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So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
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GoldenWarrior11 Offline
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Post: #21
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 10:01 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  There were certainly people who died as a result of people congregating to watch football, though we likely will never know how many. There are likely to be student athletes who have permanent cardiovascular or neurological damage due to Covid19 infections who wouldn't have if they had engaged in social distancing, but no way of knowing how many would have actually done so given with the ramshackle US approach to the epidemic that has made it a laughing stock around the world. It is likely there will be proportionally more in the SEC/ACC/B12 due to the tighter protocols followed by the Big Ten and PAC12.

But on the other hand, people who enjoy watching college football would have had less football to watch, which surely is a higher priority than life and health.

We will definitely not know how many people died congregating to watch or football, nor the exact number of long-term side effects of COVID-19. You are right there. However, we do know that, for teen and young adult, suicides are substantially up, that binge drinking and drug use is substantially up and overall mental health is a very serious problem as a result of implemented lockdowns and restrictions.

To say that lockdowns and restrictions are the easy and simple answer and response to COVID simply ignore the drastic negative consequences and effects that they create. COVID absolutely sucks for many, many reasons, but snapping fingers and/or saying how easy it would have been to cancel professional, collegiate, high school or youth sports in order for the greater good is incredibly naive and shortsighted.

Bottom line, all the administrators, coaches and student-athletes that worked hard and were responsible behind the scenes to play this fall and winter are true American heroes. They not only served themselves but they provided opportunities and hope to millions around the country in times of despair. I hope in time that they are recognized and celebrated as such, and not criticized or ridiculed for being brave and attempting to take a step forward living with COVID.
01-09-2021 11:40 AM
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schmolik Offline
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Post: #22
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
Here's a New York Times article asking "was it worth it"?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/magaz...demic.html

I would say a lot of FBS schools probably would have wished they didn't play the season. I kind of wished Illinois didn't play. I'm sure Lovie Smith wishes they didn't play. I wish Penn State didn't play. James Franklin had to be away from his family for the season. Was it worth it for him? Harbaugh got an extension but lost a ton of money because of this season. Gus Malzahn lost his job. LSU looks a lot worse. Not everyone came out like Ohio State or Alabama or even Coastal Carolina.

I would say had Ohio State not beaten Clemson I would've said the Big Ten football season would've been a waste of time and in reality we go through a whole season, a whole bunch of postponements and cancellations just to see another damn Alabama-Clemson championship game I'd say the whole season would've been a waste of time.

The Pac-12 season was a waste of time. So was the MAC. I forgot who won the conference. San Jose State was kind of a good story out of the MWC and I have family in the Bay Area so maybe that was worth it.
01-09-2021 11:48 AM
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #23
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
I'm very glad we had college football. My elderly father is a huge college football fan and watching all the games helped him stay happier and healthier than otherwise during his isolation due to the pandemic. Lots of positives came from having a season.

However, I will be respectful of those programs and leagues that cancelled or delayed.
(This post was last modified: 01-09-2021 12:01 PM by bill dazzle.)
01-09-2021 12:01 PM
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Go College Sports Offline
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Post: #24
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
Sure, almost all of them held up.
01-09-2021 12:20 PM
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Chappy Offline
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Post: #25
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 09:52 AM)MinerInWisconsin Wrote:  
(01-09-2021 08:58 AM)Chappy Wrote:  
(01-08-2021 09:38 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(01-08-2021 09:20 PM)EigenEagle Wrote:  Retrospectively it seems all the arguments given for cancelling football season were all just hot air and not based in reality. Am I wrong, here?

Nope. The SEC/ACC/B12 and Nebraska were right, the B1G/PAC and FCS wrong.

07-coffee3

I’m not sure I’d say FCS was wrong. Leagues without TV revenue rely on the gate revenue and their FBS games, and with little to no fans allowed and most of the buy games cancelled they would have lost a lot of money trying to play a season.
But the plans to play spring football make no financial sense either. No fbs games for them and still no or very few fans.

Right, they were hoping fans would be allowed by spring. I doubt they will go through with games.
01-09-2021 12:26 PM
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EigenEagle Online
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Post: #26
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 12:20 PM)Go College Sports Wrote:  Sure, almost all of them held up.

Give examples. Where's all the cases of debilitating myocarditis we were supposedly going to have?
01-09-2021 01:05 PM
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Hokie Mark Offline
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Post: #27
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
Extremists on one end wanted to cancel everything and lock down the country.

Extremists on the other end wanted to pretend the pandemic wasn't real and go about their business without masks or, basically, any precautions whatsoever.

