Miami Dolphins unveil plan to host fans in stadium amid coronavirus pandemic

From the Times of London (behind the paywall, so just an excerpt)

Stadiums will be a maximum of 33 per cent full and could be at as low as 17 per cent of capacity when fans return in October under social-distancing rules, according to guidelines issued by safety chiefs.

The draft document from the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) will come as a serious financial blow to sports such as football and rugby union that had banked on being able to use 50 per cent of their stadium capacity.
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...to-be-in-stadiums-on-october-return-xhdz62fq5
 
ahalpert said:
"Hey, millionaire who got rich by being extraordinarily healthy, how would you like to share germs with a hundred other men during a raging pandemic?"
Click to expand...
"Thanks, I think I'll pass!"

Hey, their bodies are their job, their ticket, their less than 10yr career. They'd be crazy not to treat their body as a temple...
 
from the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/...on=click&module=Editors Picks&pgtype=Homepage

merlin_175441575_d4c23b8f-0aa9-48f9-be8a-eacddd9276d0-jumbo.jpg

What It’s Like to Be a Virtual N.B.A. Fan
No standing up, and definitely no cursing: The basketball superfan known as Bongo Lady takes us behind the screen as she is beamed into an N.B.A. game from her couch in Mississippi.

Malenda Meacham usually watches the Memphis Grizzlies play their home games at FedEx Forum from her perch in Section 106. She stands. She cheers. She paces. And, of course, she pretends to pound on the cartoon bongos whenever they flash on the arena’s big screens.

A part-time judge who moonlights as Bongo Lady, one of the team’s most easily recognizable superfans, Meacham, 51, was among those who labored through the N.B.A.’s extended layoff this season, her cartoon bongos rendered silent by the coronavirus pandemic. But when the Grizzlies faced the San Antonio Spurs in a seeding game at the N.B.A.’s restart at Walt Disney World in Florida, she seized the opportunity to make her presence felt again.

Clad in her personalized powder-blue jersey, Meacham provided her ticket information — Section 2, Seat 1 — then spent the next two hours sweating through every possession. In the third quarter, she even broke out a pair of bongos (autographed by the former defensive stopper Tony Allen) at the urging of the other fans in her section.

“We should all do the air bongos!” Meacham said.

The weird thing was that Meacham was nowhere near the arena. In fact, she was on her living room couch in Hernando, Miss., shouting at her laptop computer.

As part of its expansive efforts to build atmosphere for games inside its fan-free bubble at Disney World, the N.B.A. has been inviting spectators to attend — virtually. Select fans who are viewing the games from home are being livestreamed onto three video boards that extend along each baseline and one sideline. There are 10 sections in all, each with 32 seats, helping produce the vague appearance of bleachers — along with the all-too-familiar feel of a video conference call, which seems sadly appropriate these days.

“We wanted to create something that would bring our fans to the players,” Sara Zuckert, the N.B.A.’s head of Next Gen Telecast, said in a telephone interview. “It’s also a way to give fans the opportunity to feel like they’re interacting while enhancing the broadcast for everyone else at home.”

As the coronavirus continues to upend sports, and the way that fans view them, leagues around the world have showcased varying levels of creativity when it comes to sprucing up their empty backdrops. Major League Baseball teams have deployed cardboard cutouts of fans. An inventive baseball club in South Korea enlisted stuffed animals to fill its stadium. At Major League Soccer’s tournament in Florida, digital video boards hum with activity. And then there are the tarps — so many tarps in so many countries sheltering so many vacant seats.

In partnering with Microsoft, the N.B.A. has harnessed the magic of 21st century computer technology to beam fans like Bongo Lady straight into its three arenas at Disney World. (Imagine reading that sentence before the start of the season.)

Most of the virtual seats for each game are allotted to the designated “home” team, with one section typically reserved for the players’ family members and friends. The rest largely go to season-ticket holders, sponsors and fans who apply online, though there have been celebrity cameos. The rapper Lil Wayne, for example, was recently spotted behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ bench.

