Tag: Sports fans

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For a while now, sports fans have wondered when on Earth we’re going to get our pro sports back. A global coronavirus pandemic has shut down most sporting events worldwide, with the UFC the latest to fall with its postponement of UFC 249.

With fans itching to get sports back, and millions (if not billions) in television revenue up for grabs, the pro sports leagues are desperately trying to figure out ways to get up and running again. Playing in empty stadiums? Quarantining entire leagues? Hosting combat sports on private islands? It’s all on the table.

Right now the general consensus is that pro sports leagues are hoping to get back in some form, perhaps in empty stadiums, this summer, with leagues assuming a more regular schedule in the fall. As of now, I’ll admit, I just assumed that the virus will have gotten enough under control that the NFL would be able to take place normally this fall.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize how preposterous this is. The United States doesn’t have nearly the capacity to test enough people quickly enough to safely get tens of thousands of people in a football stadium. Maybe massive technological advances will be made by September, but I’m not betting on it.

On top of that, most experts say 2021 is the earliest we could expect a vaccine. And a new poll from Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business shows that 72% of the people polled wouldn’t attend a sporting event until a vaccine is developed. For people who self-identified as sports fans, the number was 61%.

Granted it was only a poll of 762 people, which is a somewhat small sample size. (They listed a 3.6% margin of error.) But still, 61% is not a small number. Even if the leagues do come back this fall, and MLB has a World Series, and The Masters takes place … would people go? Would you go?

I’m not sure I would. It just all seems too risky. And this, I think, is something not enough of us are thinking about. This isn’t going to be a light switch that goes off and our lives all return to normal. It’s going to take time, a long time, for things to get right.

Friday’s Big Winner: Fight Island

Dana White was forced to call off UFC 249 when, he says, execs from Disney and ESPN called him and told him to knock it off and stop trying to host a UFC event in the middle of a global pandemic. His plan to host a fight night on a private island, however? He says it’s still on. “Fight island is real” is a real thing he said.

Quick hits: Rams and Texans do a bad trade, Katie Nolan makes a great game, dog Zoom

– The Rams and Texans did a trade for Brandin Cooks which was somehow a disaster for both teams. It’s rare to see such a thing, but they did it. Everyone is unhappy!

– Katie Nolan played a game where everyone on a Zoom call had to send the link to the most famous person they knew, and it got totally and completely out of control.

– Dog mascot Zoom? Dog mascot Zoom.