Looks like no preseason games....

"Rick 1966 wrote:

You're whistling in the graveyard. The NFL has huge problems. So does college football. Losing this season will mean a big downturn. It won't happen in a year, but 2020 will mark the beginning of the fade of the NFL from its position as the number one sport.

I really, really don't see it. Roughly one in five Americans are big NFL fans. And in certain areas and certain demographics, those numbers are much, much higher. People love the NFL. They follow it year round. And if there isn't any football in 2020, what exactly are they going to get attached to instead in the mean time that would lead them to not come back in 2021?

The more political sports becomes, the more people will tune out. IMHO.

"Den54 wrote:

The more political sports becomes, the more people will tune out. IMHO.

I do not agree. Olympics are still a huge thing and they are pretty much mostly politics.

I don't think the majority of people care as long as they get to watch the best people in the world do something they like watching.

EDIT:

I have a friend who used to be right wing but has swung to full left. He stopped watching the NFL after the Colin debacle last year. He couldn't stand watching football after they bowed down to Trump.

This year he is part of my fantasy football league.

People will get mad for a brief period of time, but they will get used to it and start watching.

"Dol-Fan Dupree wrote:

I do not agree. Olympics are still a huge thing and they are pretty much mostly politics.

I don't think the majority of people care as long as they get to watch the best people in the world do something they like watching.

Apples and oranges.

"Den54 wrote:

Apples and oranges.

I'm convinced

As much as I want to see football, there honestly shouldn't be a season if we can't protect players. I listened to an in-depth conversation with Dr. Fauci yesterday and he thinks we can have at least one vaccine towards the end of the year- three are going into stage III trials over the next few months and all three will start producing vaccines before they're actually approved. There's also 5 or 6 more about a month behind them. So if any of the stage III vaccines look good and the FDA gives the green light, then maybe we have normal lives returning around December or January.

There's a lot of huge "ifs" in there and vaccines won't hit the market without several months of stage III monitoring afterwards for possible side effects, but Dr. Fauci is optimistic and I am as well. It's about an 8 horse race with vaccines and we don't care which one "wins"...as long as one or more makes it to the finish line. We're rooting for as many as possible to get approved so they can be distributed faster here in the US and then globally.

To see the interview I'm referencing, it's here.

A vaccine for a virus with a 99.9% survival rate.

"resnor wrote:

A vaccine for a virus with a 99.9% survival rate.

IMO a treatment that is somewhat effective would also help. If we can get the hospital stay number lower and/or reduce the impact of the disease that would also go a long way to getting to be able to reopen.

The petty cultural grievance of the elderly are not an existential threat to the NFL in the sense that they're going to boycott or whatever and it's going to matter. That ship has sailed, and it didn't amount to much.

If the secondary and tertiary effects of that being left to fester unchecked? Yeah, that's how we end up in a situation talking about the season being in doubt in the first place.

"resnor wrote:

A vaccine for a virus with a 99.9% survival rate.

Survival isn't the only factor though- millions are having long-term health problems that could potentially change their quality of life.

"KeyFin wrote:

Survival isn't the only factor though- millions are having long-term health problems that could potentially change their quality of life.

How are people having long term health problems from a virus that has been around for 4 months?

"TheHighExhaulted wrote:

How are people having long term health problems from a virus that has been around for 4 months?

It can cause chronic problems post-recovery.

"Dol-Fan Dupree wrote:

IMO a treatment that is somewhat effective would also help. If we can get the hospital stay number lower and/or reduce the impact of the disease that would also go a long way to getting to be able to reopen.

It's interesting, here in NH, we have had a mass influx of out of staters since March. Second homes were opened super early, and we have basically July 4th level tourists every week.

We currently have 24 people, total, hospitalized for covid-19 in the state.

So, people need to realize, even if parts of the country are bad, not all parts are facing the same difficulties.

"resnor wrote:

It's interesting, here in NH, we have had a mass influx of out of staters since March. Second homes were opened super early, and we have basically July 4th level tourists every week.

We currently have 24 people, total, hospitalized for covid-19 in the state.

So, people need to realize, even if parts of the country are bad, not all parts are facing the same difficulties.

The smaller the population, and the less dense, the lower the ratio. But most NFL teams are in major metro areas, and some are in the places that are among the worst hit in the entire world at the moment. I was hopeful in the early Spring that things could be better by the time the season starts, but its really trended in the wrong direction.

"resnor wrote:

It's interesting, here in NH, we have had a mass influx of out of staters since March. Second homes were opened super early, and we have basically July 4th level tourists every week.

We currently have 24 people, total, hospitalized for covid-19 in the state.

So, people need to realize, even if parts of the country are bad, not all parts are facing the same difficulties.

I think people realize that.

We are talking about the NFL and what they need to play. Right now there are no teams in NH. Unless you are suggesting moving the NFL to NH, which is an idea I think the NFL should explore.

Unless things change Miami, Houston and Dallas should consider moving teams to different areas to play.

"TheHighExhaulted wrote:

How are people having long term health problems from a virus that has been around for 4 months?

From damage to blood vessels, the lungs, the heart and other organs? Some still have issues months later and it's not clear how much will become permanent damage.