Former players like Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh and Manu Ginobili have also made appearances — from the comfort of their own homes. Games now double as “Where’s Waldo?” searches: Was that really Shaquille O’Neal watching the Milwaukee Bucks play the Miami Heat? (Yes, it was.)

The Grizzlies reached out to Meacham to see if she would be a virtual fan for the team’s game against the Spurs.

“Who wouldn’t want to try this?” Meacham asked.

Meacham signed a three-page waiver that detailed various rules. Near the top of the list: no bad language, as audio of the virtual fans would be blended and piped into the arena. Meacham knew in advance that she was going to wrestle with that restriction. As the game wore on, she was grateful for the option to turn off her microphone. Yes, Bongo Lady muted herself. She did pick her spots, though, such as when the Spurs’ Lonnie Walker threw up an errant jumper. Meacham leaned into her laptop.

“AIRBALLLLL!” she said.

Meacham was looking at a split screen of the rest of the fans in her section, in the form of a video conference, and a live feed of the game itself. She also had the regional broadcast of the game on her television, which provided a much larger, more user-friendly viewing experience. But there was a delay, which was problematic: Her reactions as one of the virtual fans needed to come in real time, and that required her to pay attention to the pint-size feed on her laptop.

Still, the TV broadcast was vivid and seductive, and Meacham wanted to see what was actually happening. She was both invested in the game — which the Grizzlies desperately needed to win to increase their odds of landing a playoff spot — and eager to fulfill her duties as a virtual fan. The tension was real.

“I’m glad to do this for the players,” she said. “If there’s any chance that it gives them some extra oomph, then it’s worth it.”

Rounds, the Grizzlies’ account executive, policed Meacham’s section as a moderator (no cursing; stay in your seat) while a member of the team’s dance crew pumped up the energy by starting chants. There was a semi-successful attempt at doing the wave. When Ja Morant, the team’s star guard, drained a jumper, several fans mimicked his “goggles” celebration. Meacham yelped with delight.

“High-five! High-five?” Meacham said as she extended her arms. “Nobody’s high-fiving.”

She experienced other minor inconveniences. She was unfamiliar with the Microsoft program. (“I’m a Zoom girl,” she said.) The virtual fan “sitting” in front of her was too close to the camera on his computer, which had the effect of partly blocking her out. (“I keep trying to get his attention,” said Meacham, who pretended to squeeze the offending fan’s head between her thumb and index finger like an overripe tomato.) But she also struggled to remain in her own seat as the game slipped away from Memphis.

“I get too hyped up,” she said. “I’m usually standing.”

The fourth quarter was excruciating for Meacham, who spent entire possessions with her head in her hands. She put her bongos away.

“I think I may need a drink,” she said.

Afterward, she digested the loss by reflecting on the experience.

“I know the N.B.A. is just trying to do the best they can under the circumstances,” Meacham said. “And I’m honored that the Grizzlies asked me to do it.”

But she was still looking forward to the day when she could watch a game the old-fashioned way — in person.
 
Big Ten, Pac-12 Are First Power 5 Conferences to Postpone College Football
The conferences plan to not play football or other sports this fall, and might attempt to hold seasons in the spring instead.


College football fractured on Tuesday as the Big Ten and the Pac-12, two of the sport’s wealthiest and most powerful conferences, abandoned their plans to play this fall during the coronavirus pandemic, even as other top leagues stayed publicly poised to begin games next month.

The decisions extended the greatest crisis in the history of college athletics, a multibillion-dollar industry that often depends on football revenue to balance budgets and underwrite lower-profile sports. It also defied calls this week by coaches, players and President Trump to mount a season in the face of the virus’s largely unchecked rampage across the United States.

The divergent approaches of the so-called Power 5 conferences, made possible by college football’s decentralized power structure, mean that old and new gridiron powerhouses — including Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Southern California and Wisconsin — will probably not compete this autumn, while other leading programs, like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Louisiana State, Oklahoma and Texas, may still play.

The Power 5 conferences that could still hold games — the Atlantic Coast, the Big 12 and the Southeastern — intend to begin competition by late September.

The Big Ten’s decision applied to all of its fall sports, and it left open the possibility of playing during the spring semester. But some of the league’s members responded to the move with outrage and frustration.

