Now that the country has started to re-open businesses and sports can return, leaders start to look at how it can be done safely. One big question that remains for fall sports is whether or not fans can be in attendance.
It has essentially been deemed impossible to have any spectators throughout the summer. The fall sports are still being debated.
Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith has discussed his plan for his school’s football team. The stadium usually seats over 100,000, but it’s doubtful that can happen in 2020. His plan is to have around 20,000 fans in attendance, maybe up to 50,000.
“We’re fortunate, with 100,000 seats in the stadium,” he said. “So could we implement the current CDC guidelines, state guidelines around physical distancing, mask requirements and all those types of things in an outdoor environment and have obviously significantly less fans than we are used to? I think it’s possible.
“I just feel like we have the talent and skill and space capacity to provide an opportunity for a certain number of fans to have access to our particular stadium. Of course, that wouldn’t be true across the country because of capacity. But I think we can get there.”
Who Gets Seats?
One of the biggest issues would be deciding who has priority for these seats. Many season ticket holders might be out of luck. Smith said he would be using the point system they have in place, but also consider families, donors, media, and other groups.
The summer will have to continue to be a time of declining coronavirus numbers if football is going to even be able to have some fans. There can’t be any evidence of the second wave that might occur after re-opening.
What Do Fans Mean?
If football can’t have fans at all, is it worth playing? Some believe that it is still good to compete, but others believe that the role of fans is too great.
Amy Bass wrote an opinion for CNN.
“But without fans in the seats, what do sports mean? We cannot talk about sports without its fans. Those fans are part and parcel of the sports world, stakeholders like any other. Eliminating them is eliminating a critical element of the spectator nation that is the United States, in which far more of us watch than play.”
On the other hand, coaches and players are ready to play. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh has expressed his feelings on still playing football, even if no fans are allowed.
“Heck yeah, I’d be comfortable coaching a game without any fans,” Harbaugh said. “If the choice were play in front of no fans or not play, then I would choose to play in front of no fans.”
He also went on to say that every player on the Wolverines squad felt the same way. Their home stadium, “The Big House,” will look slightly different without its usual 100,000-plus in the stands.
Harbaugh is preparing like there is going to be a season and isn’t thinking too much about the possibility of suspension of the campaign.
