15 Comments

My base expectation is no spectator sports for the rest of the calendar year.

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We need to err on the side of letting the shutdown go on longer than it should rather than making the mistake of opening up too soon. SO fucking glad I live in California instead of some dumb red state with Republicans in charge!

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With the prospect of a promising Cal football team entering the 2020 season, losing college football games to a pandemic nightmare, for Old Blues anyway, would be the most "Because Cal" thing ever...

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I don't anticipate that we will have football this season. Too many risks and variables over the next 18 weeks, and with the curve still advancing it's unlikely there will be a vaccine released in time which might permit mass gatherings.

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If this is the case, let’s hope there is some sort of assistance for athletic departments. Losing both revenue sports in the same year would be devastating.

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I'm hoping if the season is cancelled, which it will be, the NCAA gives all players an extra year of eligibility. You cannot put players on a field tackling and spitting on each other if fans aren't allowed to sit passively near one another out of safety concerns. No, my friends, there will be no football this fall. The long sports famine will continue. And such a shame for us given the likelihood of a particularly successful year with all our returning and new players and coaches.

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I think there are several tiers to a "return to normalcy". Having a lot of people gathering in a public space (stadium or even a smaller indoor arena) is orders of magnitude more than having people return to their jobs and some limited isolations. I can certainly see athletes being allowed to train in team settings without fans being allowed to gather. You can even have players travel and play games without fans once there exists a much faster (and cheaper) COVID-19 testing.

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Welp. So much for college gameday 2020.

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Yeah I was so looking forward to it :-)

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Everyone must sacrifice something.

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It definitely makes sense, but I selfishly wonder what this means for Cal season ticket holders

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I imagine you'd be encouraged to "donate" the tickets or accept an in-kind exchange.

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Apr 5, 2020
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Good.

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Apr 5, 2020
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That's true, although they DID let a Champions League game at Liverpool play in front of a pack stadium, which I thought was insane at the time. And they've seen a huge rise in cases, which some attribute to that match.

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Players could be tested, and you'd be dealing 200 people instead of 50,000. EPL soccer in the UK was going to be played in empty stadiums until everything was cancelled completely as the number of infections rose. In the past they've also held empty-stadium games out of fears of hooligan fights.

I'm not advocating either way, just saying that TV-only football might be viable logistically. Not sure about financially, but I'd guess TV revenue is a lot bigger than ticket sales.

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