In a statement, Nebraska officials pronounced themselves “very disappointed in the decision” and suggested that they might somehow try to find a way for their students to compete this fall. Gene Smith, Ohio State’s athletic director, said the university had sought a delay to the season’s start instead of a sweeping postponement.

“This is an incredibly sad day for our student-athletes, who have worked so hard and been so vigilant fighting against this pandemic to get this close to their season,” Smith said in a statement.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/...tion=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage
 
FWIW, the NYT and other major newspapers will fight long excerpts from their articles. That was a big deal in the late 1990's when a lot of news aggregator sites copied entire articles and took the commercial revenues based on "stolen" clicks. The newspapers sued and an aggregator, IIRC, was limited to a sentence under the fair use doctrine. These days, with so many online publications, one can have a longer tease but paid sites will still fight them.
 
groveChuck said:
Big Ten, Pac-12 Are First Power 5 Conferences to Postpone College Football
The conferences plan to not play football or other sports this fall, and might attempt to hold seasons in the spring instead.


College football fractured on Tuesday as the Big Ten and the Pac-12, two of the sport’s wealthiest and most powerful conferences, abandoned their plans to play this fall during the coronavirus pandemic, even as other top leagues stayed publicly poised to begin games next month.

The decisions extended the greatest crisis in the history of college athletics, a multibillion-dollar industry that often depends on football revenue to balance budgets and underwrite lower-profile sports. It also defied calls this week by coaches, players and President Trump to mount a season in the face of the virus’s largely unchecked rampage across the United States.

The divergent approaches of the so-called Power 5 conferences, made possible by college football’s decentralized power structure, mean that old and new gridiron powerhouses — including Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Southern California and Wisconsin — will probably not compete this autumn, while other leading programs, like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Louisiana State, Oklahoma and Texas, may still play.

The Power 5 conferences that could still hold games — the Atlantic Coast, the Big 12 and the Southeastern — intend to begin competition by late September.

The Big Ten’s decision applied to all of its fall sports, and it left open the possibility of playing during the spring semester. But some of the league’s members responded to the move with outrage and frustration.

In a statement, Nebraska officials pronounced themselves “very disappointed in the decision” and suggested that they might somehow try to find a way for their students to compete this fall. Gene Smith, Ohio State’s athletic director, said the university had sought a delay to the season’s start instead of a sweeping postponement.

“This is an incredibly sad day for our student-athletes, who have worked so hard and been so vigilant fighting against this pandemic to get this close to their season,” Smith said in a statement.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/...tion=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage
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I'm smack-dab in the middle of ACC and SEC country and college football generates a LOT of work for us around here. No college football has been the elephant in the room for months, now, and it just got 'very real' today. If the SEC and ACC cancel their seasons, it's going to be bedlam. People will lose their minds. In the fall in the South, college football is life.

They were discussing this on the "news magazine" type show that one of the local stations here does after their usual 10p newscast and the main anchor, after discussing about the athletes, coaches and even POTUS, wanting college football to be played this fall, quips something to the effect of where are the wishes/feeling/input from the parents in this. And one of the reporters involved with the discussion, as well, points out that most all of these athletes are adults, with a large portion of the Jr./Sr. football players well into their 20's, and who may have lucrative NFL careers riding on this*. The look on her face and tone in her voice was of someone in disbelief that they couldn't believe they just had their legs cut out from under them with what they thought was the moral high ground of an argument that no one would challenge.



*I've also seen some concern for high school athletes that may have college scholarships riding on their seasons, as well.
 
I'm having a hard time following, run&gun - the anchor said what are the parents' wishes? Then someone said the players are adults? Then the anchor looked like the moral high ground legs were cut out from under their argument because they were saying the parents should decide?

Also, tangentially related - I ready a poll that showed that parents are more likely to want their kids physically back in school than the non-parents in their community. But I wonder if that's because parents are going crazy with their kids home whereas the non-parents have nothing to gain from an extra source of community spread.
 
ahalpert said:
I'm having a hard time following, run&gun - the anchor said what are the parents' wishes? Then someone said the players are adults? Then the anchor looked like the moral high ground legs were cut out from under their argument because they were saying the parents should decide?

