And so it begins...COVID-19 & Football

[70MilesFromCanada]

NDSU football positive COVID-19 test.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/football/6536047-Bison-student-athlete-tests-positive-for-coronavirus (https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/football/6536047-Bison-student-athlete-tests-positive-for-coronavirus)

There will be more.

[bulldog10jw]

I would have been suspicious if no athletes tested positive over the summer

[cx500d]

NDSU football positive COVID-19 test.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/football/6536047-Bison-student-athlete-tests-positive-for-coronavirus (https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/football/6536047-Bison-student-athlete-tests-positive-for-coronavirus)

There will be more.

Damn UND skanks infecting our football players...

[WestCoastAggie]

woah!

[cx500d]

woah!
Oh, you are right, that was a different "C" disease, Chlamydia. They normally warn the NDSU athletes to stay away from UND students. These posters are all over the fieldhouse.

31631

[Outsider1]

It was never a matter of IF, but HOW we navigate it and it will be navigated week by week... game by game. The season ain't gonna stop but it may still have some surprises. Hopefully it is still good, hard hitting and competitive. We already know that our first opponent, Texas A&M, has 5 positive cases.

[cx500d]

It was never a matter of IF, but HOW we navigate it and it will be navigated week by week... game by game. The season ain't gonna stop but it may still have some surprises. Hopefully it is still good, hard hitting and competitive. We already know that our first opponent, Texas A&M, has 5 positive cases.


They were messing with UND girls also?

[Outsider1]

They were messing with UND girls also?

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/8f64e092-749d-4b3d-8fbe-f651e1e1b988/d57aub6-634dd844-e770-4cb6-af61-9d1ffab2e8dc.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJ IUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjph cHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOGY2NGUwOTItNz Q5ZC00YjNkLThmYmUtZjY1MWUxZTFiOTg4XC9kNTdhdWI2LTYz NGRkODQ0LWU3NzAtNGNiNi1hZjYxLTlkMWZmYWIyZThkYy5qcG cifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9h ZCJdfQ.Dz_B8zYZo6v8oI2necv7zi7Bx5H_ZBLU2YTSDtEoCUI

[cx500d]

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/8f64e092-749d-4b3d-8fbe-f651e1e1b988/d57aub6-634dd844-e770-4cb6-af61-9d1ffab2e8dc.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJ IUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjph cHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOGY2NGUwOTItNz Q5ZC00YjNkLThmYmUtZjY1MWUxZTFiOTg4XC9kNTdhdWI2LTYz NGRkODQ0LWU3NzAtNGNiNi1hZjYxLTlkMWZmYWIyZThkYy5qcG cifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9h ZCJdfQ.Dz_B8zYZo6v8oI2necv7zi7Bx5H_ZBLU2YTSDtEoCUI

Sammy Stinkfinger was messing with Suzy Rottencrotch

[70MilesFromCanada]

So, a 14 day isolation during the season could cause a player to miss up to three (3) games.

I did the math for the Bison trying to divert this thread. Get real guys. This could be very impactful this season.

[Outsider1]

So, a 14 day isolation during the season could cause a player to miss up to three (3) games.

I did the math for the Bison trying to divert this thread. Get real guys. This could be very impactful this season.

Yes, that is part of what will make this an interesting season. A team's resiliency just got a little deeper.

[favorite football fan]

It was never a matter of IF, but HOW we navigate it and it will be navigated week by week... game by game. The season ain't gonna stop but it may still have some surprises.

I beg to differ; the season can stop at a moment's notice. We saw that when, during a halftime that everyone was asked to leave the arena and play stopped. Oh sure, we know more than we do now but what do we really know for sure? We are all optimistic that there will be a season and, as I have said before, we hope and pray for it and are getting our hopes up with every news story being analyzed ad nauseam with everyone's speculation being spelled out like we have our hands on the pulse of the entire college football world and/or have inside information like people here are at the round table of the decision makers helping them to formulate the master plan to rollout the season.

