(08-29-2020 02:14 PM)bearcat29 Wrote: (08-29-2020 10:06 AM)Unionman76 Wrote: looks like there are fans at the high school games in cincinnati
so the virus only spreads at the college level
There is a big difference between parents going to watch their high school kid, and joe 6 pack superfan can't go and watch their favorite college team in the stands.
I believe attendance is limited to a few family members for H.S. football.
One of the main advantages touted of having a football program and why a on campus stadium is so critical, is the return of Alumni to campus. Homecoming games tend to bring the most attention, but I know people who when they return home or are in the area for some other purpose who attend games. I know of some OU fans who live outside the state who plan vacation based on attending a football game.
High school football even in a state as crazed with it as Oklahoma or Texas tends to be a community thing. In most Oklahoma high school stadiums they have a seperate visiting section, often with their own concessions, restrooms, etc. Some communities caravan and students ride the buses but even then stadiums have seperate parking and entrances. High school sports already lend themselves to a cilo effect that makes switching to a pod type system relatively easy. Essentially if they cut out stopping for food or breaks at a non-local location they could replicate a bubble effect. For some of the small towns where high school football is the social binding this is already the defacto set up.
The issue much like sending kids to school is the spread, college and pro sports are larger, more diverse, and attract people from all locations. We even have people who attend events at various stadiums just to assert they have been to Yankee stadium, or Wrigley field, or all 32 nfl stadiums, etc. One of the main reasons given and probably a contributing factor to the original plateauing of the US corobovirus was that college/schools not allowing students back after a spring break filled with travel.
So limiting or not allowing attendance is logical when you take into account the cross travel and therefore cross contamination of communities. It is also why you will begin to see outbreaks in multiple states traced back to sturgis over the next two to three weeks.