Football is back, with kickoff scheduled for next Thursday between the defending Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans. It’s exciting for a lot of players, fans and fantasy fanatics everywhere after so many had questioned if the 2020 NFL season would even happen with a global pandemic going on and all. Now, however, an even more imposing question remains: will it stay?
A large number of guidelines were put in place by the league in response to COVID-19. These included every player getting their own hotel room on the road, all players and staff being required to wear masks and adhere to social distance protocols during training camp, team buses only being allowed to have a maximum capacity of 50 percent and many others. In addition to this, a lot of teams have opted to not have fans for the upcoming season or plan to at least admit only a limited number of them.
For those players who still didn’t feel safe to play, whether for health or personal reasons, the NFL also put in place a policy that allowed anyone to opt out of the season. Many chose to, especially as the deadline for opting out approached. Yet, if spikes start occurring within organizations, who’s to say more players won’t just up and quit? A lot of regulations have been put in place, but clearly some players didn’t feel it was enough or worth the risk to them or their families.
As a fan, of course I want the season to play out in full. I’ve gotten really into the sport over the past couple years as a proud, albeit frustrated, fan of the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals - what a trio, I know. And other sports have been operating rather well. The NBA and NHL for example, rather up close and personal activities like the NFL, have both instituted bubbles for all of those who chose to play for the year. They were tested, kept around only those who played and helped the team, and it’s gone rather well.
The only problem is that the NFL has shown no signs of considering the bubble idea, a mistake the MLB has been struggling with in particular. Though, they can still schedule games better than the NFL can. There are certainly options, like creating an NFL bubble or restructuring the schedule for the 2020 season. It’s just that the league seems to be waiting and holding its breath to see if more changes and policies are necessary.
With worries of spikes in the fall only growing, it’s not outlandish to see the season having a premature and unceremonious end. No one has all the answers for how to handle sports in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, it’s just hard to shake the feeling that the NFL could be doing a bit more to ensure the 2020 season operates as efficiently and safely as possible.
Really, though, only time will tell as kickoff approaches next week. Cases within the league will have to be watched closely and handled with care in order for fans to even fathom Super Bowl LV happening next February, let alone who will be playing in it.
And here’s to hoping we even make it to football in October.
Jackson Horvat is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree with his rankings? Tell Jackson by tweeting him at @horvatjackson.