Surprises? You had better believe there are going to be surprises and these surprises will not be what any of us want to hear. An entire team could be quarantined and mess up a season. If an entire team or a good chunk of the roster has to quarantine you think a team is going to want to play? You think another team wants to play them? You think a coach is going to want to play another team with their main players not involved and give the other team a higher competitive advantage? Yup, one of our players tested positive but is showing no signs or symptoms. Go out there and take one for the team and we won't tell the other team that you are positive, we don't want to blow our chance of a victory. Oh wait, it came out later that they knew that a player tested positive and they allowed him to play with the potential of infecting our players? So, that's why we lost the next week when our starting offensive line was quarantined and we had to play freshmen or the backups and had to burn a redshirt on a player.

This season could end up, as I noted, with three, maybe four games MAX if we are lucky. And get the public health people involved and then the governor involved and then the Board of Regents. Waivers? You mean those non-legally binding things that the law firm of Dewey, Cheatum and Howe are simply waiting to take advantage of? Oh, you were asked to sign this but you felt obliged to sign it in the hopes you would not lose your scholarship? Or your coach made mention, in passing and what he thought was in jest but that you took seriously that 'sign this form so you can play, we need you." Oh, not enough test kits and you were told that you were not displaying signs and symptoms at the time but started feeling sick later on but they would not come to your dorm to test you? interesting, I believe we have a case here, what color of a Corvette are you thinking about?? Oh, they did not follow the guidelines that are stringent from the CDC, the most recent ones that just came out five minutes ago? Hmmm,,,would you like to get two Corvette's out of this?

The hysterical hypochondriacs and obsessive-compulsive germ phobics will form their mob and simply harangue a school pressure a school president and athletic director and will act on their aggression on social media as Twitter Robespierre's with their incessant and perpetual virtue signalling and these presidents and athletic directors would rather succumb to the pressure than fight it. They have a brand to protect and simply do not want any controversy whatsoever. Who wants to be a part of a Twitter hashtag of #stupidschool or #greedyfootball or #deathbecomesthem? AND then have to be on TV and radio explaining "why did you make the decision to pursue this path?" and "what did you know and when did you know it?" "were you under pressure from the donors to play without taking into consideration the athlete's long term health?" You are all crazy if you do not think that today's cancel culture, which is wildly out-of-control, will not rear it's head and university/college presidents know this and are fearing this.

Oh sure, you are all going to say "not my president or athletic director, too much money involved and my president and athletic director will tell them to take a hike!!! the alumni and big donors will not tolerate it. I won't tolerate it!!! I want my foo-ball come hell or high water." Sure, right. You know that the media is now praying and hoping for a second wave and making predictions of such and the public health officials are sitting there enjoying their new found power and influence to control any and all people's movement and you bet these same AD's and presidents are making contingency plans as we speak, have their speeches ready to go in a moment's notice and are listening to the university attorney's, they just haven't informed you of it.

[Hammerhead]

I'm nearing the deadline to put in my single-game ticket requests in the Team Makers presale and may not end up using the seats. At my donation level I can request a pair of tickets for 4 games and I’m kind of low on the priority points so I rarely get the best home game.

[dewey]

It was never a matter of IF, but HOW we navigate it and it will be navigated week by week... game by game. The season ain't gonna stop but it may still have some surprises. Hopefully it is still good, hard hitting and competitive. We already know that our first opponent, Texas A&M, has 5 positive cases.

Completely agreed. This could be a very odd season.

Dewey

[Bisonator]

It was never a matter of IF, but HOW we navigate it and it will be navigated week by week... game by game. The season ain't gonna stop but it may still have some surprises. Hopefully it is still good, hard hitting and competitive. We already know that our first opponent, Texas A&M, has 5 positive cases.
Exactly. Anybody who thought there would be no positives must of thought we were living in utopia. This is not shocking or disturbing. We have to learn to deal with it just like the flu or colds.

[Anthony215]

According to reports I've seen once a person test positive for COVID-19 the chances of them re-contracting it will be slim to none. Hopefully most of the players test positive early and can quarantine now before the season starts if they're that on being hell bent on having a 2020 season.

