Fair enough.
My opinion is informed by two things. One, there are still a number of experts, like this guy, who have serious misgivings about cranking up a college football season in the absence of having regular students back on campus.
Two, we all know what this is really about.
And SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, almost always a voice of reason in difficult times, was probably right to say, as he did on Friday: “Thanks to the blueprint established by our (SEC) Task Force and the dedicated efforts of our universities and their athletics programs, we will be able to provide our student-athletes with far better health and wellness education, medical and psychological care and supervision than they would otherwise receive on their own while off campus or training at public facilities as states continue to reopen.”
But let’s also be crystal clear that that’s not what this is all about. It’s about money, or at least the potential loss of more than a billion dollars within the SEC if there is no football this fall.
So all that talk about not having football unless students are back on campus, well, we’ll see, because South Carolina is already planning to send its students home around Thanksgiving in hopes of avoiding a dreaded second wave of COVID-19. So would that mean the Gamecocks wouldn’t play Clemson on the Saturday after Thanksgiving if campus was already empty until the spring? Would basketball season be placed in similar jeopardy?
Is the sales pitch now that we can take better care of our athletes on campus than if they’re confined to their homes, presumably surrounded by family members only?
Certainly we all miss sports these days, and as recent reopenings have shown, a good chunk of the country is ready to somewhat throw caution to the wind in order to return to the lives we once lived. But it is also worth asking if the SEC or any other Power Five league would be considering this if it weren’t facing a potentially catastrophic economic future without a football season.
Again, I think we all know the answer to that.
So, my opinion about players coming back? It’s pretty simple. Any school president who is willing to embed themselves with the players under the same conditions has my blessing on cranking up football practice. Same for conference commissioners — let ’em rotate through practice and living conditions at every conference program exactly as the players are being expected to. If they’re confident enough in the procedures being safe, as long as they put their money where their mouths are (see what I did there?), that’s good enough for me.
Forget doing it for the kids. Make it doing it with the kids instead. You first, Greg.
Or, since a lot of the literature seems to indicate COVID-19 affects people of different ages differently, perhaps if the ADs and commissioners would be willing to send their own college-age kids to experience the same conditions as the players.
So just to be crystal clear then, I take it that right now today, the answer is that Commissioner Blutarsky is not there yet, correct?
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Ask me when somebody makes me a commissioner. 😉
Seriously, they’re playing, regardless of my opinion. I just hope the kids dodge a bullet.
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What bullet? Where are all the infected 18-22 year olds?
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Here’s one of them…
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29020606/florida-state-lineman-andrew-boselli-recovers-coronavirus
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The SEC schools are proving they are what everybody else outside the south thinks they are: the “cult of ignorance” region of the nation. They are hell bent on playing what shapes up to be a crash dummy football season. Rots of ruck!
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If I was running things, I dont think I could bring fans back to the stadium this fall. It just seems like way too much risk.
Could I try and get some sort of season in, sure I would try. Everyone has too much invested in this season.
I dont have much of an issue with bringing the players back for some coach led conditioning, but it wouldnt be full practices or anything like that.
Slowly ease back into it and I think that it can be done safely.
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They playin’. Anyone who remains an amateurism romantic after this especially if they play with students holed up in their parents’ basements instead of in classrooms and empty stadiums just doesn’t want to see college sports for what it is … a big business.
If this season goes through with what many seem to think likely (no fans or very few fans and players quarantined from Sunday to Friday) I’ll officially be in the full pay-for-play camp rather than NLI reform and hope Jeffrey Kessler goes full Sherman on the NCAA and its member institutions.
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So in order to have women’s basketball, Greg Sankey must shower with the women’s basketball team at all the different schools and shack up in the women’s dorms?
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Wow, man. You just owned me.
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I think Greg is willing to do it “for the kids”. 😉
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Aren’t they supposed to be fricken students first, last, and always? Extracurricular activities can be put on the back burner. If they’re being asked to play to generate revenue, pay em.
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This.
A friend has been a fine arts professor at Emory for several years, and he said something about Emory that rings true. “I was hired by a small private liberal arts school, but now work for a massive healthcare system that happens to operate a liberal arts school.” We have massive athletic departments turning millions in profit while the universities they are attached to struggle with funding cuts and rising administration costs.
Football is happening. And it will happen with a labor force that has little to no feasible alternative but to suit up.
Just because I’m optimistic enough to think the harm to young, strong, healthy athletes will be minimal, I’m not delusional enough to think it will be zero. And optimism is not a strategy. I see a lot of hoping for the best when it comes to football, but no one has articulated how they would plan for the worst. Instead, the risks will be rationalized away.
