Sports stadiums have returned with full-capacity crowds, and it turns out that, once again, there is no evidence these crowds are superspreaders.
Anthony Fauci had said, “I don’t think it’s smart” for college football games to have huge crowds, which they did when the season kicked off. He also agreed with MSNBC host Joy Reid, who said COVID would “feast” on the large crowds. CNN similarly warned about large crowds, specifically at games for teams in the SEC because those Southern states have low vaccination rates.
Yet, 18 days after multiple SEC teams started their seasons at home, cases are down across the South. Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, and Kentucky all have SEC teams. All of these states have seen their cases decline over the last 14 days. Those numbers range from Kentucky’s modest 1% decline in cases to Louisiana’s sharp 53% decrease.
There was precedent for this. Before the delta variant, there was no evidence sports crowds were superspreaders. That includes the 2020 incident when Notre Dame’s students stormed the football field after their upset victory over Clemson and Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay, Florida, that saw its cases continue to decline for 14 days after the event.
We already knew outdoor stadiums (as most college football stadiums are) were relatively safe. Currently, it isn’t even clear if stadiums with fixed roofs cause a substantial spread of the disease. Los Angeles County has seen its cases remain steady before declining over the last 10 days after the Los Angeles Rams hosted over 70,000 fans in their season opener. Wayne County, Michigan, home of the Detroit Lions, also saw its cases remain steady after the Lions hosted over 59,000 people 10 days ago.
Perhaps these new data points, which reiterate what we already knew, will convince Fauci and others there’s no point in panicking about sports crowds. Maybe those panicking about our return to normal life can go back to focusing on vaccinating those who lack natural immunity to COVID-19 — you know, something that actually makes a difference, unlike concern-trolling or shaming sports fans.
