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Per Sam Mellinger of KC Star
Posted on: July 18, 2020 at 12:06:05 CT
ERB KC
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I would've just posted the link, but I know there would've been a bevy of crybabies, *****ing about a paywall.
ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL THIS FALL:
The disclaimer that should apply to anything anyone ever says about anything involving the novel coronavirus:
We’re all guessing.
I have long believed that talk of college and high school football this fall is bonkers, and that belief has only strengthened recently.
If you were asked to come up with an activity that absolutely, without a doubt, no-question-about-it, 100 percent, lockdown, only-a-fool-would-disagree should not happen right now, you would probably imagine something with kids and close contact and not nearly enough resources to slow or test the virus ... and just for good measure, you’d probably make sure the kids are not being paid.
Maybe wrestling is worse than football, because it’s indoors, but at this point we’re looking at distinctions without a difference.
My sense is that those in power in college football are generally starting to see this reality. What I don’t understand is the lack of public discussion about pushing football to the spring, particularly college football.
Maybe it wouldn’t matter. Maybe we’ll be in the same place we are now. But if “now” means an environment that won’t allow for the sport to be played, what would we have to lose?
Yes, some college players would skip the season to prepare for the NFL Draft. But that will happen no matter what as the the gap between risk and reward shrinks.
TV contracts would have to be reworked, but isn’t that better than not playing?
As you mention, the NFL is a completely different thing. We’re dealing with adults who can make their own decisions and are well compensated, for starters, but also with owners who have the resources and motivation to create environments that are as safe as possible*.
* We’re going to get to the issue of young athletes generally being less “vulnerable” than the rest of us. Promise.
The NFL’s financial structure is such that TV revenue drives the sport anyway, so while ticket sales and concessions and all that will be lost, the league would still cash in on broadcast contracts (and, presumably, enjoy record ratings).
I keep coming back to this thought: I’m fairly sure we’ll start the season, but I can’t say with any certainty whether we’ll finish.
ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL THIS FALL:
The disclaimer that should apply to anything anyone ever says about anything involving the novel coronavirus:
We’re all guessing.
I have long believed that talk of college and high school football this fall is bonkers, and that belief has only strengthened recently.
If you were asked to come up with an activity that absolutely, without a doubt, no-question-about-it, 100 percent, lockdown, only-a-fool-would-disagree should not happen right now, you would probably imagine something with kids and close contact and not nearly enough resources to slow or test the virus ... and just for good measure, you’d probably make sure the kids are not being paid.
Maybe wrestling is worse than football, because it’s indoors, but at this point we’re looking at distinctions without a difference.
My sense is that those in power in college football are generally starting to see this reality. What I don’t understand is the lack of public discussion about pushing football to the spring, particularly college football.
Maybe it wouldn’t matter. Maybe we’ll be in the same place we are now. But if “now” means an environment that won’t allow for the sport to be played, what would we have to lose?
Yes, some college players would skip the season to prepare for the NFL Draft. But that will happen no matter what as the the gap between risk and reward shrinks.
TV contracts would have to be reworked, but isn’t that better than not playing?
As you mention, the NFL is a completely different thing. We’re dealing with adults who can make their own decisions and are well compensated, for starters, but also with owners who have the resources and motivation to create environments that are as safe as possible*.
* We’re going to get to the issue of young athletes generally being less “vulnerable” than the rest of us. Promise.
The NFL’s financial structure is such that TV revenue drives the sport anyway, so while ticket sales and concessions and all that will be lost, the league would still cash in on broadcast contracts (and, presumably, enjoy record ratings).
I keep coming back to this thought: I’m fairly sure we’ll start the season, but I can’t say with any certainty whether we’ll finish.
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Per Sam Mellinger of KC Star - ERB KC - 7/18 12:06:05
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