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went to the neighborhood pool Sat, Sun and Monday and it was great. For some reason, not a single Karen was there glaring at the kids for splashing or complaining that they are being too loud.
I look forward to Sanford Stadium being like this.
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LOL…neighborhood pool = 93k seat stadium
I do give you credit though for coming on here day after day trying to speak what you want into existence.
Sorry to offset another of your anecdotes but my neighborhood pool still hasn’t opened. There’s a couple of Karens who have complained on our Facebook page though. You would like them.
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that’s cuz I snuck into your neighborhood pool and took a dump in it
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That Baby Ruth bar you used fooled nobody. Did you really expect people to believe that you had your weekly bowel movement anywhere but at home?
But don’t get too down about your daily anecdote falling flat. Tomorrow’s a new day. Then again, tomorrow’s also one day closer to you not being allowed in Sanford Stadium (or some other neighborhood pool equivalent that holds 93k people).
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Muh football…muh freedom…muh life!
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Not at all. I’m on your side.
#StayAtHomeStayPoor
#EliminateTheCurve
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And I’m on your side. Mass gatherings at neighborhood pool equivalents like Sanford Stadium are very, very important!
Dude…you want your football. Just say that.
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No way. I care way too much about other people. If we have to continue lockdowns until every prole in the country loses his house, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make if even one infection can be avoided.
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no 93k person mass gatherings at neighborhood pool equivalents such as Sanford Stadium = lockdowns and no houses
muh football…your football…our football
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Dude, it’s a slippery slope. If sports happen, even with limited seating, people may start wanting to get haircuts and walk on the beach. Then some proles who have been deemed nonessential may decide that they deserve to earn a living.
And what’s the end result? Mass graves! I refuse to be responsible for genocide!
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LOL, what in the world are you talking about? You can get haircuts and walk on the beach now.
But I’ll keep playing along. Not allowing 93k person mass gatherings at Sanford Stadium (or other neighborhood pool equivalents) will also mean the following…
lockdowns
no houses
no haircuts
no walks on the beach
no livings earned
Anything else you want to add nutbar?
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Sure, you can get haircuts in states like Georgia, where human sacrifice is practiced. But why? The corpses stacked like cord wood is because of Kemp opening businesses a few weeks before the more woke states.
Enlightened areas like the Florida keys have wisely shut down the tourism industry. How could a family leave their house, travel to another house in Florida, and possibly avoid being infected and/or spreading mass death? It’s impossible! Beach sand is the perfect incubator for Coronavirus!
So I join you and other leftists in encouraging proles to shelter in place on their live aboard yachts. Either have their personal shoppers go out for essentials, or just use Uber Eats for all their meals. Easy. Maybe they can’t earn a living for a while, but so what? That’s what trust funds are for.
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Perfect! I’ll update the list.
Not allowing 93k person mass gatherings at Sanford Stadium (or other neighborhood pool equivalents) will also mean the following…
lockdowns
no houses
no haircuts
no walks on the beach
no livings earned
Florida keys tourism industry shut down
no house to house visits anywhere in Florida
Napoleon Boner will be mad
leftists on yachts will be happy
trust fund balances will be put to good use
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Dude, you’re completely missing my point. I’m agreeing with you. It doesn’t make me angry for proles to be out of work and for normal life to be relegated to the dustbin of history. Like you, I welcome our new public health overlords.
If it saves even a single life, I’m all for keeping it shut down forever. No more college football period. No more classes. All shopping done on Amazon. What’s so hard to understand? My position is your position.
#StayHomeStayPoor
#EliminateTheCurve
#AbolishDeath
#WelcomeTheNewNorm
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Slow down dude. This list is getting really long. Instead of posting the entire list again, I’ll just mention the stuff you added or changed since last time.
everything will be shut down forever
no more college football period
no more classes
all shopping done on Amazon
death is abolished
Napoleon Boner will say he isn’t mad but we know he doesn’t mean it
use of the word “proles” will be encouraged more (I added this one to make you feel better)
Again, these are all things that must go along with not having mass gatherings of 93k people in a stadium (or at other similar neighborhood pool type facilities).
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I’m not sure why this is confusing you. To save time, why don’t you list the pro-death activities that you favor. That way, we might be able to identify where our views differ.
I’ll just state, once again, that what got us here was a complete agreement on college football. Like you, I’m against college football stadiums, otherwise known as petri dishes, being occupied with fans. Since the players can’t be guaranteed to remain free of COVID while playing, that’s out as well.
