The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the first game of pandemic football. Even though grown men colliding with each other and swapping sweat is an unavoidable part of the game, there are aspects that can be improved upon to provide for sanitary practices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While NFL teams conduct copious amounts of testing for players, staff, and coaches, and the presumption of safe social distancing is afforded for all involved, the league still seeks to eliminate possible points of transmission.
Take for example the hydration breaks during timeouts. Prior to 2020, training staff would come out with a squirt bottle and hand towels to freshen up players. It probably isn’t prudent to have men sharing a squirt bottle during COVID-19.
For these reasons, Gatorade worked with the NFL and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society to create solutions that would reduce possible exposure and cross-contamination.
Instead of a communal bottle, players each get a personalized bottle. The bottles are stored on “bottle trees” on wheels that staff can easily transport during timeouts. On the bench, the bottles are stored on troughs that help organize and store the items safely on the sidelines.
The NFL is also providing additional towels to be used for one-time use.
“We’re kicking it off,” Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson told reporters on Sept. 7 “We’re the head honchos for the NFL, us and the Chiefs, to be able to show and see what the 2020 season is going to be like. Everything has been going well so far.”
With the NFL, Gatorade, and the PFATS finding new ways to safely hydrate players without cross-contamination, it is the attention to detail football, the ultimately game of inches, needs to play a full season during the pandemic.
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