Also, tangentially related - I ready a poll that showed that parents are more likely to want their kids physically back in school than the non-parents in their community. But I wonder if that's because parents are going crazy with their kids home whereas the non-parents have nothing to gain from an extra source of community spread.
Click to expand...

I'm a parent and no way am I sending my kid to school this fall. I don't want her getting sick, and / or brining it back home to me and my wife. She's already doing fine with the online schooling so continuing with that is tolerable. If these college athletes knew the risks, they'd be smart to sit out this year. While there is a low probability of dying form the virus, there is a not insignificant chance of ending up with long lasting cardiovascular damage from surviving the virus, which could easily end a young athlete's entire career.

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...vid-19-fuels-power-5-concern-season-viability
 
Batutta said:
I'm a parent and no way am I sending my kid to school this fall. I don't want her getting sick, and / or brining it back home to me and my wife. She's already doing fine with the online schooling so continuing with that is tolerable. If these college athletes knew the risks, they'd be smart to sit out this year. While there is a low probability of dying form the virus, there is a not insignificant chance of ending up with long lasting cardiovascular damage from surviving the virus, which could easily end a young athlete's entire career.

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...vid-19-fuels-power-5-concern-season-viability
Click to expand...

I'm curious- what would have to take place for you to send you kid back to school? And have you considered the possibility that conditions may never come about where you will send your kid back to school? ( or allow them to have a job ).

Conditions in 5, 10 years may be the same as they are today.

We have not had a successful vaccine against this type of virus ever. EVER.

Are you potentially waiting for something that will never occur?
 
The Dolphins say they will allow 13,000 fans in but only with masks on.

The lucky few will have their glasses fog up to prevent them from seeing what's happening on the field.
 
JPNola said:
I'm curious- what would have to take place for you to send you kid back to school? And have you considered the possibility that conditions may never come about where you will send your kid back to school? ( or allow them to have a job ).

Conditions in 5, 10 years may be the same as they are today.

We have not had a successful vaccine against this type of virus ever. EVER.

Are you potentially waiting for something that will never occur?
Click to expand...

Just a few weeks in and lots of colleges are essentially closing down and sending students home for “virtual learning” as clusters and outbreaks multiply. A few days ago I was talking to one of my best friends and audio guys about his son, who just went off to college, and how things were going with all of the CV outbreaks. There were at least three or four floors in his his sons dorm building that had outbreaks/clusters(fortunately not his). And as I was watching the early evening news last night, I saw that his sons school was going “virtual”. I text him and asked when he was coming home. A few minutes later I received a short few second video of them driving down the road with the vehicle all loaded up with his clothes/furniture.

Some of these Universities/Colleges are just either too stubborn, too stupid or just too optimistic. One of the big schools right here has been towing the line that they were starting the 2nd week of September(saying that those few weeks were going to make a difference) and have been repeating it every day. Until this weekend. Now they’re going virtual. BUT they’re saying they are only doing “virtual classes” for a few weeks and then it will be business as usual. Do they honestly think that just 3-4 weeks is going to make a real difference?

It almost seems like a plot line in a movie. Have tens of thousands of people go somewhere, people start to contract a highly contagious disease and then close the place and send everyone back to their respective homes/communities who may or may not have it or may or may not know if they have it to potentially increase the spread.
 
JPNola said:
I'm curious- what would have to take place for you to send you kid back to school? And have you considered the possibility that conditions may never come about where you will send your kid back to school? ( or allow them to have a job ).

Conditions in 5, 10 years may be the same as they are today.

We have not had a successful vaccine against this type of virus ever. EVER.

Are you potentially waiting for something that will never occur?
Click to expand...

Hmm it seems to me that there are numerous operable vaccines in trials now

With or without vaccines, I would personally feel more comfortable if we had antivirals that could bring the mortality rate down to the level of the flu

And even if the situation were as bleak as you imply, I would like to make a definitive determination of that before resigning myself to the consequences of lowering our guard
 
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