Pessimism grows in college football over season starting on time (update: it’s crumbling):

[UCFBfan]

Not true.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/06/28/rudy-gobert-contracted-coronavirus-march-he-still-cant-smell-properly/

"The taste has returned but the smell is not 100%."

Sorry....I stated the wrong sense...the point is still the same....

 

[Exit 4]

Ok - retry. I look forward to the cancelization of sports because of COVid. Safety first.

 

[DAC17]

Anyone who thinks any fall sports (or baseball or the rest of the NBA season) are happening is delusional. Keep praying, but you will be disappointed.

 

[polycom]

Anyone who thinks any fall sports (or baseball or the rest of the NBA season) are happening is delusional. Keep praying, but you will be disappointed.

it’ll happen like golf the first time or college basketball. They’ll find out mid game 3 players have corona and they’ll can the entire thing.
People should be wishful but realistic

 

[Stainmaster]

Ok - retry. I look forward to the cancelization of sports because of COVid. Safety first.

Nobody's looking forward to or happy about any of this. We can choose to react like adults, or remain in denial because we don't want to face reality. I know which choice I want the powers that be to make.

 

[UCFBfan]

it’ll happen like golf the first time or college basketball. They’ll find out mid game 3 players have corona and they’ll can the entire thing.
People should be wishful but realistic

As it is just look at what is occurring with the leagues trying to start up.

MLB - At least 5-6 teams have had complaints on not getting COVID results back in promised timeframe or testers show up. I saw at least one team swabbed themselves so the testers could pick it up. MLB blamed the holiday as the reason for the mix up. Inexcusable when half of your players, maybe more, are on the fence of even following through with this.

MLS - Already sent home an entire team and cancelled a match and the tournament is supposed to start tomorrow. Players have been testing positive on many teams. Will be interesting to see how many teams make it through this or if it even makes it through.

NBA - Still to be determined.

These are professional leagues in controlled environments that are being tested regularly. They are not 130 FBS programs scattered across the country in regions facing varying levels of outbreaks. Plus, these athletes will likely be mixed in with thousands of students just like them. So an uncontrolled environment.

If the professionals are struggling, there's no way CFB is happening. We all hate to hear it but deep down we all know it's reality.

 

[DAC17]

What he said. Why should (unpaid) college kids take unnecessary risks when even the pros can't figure it out?

 

[Exit 4]

Nobody's looking forward to or happy about any of this. We can choose to react like adults, or remain in denial because we don't want to face reality. I know which choice I want the powers that be to make.

You read way too much into my post. I look forward to shutting it down because it means we can all move on- most of all the kids and the parents. That’s what we all want, the right decision to be made and soon. The anticipation for the inevitable is needless. Can’t play if the teachers won’t teach live classes. Can’t play without a real treatment. So- let’s get on with it and accept reality - like adults.

 

[huskypantz]

Anyone who thinks any fall sports (or baseball or the rest of the NBA season) are happening is delusional. Keep praying, but you will be disappointed.

The recent training facility/camp outbreaks should be enough of an indication that it can’t happen this year. Maybe you have golf, tennis and select UFC/boxing events. Hope for 2021.

 

[UCFBfan]

Going along with the professional sports as an indicator thought. This is the NBA's concern and it seems legit seeing how many teams have already had to shut down their training facilities. If the NBA can't pull it off in a bubble, I can't possibly imagine MLB pulling it off playing it in home stadiums.

Silver worries positive tests may pop 'bubble'

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is worried that too many positive tests in the Orlando "bubble" environment could shut down the season again.

www.espn.com

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I was thinking about this.

McNair died by accident. A simple case of negligence.

If a player dies of covid it is because coaches, and schools knowingly made them take the risk during a known pandemic. Clearly beyond negligence.

And unlike the pros, these are ametures (at least outside of the Power 5) and most are minors. The liability risk has to be huge.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

There is a lot of conflating two COMPLETELY different things in this thread.

1) A lot of athletes simply want to play the sport they love, because they only get to go through this time in their lives once. I believe there are ways to make that happen that would look very different from recent history.

2) 90% of College Presidents and AD's want to exploit the athletes in a pandemic and are trying to pretend like they can have a normal season because they want to sell tickets and get paid under their conference TV contract. This is guaranteed to fail.

There are ways for kids to play, possibly even this fall. There is no way to have a traditional college football season.

 

[UCFBfan]

There are ways for kids to play, possibly even this fall. There is no way to have a traditional college football season.

You lost me here...how can you have one without the other??? Also, how do you propose they play? Are you suggesting that you allow the kids to make their own decisions as to whether or not they want to play? If so, what happens if some don't or if the coaching staff doesn't feel comfortable coaching and back out?

These are the crazy things that just start dragging you (not specifically you) down a rabbit hole. Once you start thinking of one thing it leads to another with this whole pandemic. It's so unknown.

I'm serious though in wanting to know how you envision them being able to possibly play this fall. I'm not ruling out your idea as being wrong, Yet

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Actually if we went that route it would not be awful. BC, Rutgers, Temple, Army, Buffalo, Syracuse, UMass. Maybe find one more like Navy or Pitt. All relatively close. A few longish bus rides but certainly doable. Organize 8 plus us to play 8 game schedule. And all in relatively “safe” states. I don’t advocate playing but if we are this is an approach that makes some sense.