[Outsider1]

I'm nearing the deadline to put in my single-game ticket requests in the Team Makers presale and may not end up using the seats. At my donation level I can request a pair of tickets for 4 games and I’m kind of low on the priority points so I rarely get the best home game.

We kept waiting on what to do with our club seats this year. Talking with the school, the go to at this point will be to refund for any game that is cancelled. That only accounts for home games, but not sure what else the school can do and try to keep season tickets up. For my family, we buy the tickets, take the chance, and at least get that game ticket price back if cancelled. It doesn't really cover the other donations, etc... that come with club level seats but I don't think I would want that back anyway if I am really supporting my school. I don't think it would affect our priority points becasue they are strictly based on donation level. So unless we reduced our donation level up front, our points wouldn't change. We too are at the bottom of that anyway. I do think it will be interesting for any given player if they test positive and have to sit out until they test negative. I think those situations have the biggest potential for game outcomes on any given Saturday even if the game proceeeds. I believe it will make coaches focus harder on contingency game plans from week to week based on testing, on top of normal concerns throughout the year. I am sure they do that anyway in the back background when it comes to normal player injuries from year to year. This just adds another level.

[Outsider1]

According to reports I've seen once a person test positive for COVID-19 the chances of them re-contracting it will be slim to none. Hopefully most of the players test positive early and can quarantine now before the season starts if they're that on being hell bent on having a 2020 season.

That would seem to be the best scenario. I think there will be restrictions on players and coaches when they travel to reduce transmission once the season gets underway. How many teams nowadays are still restricted to their hotel anymore when they are on the road? Didn't that used to be a thing to keep them focused on games anyway?

[PaladinFan]

Exactly. Anybody who thought there would be no positives must of thought we were living in utopia. This is not shocking or disturbing. We have to learn to deal with it just like the flu or colds.

Also, NDSU's stadium is likely one of the worst facilities in the country for stopping the spread of the virus - indoors, cold weather climate, dense seating.

[Outsider1]

Also, NDSU's stadium is likely one of the worst facilities in the country for stopping the spread of the virus - indoors, cold weather climate, dense seating.

Which would bring up the venue question if there is an "iffy" situation in any given location at the time. How fast could a venue be changed to keep a game on if that was what it came down to? Those will be part of the questions going foward. I don't have the answer. What else would be done?

[ElCid]

Which would bring up the venue question if there is an "ify" situation in any given location at the time. How fast could a venue be changed to keep a game on if that was what it came down to? Those will be part of the questions going foward. I don't have the answer. What else would be done?

Well, we have had hurricane issues over the last few years and one year we quickly made it an away game instead of a home game. However, it just well in that case. Just 4 hours up the interstate and 10 minutes from evac site. Depending on the school and whether a stadium of a school is a multipurpose one with another event, I think it could be done in most cases. Also depends on the unexpected travel time/cost as to whether an additional road trip outweighs just not playing. Something for the number crunchers and administration to decide if another win for playoff consideration is required.

[Bisonator]

Also, NDSU's stadium is likely one of the worst facilities in the country for stopping the spread of the virus - indoors, cold weather climate, dense seating.
It will more then likely be reduced to a certain percentage of capacity say 30%. Not sure how that's going to work but gotta believe they are not going to pack the place unless there is a vaccine available by then. Lots of moving parts and things yet to be finalized.

[POD Knows]

It will more then likely be reduced to a certain percentage of capacity say 30%. Not sure how that's going to work but gotta believe they are not going to pack the place unless there is a vaccine available by then. Lots of moving parts and things yet to be finalized.I am curious as to how they are going to handle this as well, if they reduce the attendance to 30% of capacity and I own 9 tickets, which I do and have paid for, they better reimburse us for the unused tickets.

[cx500d]

I am curious as to how they are going to handle this as well, if they reduce the attendance to 30% of capacity and I own 9 tickets, which I do and have paid for, they better reimburse us for the unused tickets.
The University thanks you for your donation!

