With the Big Ten Conference officially postponing their college football season to the spring, Ohio State football fans everywhere have let out a collective sigh. The decision was finally made on August 11th after a days-long game of will they, won't they? Rules had already been set in place to first limit game attendance to 20% of the stadium to then no fans at all after a statewide order prohibiting fans came down last week.
It seems that COVID-19 has taken away pretty much everything we all love. Concert venues remain silent. Baseball and hockey are being played with empty stands. Bars are closing at a time when most of us are first arriving. 2020 is really just kicking us while we were already down.
As an alumnus of THE Ohio State University, knowing that students like my little brother, who is turning 21 this November and would have appreciated being able to celebrate with some football spectating, won't be able to cheer on the team breaks my heart. Honestly, college football was one of the few things holding many of us together at this point. What are we all going to do now on Saturdays this fall? Bake pumpkin pies or go apple picking? (hint hint for all the couples out there).
As cripplingly depressed as I am about the news, I think we all need to have a little perspective. If the season is allowed to continue at the current time, players will most certainly be at risk. Steps have certainly been taken to keep players safe. Back in June, the players and their families were asked to sign a waiver where they agreed to testing, self-quarantining, monitoring for symptoms, and reporting any exposure. They pledged to follow all CDC rules as well including wearing masks and social distancing. If players don't follow these guidelines, they were subject to removal from the program.
In theory, these guidelines should keep the players safe but we all know how easy it is to be exposed. Once the season starts, how are we to ensure that a player from an opposing team doesn't carry the virus and give it to another during the game? Ryan Day stated as much during his recent interview stating, "Our job I think is just to create the safest environment possible for our guys and then, in the end, we present it to them and say do you think it's enough…we're not there right now".
While the players and coaches most certainly want to see the season happen as scheduled, we need to remember all the other members of the team working in the background. This includes referees, medical staff, facility personnel, etc. who would be in contact with these players and could end up becoming exposed to the virus. The health of all these people needs to be considered. When players step out on the field and demolish each other with spectacular tackles, they're risking exposure that can then endanger all those around them.
It isn't just about their health and safety. I think former Ohio State running back Mike Weber said it best in his tweet where he said "I mean I lost two family members to COVID and I don't want no one else to experience that. As much as I love football, I can see why they canceled. People have died and are still dying from this virus. Lives are more important than football."
At the end of the day, the virus is impacting us all. We've all had to take a bite of the shit sandwich and now it's Ohio State football fans turn to choke down their mouthful. I don't like it any more than the next fan but it's the sad reality of the time we're living in. If our government had taken this all seriously from the start, we wouldn't even be in the current position. Take your anger at the decision and channel it into doing what you can personally to stop the spread and help get our lives back to some sense of normalcy.
