09-09-2020, 06:34 AM
If the school had not canceled football and the kid died of Covid-19, this would probably be positioned as a much larger deal. As it is, the fact he was a football player is only relevant because it makes for a sensational headline. IOW, football had nothing to do with his death.
This bolsters both the "we should play" and the "let's be cautious" sides of the college sports argument. On the one hand, it's "imagine how many other kids might have been sick or died if his school was playing football." On the other it is "see, he wasn't even playing football and he died, so what is the extra risk in playing?"
I am probably 55-45 against playing, but can see both arguments having merit. One thing that concerns me is the amount of disruption being caused that is leading to postponements and how it impacts preparing for games. As we know, football takes a good deal of preparation and is a very physical sport. Buddy Teevens has received all kinds of acclaim for his no hitting in practice approach at Dartmouth, but everyone saw what happened to Navy after they did not hitting leading up to their game against BYU. That wasn't pretty.
For me, college football is defined by the students in the crowd and the bands playing. If you don't have those, and there are all kinds of other distractions and things going on to interrupt preparation for playing games, it's not really college football. It's some bastardized version of it being played to generate revenue while taking some extra risks with student safety.
To be honest, I'm just not really into college football this year and I don't think it would be different if the Pac-12 was playing.
This bolsters both the "we should play" and the "let's be cautious" sides of the college sports argument. On the one hand, it's "imagine how many other kids might have been sick or died if his school was playing football." On the other it is "see, he wasn't even playing football and he died, so what is the extra risk in playing?"
I am probably 55-45 against playing, but can see both arguments having merit. One thing that concerns me is the amount of disruption being caused that is leading to postponements and how it impacts preparing for games. As we know, football takes a good deal of preparation and is a very physical sport. Buddy Teevens has received all kinds of acclaim for his no hitting in practice approach at Dartmouth, but everyone saw what happened to Navy after they did not hitting leading up to their game against BYU. That wasn't pretty.
For me, college football is defined by the students in the crowd and the bands playing. If you don't have those, and there are all kinds of other distractions and things going on to interrupt preparation for playing games, it's not really college football. It's some bastardized version of it being played to generate revenue while taking some extra risks with student safety.
To be honest, I'm just not really into college football this year and I don't think it would be different if the Pac-12 was playing.