[Outsider1]

I am curious as to how they are going to handle this as well, if they reduce the attendance to 30% of capacity and I own 9 tickets, which I do and have paid for, they better reimburse us for the unused tickets.

I think that the refund for the amount of seats reduced would be the key. The reduction in capacity allowed was always at the back of my mind. If I own 6 tickets, and for game X, I am only allowed to use 3 of those tickets.. I get refunded for 3 tickets for that game. It calls the flexibility of us as fans into question; working with the schools, conferences, etc...How fast a school reacts to kickback or cooperation I don't know.

[Outsider1]

I think those are the things the conferences and schools have to answer in looking to keep a game at it's schedule location, moving it, or cancelling it. That is on top of player x, y and z playing that week or not.

[POD Knows]

The University thanks you for your donation!Yea, they can suck a high hard one if they think I am going to just walk away from that much money.

[TheKingpin28]

I am curious as to how they are going to handle this as well, if they reduce the attendance to 30% of capacity and I own 9 tickets, which I do and have paid for, they better reimburse us for the unused tickets.

I feel bad for season ticket holders. How are they going to tell some can attend and others can't? I would not want to be the one making the calls telling someone something along of the lines:

"You did not qualify for our 30% capacity numbers,"
especially when the comeback is
"And how was that determined,"
followed up with
"Unfortunately, the AD team had to make decisions..."
followed by
"Well tell me what the criteria is, so I know who to vent to..."
etc...

I work in transportation/logistics for a manufacturing company in the promotional products industry and we ran into some serious "biting off WAY more than we can chew" with two of our products and they asked (upper management) if I could call clients to let them know their products would not be arriving on time. I had mentioned, let sales do their job and tell the clients since I am frantically trying to convince UPS and FedEx to give us a dedicated truck for just our stuff for an entire month. I did not sleep well for about 3 days trying to find a way to make this all work. It took us way too long to catch up (we finally did) but I had mentioned that if sales decides to sell more than what we can allocate, that is THEIR responsibility to own up, not pass the buck along.

[cx500d]

Yea, they can suck a high hard one if they think I am going to just walk away from that much money.
But that's going to bring Jeff Choate et al into fiscal parity

[TheKingpin28]

But that's going to bring Jeff Choate et al into fiscal parity

Oh this got me good. Rep was earned here.

I still remember my Jeff Choate interaction. Offered him 100.00 and asked if that would help him win the playoff game? He was laughing at that and nodded his head. BFINWMN was chuckling at that one too. Choate though played hardball and he knows, if he wants to compete for title, he has to offer FCOA since Montana, NDSU, SDSU, and other schools will come calling with those dollars. IIRC, Montana is currently working on a way to make it work, but I do not think they are fully there yet.

[POD Knows]

But that's going to bring Jeff Choate et al into fiscal parityWell, you have to equalize the playing field someone and maybe a disease is just the cure for these also-rans swimming in the Bison wake. xthumbsupx

[PaladinFan]

Well, we have had hurricane issues over the last few years and one year we quickly made it an away game instead of a home game. However, it just well in that case. Just 4 hours up the interstate and 10 minutes from evac site. Depending on the school and whether a stadium of a school is a multipurpose one with another event, I think it could be done in most cases. Also depends on the unexpected travel time/cost as to whether an additional road trip outweighs just not playing. Something for the number crunchers and administration to decide if another win for playoff consideration is required.

I just think of Paladin Stadium, which is a stadium much larger than Furman feasibly needs in today's SoCon. You could likely easily spread out a home game crowd on both sides of the 16,000 seat park with room to spare.

[cx500d]

Oh this got me good. Rep was earned here.

I still remember my Jeff Choate interaction. Offered him 100.00 and asked if that would help him win the playoff game? He was laughing at that and nodded his head. BFINWMN was chuckling at that one too. Choate though played hardball and he knows, if he wants to compete for title, he has to offer FCOA since Montana, NDSU, SDSU, and other schools will come calling with those dollars. IIRC, Montana is currently working on a way to make it work, but I do not think they are fully there yet.