Other than football, which we agree on, which activities or occupations do you believe the plebes (in case you like that word better) should undertake to risk their lives, as well as the lives of everyone else on Earth?
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Whew, the list just keeps growing…
all games will be eliminated
the word plebes can be substituted for proles if proles gets mocked
all activities and occupations will be assessed and possibly/probably cancelled
I don’t know, man. This seems a bit much to attach to the cancellation of mass gatherings of 93k people (regardless of whether they’re in stadiums, neighborhood pools, or other similar facilities). Do you think we should rethink some of these? I mean, I would hate for people to not take our concerns seriously.
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Never debate with a sperg who thinks lists are arguments. Lesson learned.
#MuhLists
#I’mForSomethingButIt’sASecret
#EnglishIsTough
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The lake with cousins was glorious. I literally forgot about the virus for 4 days. I even shook hands with an in-law (OMG, we’re all gonna die).
I play by all the rules to do my part. I even have masks for all 3 of my kids and I used to even buy into the worry. But no way in hell the autopsy on this experience 2 years out will look like anything other than the worst foisted manufactured panic we’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, people are so invested in “being right” that you’d rather slit your wrist than argue with them…..
Perhaps that’s where some of the SEC people are. Doing actual non-panicked leadership. I don’t need Dan Fucking Wolken, and his no kids, no girlfriend douchebag self giving me life lectures.
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BWAHWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAH!!!!
Oh, wait… you were serious about that?
No, man. They’re chasing the dollars, like they always do.
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And you’d be shitting bricks and doing whatever you could if there was some moratorium that stalled all real estate transactions.
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Nice attempted sidestep. That would still qualify as panicked leadership.
And in his defense, he actually has to pay all of his employees.
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LOL. You think it’s business as usual in my neck of the woods?
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OK, I understand your business is down, probably way down but what if you only had two chances a yr to make money (BB post season and CFB) and you were going to loose both of them. You also have staff of ~200+ that have families you are directly responsible for would that cause you to re-evaluate your stance?
Never mind if you have done a very poor job managing your business in the past. We are living with the current situation.
For the record I believe they should not allow Athlete-Students to begin practice or any other actions until the school is open to students to fully return but I understand the concerns from the ADs.
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“I believe they should not allow Athlete-Students to begin practice or any other actions until the school is open to students to fully return”
Well, that ship sailed last week when they decided to bring the players back to work in June even though classes are online only until at least August.
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I didn’t want people to assume that I agreed with ADs that money is more important than the safety of the free help. Yes, I know that ship sailed
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Pay no heed Brother Bluto. He’d be shitting bricks if the McDonalds drive thru closed and he couldn’t make fries…
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Ha! What a stupid prole. He probably didn’t even go to grad school!
On a completely different topic, how do you like my new fear mask?
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My fry job is just fine thanks for asking.
No, it was a serious question. The AD has several people they are responsible for paying. So if you aren’t able to earn money to pay your staff how do you handle that? The chance to not make money to pay the staff and other “bills” can weigh on an AD to make a rash and possibly hasty decision.
It wasn’t meant to be a personal attack on the Senator it was an honest question that somethings aren’t always cut and dry. Yes ADs are a greedy bunch that have done a shitty job managing the resources they were given but they cannot change the past.
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Talk about your apples and oranges. It’s essential business. Come on man!
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He should shut down, it’s just safer.
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So if they were concerned about taking better medical care of student athletes the NCAA would require regular testing. They’re not. Because, you know, that costs money. Potentially lots. Money drives all their decisions. Period. But we’ve been having variations of this conversation for a few years on Get the Picture.
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I can buy into your tit-for-tat proposal for players/coaches/admin, I don’t think anyone supports players being asked to take any abnormal risk of their lives to play or practice football at UGA. I would say exempt anyone over 65, or that have underlying health risks associated with covid-19. That’s all. (BTW, I am still less than 50/50 that colleges play football this fall.)
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Even better, if they are that confident, put not only themselves but their families with the teams.
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A few words of concern from my wife the retired RN and Grady Nursing school graduate, at a minimum they should insure that none of their players have the cycle cell trait she worded with patients for years and it could become even more deadly than usual. She also said they need to test everybody around the program daily at a minimum, if you have a fever or test positive that’s it for you for the season. Control the dorm space and make them stay in the dorms and not in apartments. The Georgia Center should be used for this purpose. It will be risky but with Courson at the controls I think we are better off than most schools. Oh yes make all players wear face shield on their helmets, to cut down on the spiting that goes on.
The crowds are a totally different problem. Older ticket holders are the most at risk, but it’s a free country or at least it’s suppose to be, and if they want to take the risk, so be it.
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