College football and the NFL were given the death sentence by many in the media as they looked to play their seasons amid the pandemic. Yet despite a few bumps in the road, their doomsday scenarios simply have not come to pass.
It turns out that the young men in their prime years are not at much risk of hospitalization due to the coronavirus. And yes, anyone who had examined the data would have known that to begin with. While politically charged outlets like Deadspin continue to pretend that football is a death trap, the outbreaks and isolated cases have yet to escalate beyond some players being forced to miss games.
Others, like USA Today’s Christine Brennan, have been taking victory laps. Brennan’s recent column bragged that the virus was the one opponent “Nick Saban and the SEC can’t beat” after Saban tested positive for the virus. Brennan’s victory tour took her to CNN to decry the arrogance of college football.
But then Saban tested negative three times in a row. It was clear that Saban’s original positive was a false positive. He then proceeded to coach Alabama to a win over the No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
Even outbreak-delayed games have not derailed any seasons. The SEC built in multiple bye weeks to accommodate postponements — for example, the LSU-Florida matchup was pushed to December. The NFL has reworked its schedule, moving around bye weeks and playing games on Tuesday for only the second time in the last 70 years.
It was the players who most wanted to play, especially at the collegiate level. And so far, there have not been any tragic cases. There have been no reports of NFL or collegiate football players hospitalized with the virus. The study that was promoted as a justification for the Big Ten to cancel their since-resurrected season, which tied the coronavirus to the heart condition myocarditis, was found to be too flawed to apply to healthy 18-24 year-olds.
The seasons haven’t been a success yet, but the fearmongers who were desperately pushing for cancellations have been proven wrong so far. Games have been played since September, with fans in attendance for many. Doomsday hasn’t come yet, and with conferences like the Big Ten and PAC-12 preparing to kick-off their seasons, there is nothing to indicate these seasons will collapse any time soon.
