going to be televised. During a pandemic. Where ESPN will soon lose CFB game ad revenue.

Or am I missing something and I can get them on an app or something?

Top_Shelf wrote:

Can someone explain to me why so much of the MLS Is Back tourney is not on TV? This seems crazy to have whole days with multiple games scheduled but they're not going to be televised. During a pandemic. Where ESPN will soon lose CFB game ad revenue.

Or am I missing something and I can get them on an app or something?

I think you might be missing some of the listings? Most if not all of the matches seem to be fairly accessible.

I use Soccer On TV for that and find it helpful.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:

I use Soccer On TV for that and find it helpful.

Oh that's nice.

Looks like a match tonight on FOX network, not cable. Scrolling back a few days, a lot of ESPN games.

The US women's tournament was on CBS All-Access? That thing people buy for Star Trek, not soccer.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:
Top_Shelf wrote:

Can someone explain to me why so much of the MLS Is Back tourney is not on TV? This seems crazy to have whole days with multiple games scheduled but they're not going to be televised. During a pandemic. Where ESPN will soon lose CFB game ad revenue.

Or am I missing something and I can get them on an app or something?

I think you might be missing some of the listings? Most if not all of the matches seem to be fairly accessible.

I use Soccer On TV for that and find it helpful.

Thanks.

I was looking on the ESPN website. They only listed TV source for their games, which is weird since they always tell you the TV partner for NFL games.

^Sure thing, happy to help.

It’s kind of unusual that the matches are scattered over so many networks. Looks like the best way to watch a couple of them might be Twitter, e.g.

The Premier League's hoping to be able to play at 40% capacity in the fall.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...

The current plans involve at least a seat between each person, but there are some logistical issues to be worked out.

[...]

Face masks would be mandatory and it is likely there would be some form of electronic ticketing system, so as to also aid ‘track and trace’.

Roke wrote:

The Premier League's hoping to be able to play at 40% capacity in the fall.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...

The current plans involve at least a seat between each person, but there are some logistical issues to be worked out.

[...]

Face masks would be mandatory and it is likely there would be some form of electronic ticketing system, so as to also aid ‘track and trace’.

Seems extremely premature imo.

Even with masks and 40%, people go to games to cheer and boo. Actions that mean heavier breathing.

I'm sure the clubs would love to have people back in seats for revenues but I'd hope the government squash this for greater community good. From the games I've attended in Europe the surrounding streets and public transportation are jammed with people also.

MLS Is Back! game between DC and Toronto pulled last minute due to positive test.

Toronto FC's MLS is Back Tournament game against D.C. United, originally scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed after D.C. posted a positive coronavirus test and Toronto had one inconclusive.

DC's players were out on the pitch warming up when they were called back off the field.

The game is now scheduled for 9am today.