Will COVID-19 be the needle that finally bursts the sports bubble?

Alma, if you were an NFL player and another player tested positive after a game, would you play the next one? All it takes is a few objectors, and there's a union grievance (they can't possibly restart without a union signoff on terms, etc.) headed to arbitration while many other players stay the fuck home. The concerns the NFL has are about business, not panic.

 

Indeed it will be.
How useful is a fucking 'real estate developer' to us right about now? Or fat cats like Bloomberg and Jamie Dimon?
You are seeing the true value to society of many of these titans of industry.

 

I don’t doubt all those things could happen.

That’s why I said a vaccine is so important for perception. The vaccine may or may not actually work to 100% certainty. But it might be the safety blanket that we all need to you feel comfortable to play sports again.

 

True. Flu shots are not perfect, but they are effective. Effective enough to hold down influenza as a pandemic, although it remains a serious illness. A coronavirus vaccine should be held to the same standard. The danger is it will be presented as a miracle cure to the public, then when it's effective but not a miracle, disillusion results.

 

Haircut.

And they're getting a $20 tip.

 

Full date day will Mrs. Spartan. Heading up to a burger place she really likes that has a good cupcakes place near by where will get a half dozen. See a movie and go out for a nice dinner.

 

Playing the games on TV with no fans is viable.

 

We're going to have to compromise, because I don't see arenas/stadiums full of fans anytime in the near future. People like LeBron may say he doesn't want to play in empty arenas, but at some point, he's a very well paid entertainer and society will be dying for entertainment.

A friend and I have been talking about this. The optics of professional sports teams everywhere getting free reign on COVID testing to make sure teams can play while everyday people with symptoms can't get tested, that's terrible optics. Until the testing becomes widespread and commonplace, I don't see a world where sports comes back.

 

The problem is you still have a ton of people involved and they are all in close contact with each other and then go back out into their communities after the games are over. This isn't a simple thing. They'll have to be pretty sure it isn't spreading rapidly or it is some way controlled plus having a good plan in place in case there are breakouts within teams.

I think large gatherings with fans are a year to year and a half a way unless this totally dies out. Leagues are going to have to tread very lightly holding games without fans at the very least.

 

FWIW, LeBron was asked about those comments a few days later and basically said "I thought you guys were messing with me. Didn't realize that was a serious thing." He said he'd do whatever the league wanted, but hated the idea of empty arenas.

 

Cool, thanks for that clarification.