As usual, the moderate approach (don't shut down, but do take precautions) ended up being the best approach.
01-09-2021 01:11 PM
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cubucks Offline
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Post: #28
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 01:11 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  Extremists on one end wanted to cancel everything and lock down the country.

Extremists on the other end wanted to pretend the pandemic wasn't real and go about their business without masks or, basically, any precautions whatsoever.

As usual, the moderate approach (don't shut down, but do take precautions) ended up being the best approach.
I like this, well said, Mark!
01-09-2021 01:19 PM
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CliftonAve Offline
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Post: #29
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
Waiting for a DavidSt sighting in this thread. He was the most vocal person on this board about shutting it down for the year, spreading the fears of myocarditis.
01-09-2021 02:30 PM
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Go College Sports Offline
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Post: #30
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 01:05 PM)EigenEagle Wrote:  
(01-09-2021 12:20 PM)Go College Sports Wrote:  Sure, almost all of them held up.

Give examples. Where's all the cases of debilitating myocarditis we were supposedly going to have?

As a start, the argument that protocols, such as they existed, were nowhere near sufficient to prevent widespread transmission of Covid within programs.
01-09-2021 04:08 PM
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EigenEagle Online
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Post: #31
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 04:08 PM)Go College Sports Wrote:  
(01-09-2021 01:05 PM)EigenEagle Wrote:  
(01-09-2021 12:20 PM)Go College Sports Wrote:  Sure, almost all of them held up.

Give examples. Where's all the cases of debilitating myocarditis we were supposedly going to have?

As a start, the argument that protocols, such as they existed, were nowhere near sufficient to prevent widespread transmission of Covid within programs.

That's not really an argument for cancellation.
01-09-2021 05:58 PM
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Go College Sports Offline
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Post: #32
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
I'm quite sure that it was.
01-09-2021 07:21 PM
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DavidSt Offline
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Post: #33
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-08-2021 09:20 PM)EigenEagle Wrote:  Retrospectively it seems all the arguments given for cancelling football season were all just hot air and not based in reality. Am I wrong, here?

Yes, too many canceled games, Ohio State should not be in the championship game, too many Bowl Games canceled, losers in bowl games and winning teams opt out of the bowls. This was not the year to play any sports.
01-09-2021 07:41 PM
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AZcats Offline
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Post: #34
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 07:41 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  
(01-08-2021 09:20 PM)EigenEagle Wrote:  Retrospectively it seems all the arguments given for cancelling football season were all just hot air and not based in reality. Am I wrong, here?

Yes, too many canceled games, Ohio State should not be in the championship game, too many Bowl Games canceled, losers in bowl games and winning teams opt out of the bowls. This was not the year to play any sports.

So, what happened with this prediction after the season-opening Austin Peay-central arkansas game?
(08-31-2020 12:29 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  I am waiting in two weeks that both teams will be quarantine for positive tests of the virus. This game will be a super spreader.
01-09-2021 09:38 PM
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orangefan Offline
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Post: #35
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
Excuse me if these points have already been covered, but here is my take.

1) I argued going into the season that the risk to players from participating was no greater than remaining in the general population. Indeed, it may even be lower since they would be tested regularly and would have a strong incentive to behave responsibly so that they could continue playing. Whether this turned out to be accurate requires additional study, but I have seen no evidence otherwise. Further, I have seen no evidence that participating in games was a source of transmission.
2) Starting the season on time appears to have been a much better strategy than delaying the start. The earlier start allowed windows for make up games due to postponements and allowed most schools starting by the end of September to complete the vast majority of their schedules. Further, most postponements appear to have been the result of quarantine requirements, not widespread outbreaks.
3) Cancellation or postponement of the entire season by lower division conferences did make sense. The cost of complying with Covid protocols was high, and the lack of TV and bowl revenue to support this expense and other avoidable operating expenses justified these decisions.
(This post was last modified: 01-10-2021 11:21 AM by orangefan.)
01-10-2021 11:20 AM
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Sicembear11 Offline
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Post: #36
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-10-2021 11:20 AM)orangefan Wrote:  Excuse me if these points have already been covered, but here is my take.

1) I argued going into the season that the risk to players from participating was no greater than remaining in the general population. Indeed, it may even be lower since they would be tested regularly and would have a strong incentive to behave responsibly so that they could continue playing. Whether this turned out to be accurate requires additional study, but I have seen no evidence otherwise. Further, I have seen no evidence that participating in games was a source of transmission.
2) Starting the season on time appears to have been a much better strategy than delaying the start. The earlier start allowed windows for make up games due to postponements and allowed most schools starting by the end of September to complete the vast majority of their schedules. Further, most postponements appear to have been the result of quarantine requirements, not widespread outbreaks.
3) Cancellation or postponement of the entire season by lower division conferences did make sense. The cost of complying with Covid protocols was high, and the lack of TV and bowl revenue to support this expense and other avoidable operating expenses justified these decisions.