Hell, I was there too, and laughing at that one.

[ElCid]

I just think of Paladin Stadium, which is a stadium much larger than Furman feasibly needs in today's SoCon. You could likely easily spread out a home game crowd on both sides of the 16,000 seat park with room to spare.

Or stay home and watch on TV. I have not given as much credit to internet available games for the drop in attendance as I should have over the last few years. The propensity of nonsocial or isolation behavior due to internet has crept through all ages now. Much easier to watch on TV now than drive 4 hours and hang with people you probably dislike hanging with, virus or no virus. The virus just makes the decision easier.

[walliver]

The Citadel could just put up picnic tables on the visitors side.

The non-stop talking heads on TV are all worried about players getting COVID from playing football. Many of these players live in environments and locations where they are much more likely to get COVID at home than in a locker room. Wofford's plan involved people sitting on blankets on the hill.

I suspect the 2021 season will be an "asterisk" season. Many games will be won or lost based on which players are out sick that week. Star players may not play every game. I doubt we see Trevor Lawrence or Travis Etienne playing against Akron or the Citadel. Games may be cancelled and picking champions may be contentious when conference games aren't played. G5 schools may isolate football players from the rest of the student body for the entire season.

[TheKingpin28]

Hell, I was there too, and laughing at that one.

Damn, I forgot you were there too! It feels like an eternity ago for that.

[70MilesFromCanada]

I suppose board members can easily name teams whose game attendance is typically so lousy that social distancing will not be a problem.

I do think indoor stadiums will be a bigger problem than outdoor fields.

[cx500d]

Damn, I forgot you were there too! It feels like an eternity ago for that.
Its hard to remember cause I was sitting right next to you! Too many MGL's I guess.

[TheKingpin28]

Its hard to remember cause I was sitting right next to you! Too many MGL's I guess.

You should know by now, I usually lose my voice and sometimes my memory during football games. Those goldens go down so smoothly though! Also, there are some Bisonville guys who cooked up some "Apple Pie" and I had one too many of those with a few of SDBison's Jag Bombs that he always seems to hand me. xlolx

I am still beyond grateful for the ornament, which you gave at that game. That is a keepsake for myself.

[cx500d]

You should know by now, I usually lose my voice and sometimes my memory during football games. Those goldens go down so smoothly though! Also, there are some Bisonville guys who cooked up some "Apple Pie" and I had one too many of those with a few of SDBison's Jag Bombs that he always seems to hand me. xlolx

I am still beyond grateful for the ornament, which you gave at that game. That is a keepsake for myself.
I heard this year's White House ornament is going to look like this:

https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/11165812/c0481846-wuhan_novel_coronavirus_illustration-spl.jpg

[BEAR]

Interesting. So many variables with this virus that can affect the players and the season it's unreal!

Football being a heavy contact sport and all...no way to avoid it.

One player- asymptomatic can spread it to other players who may react. At least that's what I hear is the latest belief about it..unless that changed. Who knows.
Teams-may be without players for games at different points in the season.
Fans- May not get to attend the games or may not want to.
Travel- FBS paycheck games and other special games may be cancelled due to this. That will hurt the budgets. Will they only play conference games?
Playoffs- Ugh. How do you handle that.

I've got a high school aged kid practicing in separate sessions. That's nice. Won't get them prepared for the season and the hits or the danger of getting the virus.

Prayers up for all who have the virus. Heal up. This season will be interesting.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

As far as fans go I think they would offer a "hold my seat" and let a lot of the downsizing happen via attrition for those that would just as soon the season out. After that, if there is a problem then I would think they might want to encourage diabetics, the most elderly, and others that are at a higher risk to maybe give it up for the year. I would think that would get most places that have a problem of full stadiums/facilities which as was mentioned already is not a great deal of schools at this time.

The thing I just can't see working is the student athletes and especially the lineman being so close and breathing and contact etc. on every play. Now if the majority of them did get this crap over the summer then another concern would be how much does it affect the young men with lung capacity etc.? That might be another big unforeseen consequence that potentially ends careers. Could masks be part of the uniform this season? If it comes off a penalty like a helmet coming off? If any information on that sort of thing has come out I have just flat missed it.