The fact that we don’t play in a football conference of
BC
Rutgers
Cuse
Army
Temple
Buffalo
Maryland
to begin with is dumb

 

[Jimdish255]

It just floors me that we are all aware a nationwide 6-8 week lockdown would have snuffed the life out of this virus. Yet we were too arrogant, ignorant, selfish, undisciplined and politically polarized to do the right thing. This virus is not playing by anyone's manufactured rules. All we had to do was nothing for 2 months but 1/3 of the country cried like babies and here we are.
I love college sports but we don't deserve or have the right to put millions at risk to keep ourselves amused and the cash registers ringing. The pros can make whatever decisions they want for themselves but even the SEC is likely to fold on this fall eventually. Football is just the toughest sport to manage. It's a numbers game. College BB can work in a bubble but will still require sacrifices. If football pushes forward an army of lawyers will be waiting in the wings. The problem is they can't be having meetings then claim they weren't aware. This is a tough spot for everyone trying to make decisions.

 

[mikedog10]

The fact that we don’t play in a football conference of
BC
Rutgers
Cuse
Army
Temple
Buffalo
Maryland
to begin with is dumb

Maryland!? That's a dream conference

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Maryland!? That's a dream conference

Wanted to get to 8 including us. It was them or Pitt

 

[UConnTrumbull]

It just floors me that we are all aware a nationwide 6-8 week lockdown would have snuffed the life out of this virus. Yet we were too arrogant, ignorant, selfish, undisciplined and politically polarized to do the right thing. This virus is not playing by anyone's manufactured rules. All we had to do was nothing for 2 months but 1/3 of the country cried like babies and here we are.
I love college sports but we don't deserve or have the right to put millions at risk to keep ourselves amused and the cash registers ringing. The pros can make whatever decisions they want for themselves but even the SEC is likely to fold on this fall eventually. Football is just the toughest sport to manage. It's a numbers game. College BB can work in a bubble but will still require sacrifices. If football pushes forward an army of lawyers will be waiting in the wings. The problem is they can't be having meetings then claim they weren't aware. This is a tough spot for everyone trying to make decisions.

Yup. Ironic that the part of the country that lives and breathes college football were the ones calling the virus a hoax and now will be crying that liberal universities are killing their sport.

 

[gopher2]

I'm wondering if the SEC will push ahead with a conference only schedule and be the only conference to play. SEC football only on TV......they might see this as an opportunity of some kind for their conference. Just a crazy rumination of mine.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I'm wondering if the SEC will push ahead with a conference only schedule and be the only conference to play. SEC football only on TV......they might see this as an opportunity of some kind for their conference. Just a crazy rumination of mine.

And they can rename the conference championship trophy “The Petri Dish”

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[nelsonmuntz]

You lost me here...how can you have one without the other??? Also, how do you propose they play? Are you suggesting that you allow the kids to make their own decisions as to whether or not they want to play? If so, what happens if some don't or if the coaching staff doesn't feel comfortable coaching and back out?

These are the crazy things that just start dragging you (not specifically you) down a rabbit hole. Once you start thinking of one thing it leads to another with this whole pandemic. It's so unknown.

I'm serious though in wanting to know how you envision them being able to possibly play this fall. I'm not ruling out your idea as being wrong, Yet

I would have teams play an 8 game home and home with regional teams that are short bus rides away. Suspend the conference affiliations and TV contracts for a year and just let kids play. They could even put those games on TV.

 

[ZooCougar]

I would have teams play an 8 game home and home with regional teams that are short bus rides away. Suspend the conference affiliations and TV contracts for a year and just let kids play. They could even put those games on TV.

This or have a "Fall Practice" with a couple games. Maybe a home and away with the same school at a very minimum.

Then play what you can in the Spring.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Kids that can vote...etc...etc. Its funny how a young persons opinion has value until it conflicts with your opinion and then we decide it doesn't have value. Just saying....

There are roughly 11,050 scholarship slots in FBS football (130 X 85). If we dont play this fall or next spring for many of these kids that window to perform on a stage gets narrower (true in all sports). Sure the NCAA ought to give everyone an extra year of eligibility, but that wont change the fact that in the fall of 2021 the competition for playing time will be challenged by the next crop of kids and thus opportunities diminished. As the fall sports get cancel this sad possibility will be sinking in for many that worked hard waiting for 2020-21 to be their year.

A full year without college athletics and the opportunities lost certainly gives one more time to weigh that bigger question; are college athletics abusive because the kids are unpaid employees or to the contrary is it one of the best and most satisfying internships ever devised? A full year without sports will certainly lead to more of these "athletic internships" being permanently eliminated under budget stress.

There will be no fans for college football. The players will have to undergo extreme testing and isolation.

This is explotation. The only reason college football will be played is for athletic departments strongly in need of revenue.

the cross country team isn’t going to run. The volleyball team isn’t going to play.

If all sports can’t play, but you want football to play, I just don’t find that ethical. There is no reason for colleges to play. They are Schools. They aren’t athletic businesses.

The framework of those teams makes playing games — just football — unethical in this environment. Athletics is a sidearm of the university.

nfl, nba, mlb and pro sports. They are there to play because their business is sports. Also, by nit playing, the players’ livelihoods are at stake. So they can then take that risk.