"Dol-Fan Dupree wrote:

I think people realize that.

We are talking about the NFL and what they need to play. Right now there are no teams in NH. Unless you are suggesting moving the NFL to NH, which is an idea I think the NFL should explore.

Unless things change Miami, Houston and Dallas should consider moving teams to different areas to play.

If we're not going to have fans in stadiums then it really doesn't matter where they actually play. Hopefully it would be somewhere in the SE though so they don't have to travel cross-country every week like we did a few years ago. Or they could go NBA-style and just quarantine everyone together- those folks don't seem to be hating the process (so far).

"KeyFin wrote:

If we're not going to have fans in stadiums then it really doesn't matter where they actually play. Hopefully it would be somewhere in the SE though so they don't have to travel cross-country every week like we did a few years ago. Or they could go NBA-style and just quarantine everyone together- those folks don't seem to be hating the process (so far).

IMO, they should have set that up already.

It really looks like the NFL, and college football, are going to try to have games played at the regular stadiums, and that will work or it won't.

"TheHighExhaulted wrote:

How are people having long term health problems from a virus that has been around for 4 months?

How can we be certain a guy will be missing his arm for the rest of his life if he only lost it yesterday?

Same concept.

"Dol-Fan Dupree wrote:

IMO, they should have set that up already.

There's loads and loads of stuff they should have worked out ahead of time but didn't, the owners were either just negligent or thought that by waiting for the last minute they could hold the players over a barrel on stuff.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

It really looks like the NFL, and college football, are going to try to have games played at the regular stadiums, and that will work or it won't.

College football? I have very little faith that sport will happen. NFL? I'm almost certain barring this thing somehow getting worse, but CFB seems like a pipe dream to me.

"Disgustipate wrote:

There's loads and loads of stuff they should have worked out ahead of time but didn't, the owners were either just negligent or thought that by waiting for the last minute they could hold the players over a barrel on stuff.

Agreed.
The lack of foresight and action of the NFL owners is just unintelligent

While I’m not diminishing the seriousness of the coronavirus virus, what bothers me is the focus on the number of infections and the number of deaths rather than the actual death and hospitalization rate.

The infection rate in the US now, with this secondary surge is just under 10%. That is a little alarming but the actual death rate of those infected is less than 5%. Of those tragic deaths, the vast majority had underlying health conditions that diminished thei body’s ability to fight off the virus with treatment.

Now I point this out to make the point that with precautionary measures in place, and a bit of responsible behavior on the part of fans, there’s really no reason why the NFL can’t have its season.

If you suffer from underlying conditions that out you at risk, don’t go to a game. NFL owners need to reduce capacity of their stadiums to reduce the number of fans, mandate face masks, etc and games can still be played.

The biggest wildcard factor will be the fans themselves. Can people be responsible? If owners are too worried about it then adopt what the NBA is doing...put teams in a “bubble” regionally, modify the schedule and have the teams play in empty stadiums with television broadcast only.

There’s no reason why the NFL can’t have its season this year. Given a few hours, a simpleton like me could come up with a plan to have a season.

"The_Dark_Knight wrote:

While I’m not diminishing the seriousness of the coronavirus virus, what bothers me is the focus on the number of infections and the number of deaths rather than the actual death and hospitalization rate.

The infection rate in the US now, with this secondary surge is just under 10%. That is a little alarming but the actual death rate of those infected is less than 5%. Of those tragic deaths, the vast majority had underlying health conditions that diminished thei body’s ability to fight off the virus with treatment.

Now I point this out to make the point that with precautionary measures in place, and a bit of responsible behavior on the part of fans, there’s really no reason why the NFL can’t have its season.

If you suffer from underlying conditions that out you at risk, don’t go to a game. NFL owners need to reduce capacity of their stadiums to reduce the number of fans, mandate face masks, etc and games can still be played.

The biggest wildcard factor will be the fans themselves. Can people be responsible? If owners are too worried about it then adopt what the NBA is doing...put teams in a “bubble” regionally, modify the schedule and have the teams play in empty stadiums with television broadcast only.

There’s no reason why the NFL can’t have its season this year. Given a few hours, a simpleton like me could come up with a plan to have a season.

I'd simply say no fans in stadiums and play the season, because people won't be responsible. I mean, if half the folks can't wear masks over their noses in WalMart or Costco, do you really think they'll do it while drinking a beer in a football stadium? Three plus hours is a long time to wear a mask in the heat and most people just won't do it responsibly from the time they leave their car until the time they leave the stadium grounds.

I did read some encouraging news yesterday from the CDC that new models might only need to be around a 20% infection rate to start seeing herd immunity kick in, but that's also dependent on masks, social distancing, etc. to keep infections mild (while masks aren't 100% effective, they believe it drastically reduces your exposure and mask folks are getting less sick). That's exactly what we're seeing in NY, China and several other countries...everyone wears masks and cases rapidly go down.

I am starting to believe that there's an end in sight for all of this but it's going to take common sense from everyone- just wear your darn mask and encourage others to wear them as well. If people do that, we'll have a NFL season. If not, we're going to have to wait on vaccines and hope that the same idiots who won't wear masks will get the vaccine.