[ST_Lawson]

...teams whose game attendance is typically so lousy that social distancing will not be a problem.

https://media2.giphy.com/media/RIlhQaG2BBQVlCn0hu/giphy.gif

[Outsider1]

This is a couple of days old, but was kinda interesting. It didn't hit all the details but works through some.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/covid-19-cases-havent-deterred-college-footballs-quest-to-return-but-when-would-they/ar-BB15syaK?li=BBnb7Kz

I think a big piece is the capacity for routine testing of the athletes (even asymptomatic ones) to try and catch positive cases before any game. Once on the field there just isn't much you can do. Part of this is protecting older coaches and staff as well as players. The staff will probably have higher risk factors. I don't see much interaction of staff with players of other teams, but catching things within a team would be warranted. The trouble is, who is going to pay for the testing and how available will it actually be? All the other decisions for when a player tests positive, and what to do, are based off of that. Once a player tests positive, then it is quick reporting and coordination with the team/school, conference and NCAA. All of that before fans are involved. In Abilene, I guess if worse came to worse and we had to spread people out, we could possibly hold a game at our old Shotwell Stadium across town. It's not as nice, but it's bigger. What to do with club seat holders would have to be worked out. The more likely scenario would be they limit seats in Wildcat Stadium and make the rest watch via streaming...

[bulldog10jw]

I suppose board members can easily name teams whose game attendance is typically so lousy that social distancing will not be a problem.


Yale not only has lousy attendance, we also have a huge stadium. We could triple the social distancing guidelines.

[veinup]

this season is gonna be... iffy, at best.

several months ago the biggest sports leagues in the world were shut down due to this disease and are struggling with restarting. i’m not sure why so many people think FCS football will get it right. i’m not confident, but i hope for the best..

[TheKingpin28]

Realized this wasn't the poli board. That's on me. I deleted what I typed.

[walliver]

Keep in mind that the "experts" have never dealt with this virus before and are winging this.

So far, we have not seen a big uptake in coronavirus from the recent protests. Most FCS programs don't have to deal with sell-outs and limited seating. Many older fans will sit out this season to be on the safe side. Life will go on.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when Ohio State tells 10's of thousands of fans their season tickets are no good this year. There may be riots all over Big 10 and SEC land.

[cx500d]

Keep in mind that the "experts" have never dealt with this virus before and are winging this.

So far, we have not seen a big uptake in coronavirus from the recent protests. Most FCS programs don't have to deal with sell-outs and limited seating. Many older fans will sit out this season to be on the safe side. Life will go on.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when Ohio State tells 10's of thousands of fans their season tickets are no good this year. There may be riots all over Big 10 and SEC land.
My guess is they will have plenty of volunteers to sit out the season, get their money back, and come back next year.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Keep in mind that the "experts" have never dealt with this virus before and are winging this.

So far, we have not seen a big uptake in coronavirus from the recent protests. Most FCS programs don't have to deal with sell-outs and limited seating. Many older fans will sit out this season to be on the safe side. Life will go on.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when Ohio State tells 10's of thousands of fans their season tickets are no good this year. There may be riots all over Big 10 and SEC land.

While I agree with most of the post the experts don't need quotes around it. They know way more than anyone else not an expert and they do the best they can I think to try and make sure as many make it to games, family events, or anything else in the future by giving us guidance and defense strategies against this thing in a time when information is pretty limited so far.

But I think the open air scenario and a few precautions could be a way to do some things if they do go forward but man it sure can't be done with everything that goes on at the football games...especially the actual football game.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

this season is gonna be... iffy, at best.

several months ago the biggest sports leagues in the world were shut down due to this disease and are struggling with restarting. i’m not sure why so many people think FCS football will get it right. i’m not confident, but i hope for the best..

Agree with this one for sure. I just don't think that big money sports shutting it all down and having trouble bodes well for little or no money entertainment.