I would challenge that there weren’t widespread outbreaks as many teams had situations with multiple players getting sick. I think Baylor had 30 positives at one time at some point during the season. My main concern wasn’t that people might get sick, it’s a pandemic it will happen, but rather how sick someone gets. College age individuals have a very high survival and recovery rate without hospitalization. Overall, the players seemed to handle it very well and the horror stories that some expected could occur never arose.
01-10-2021 01:59 PM
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CliftonAve Offline
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Post: #37
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-10-2021 11:20 AM)orangefan Wrote:  Excuse me if these points have already been covered, but here is my take.

1) I argued going into the season that the risk to players from participating was no greater than remaining in the general population. Indeed, it may even be lower since they would be tested regularly and would have a strong incentive to behave responsibly so that they could continue playing. Whether this turned out to be accurate requires additional study, but I have seen no evidence otherwise. Further, I have seen no evidence that participating in games was a source of transmission.
2) Starting the season on time appears to have been a much better strategy than delaying the start. The earlier start allowed windows for make up games due to postponements and allowed most schools starting by the end of September to complete the vast majority of their schedules. Further, most postponements appear to have been the result of quarantine requirements, not widespread outbreaks.
3) Cancellation or postponement of the entire season by lower division conferences did make sense. The cost of complying with Covid protocols was high, and the lack of TV and bowl revenue to support this expense and other avoidable operating expenses justified these decisions.

In hindsight I think they should have started the season early. The spread got much worse in late October and November than it was in July and August.
01-10-2021 02:29 PM
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quo vadis Offline
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Post: #38
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 11:48 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Here's a New York Times article asking "was it worth it"?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/magaz...demic.html

I would say a lot of FBS schools probably would have wished they didn't play the season. I kind of wished Illinois didn't play. I'm sure Lovie Smith wishes they didn't play. I wish Penn State didn't play. James Franklin had to be away from his family for the season. Was it worth it for him? Harbaugh got an extension but lost a ton of money because of this season. Gus Malzahn lost his job. LSU looks a lot worse. Not everyone came out like Ohio State or Alabama or even Coastal Carolina.

I would say had Ohio State not beaten Clemson I would've said the Big Ten football season would've been a waste of time and in reality we go through a whole season, a whole bunch of postponements and cancellations just to see another damn Alabama-Clemson championship game I'd say the whole season would've been a waste of time.

The Pac-12 season was a waste of time. So was the MAC. I forgot who won the conference. San Jose State was kind of a good story out of the MWC and I have family in the Bay Area so maybe that was worth it.

You seem to base "worth it" on how well a team or conference performed. That's strange to me, because using that standard every season is not worth it to a ton of teams and conferences, the ones that had losing seasons. Not every team and conference can have a winning year. Every game, there is a winner and a loser.

To me, the season absolutely was worth it, because thousands of players got to play football, and thousands of fans like us got to watch and enjoy.
01-10-2021 02:33 PM
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Fort Bend Owl Online
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Post: #39
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-09-2021 11:48 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Here's a New York Times article asking "was it worth it"?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/magaz...demic.html

I would say a lot of FBS schools probably would have wished they didn't play the season. I kind of wished Illinois didn't play. I'm sure Lovie Smith wishes they didn't play. I wish Penn State didn't play. James Franklin had to be away from his family for the season. Was it worth it for him? Harbaugh got an extension but lost a ton of money because of this season. Gus Malzahn lost his job. LSU looks a lot worse. Not everyone came out like Ohio State or Alabama or even Coastal Carolina.

I would say had Ohio State not beaten Clemson I would've said the Big Ten football season would've been a waste of time and in reality we go through a whole season, a whole bunch of postponements and cancellations just to see another damn Alabama-Clemson championship game I'd say the whole season would've been a waste of time.

The Pac-12 season was a waste of time. So was the MAC. I forgot who won the conference. San Jose State was kind of a good story out of the MWC and I have family in the Bay Area so maybe that was worth it.

Michigan just saved $4 million a year by re-inking Harbaugh to a new contract. His new base is roughly 4 million a year, but it was 8 million. He could still get up to close to that amount if he wins a national championship but that seems to be a major, major if at this point.

One lasting impact from the 2020 season might be lower coaching salaries across the board. Although after typing this, I'm sure someone can bring up some outrageous salary a newly named coach is getting.
01-10-2021 04:09 PM
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IWokeUpLikeThis Offline
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Post: #40
RE: So, did any of the arguments for cancelling football season hold any water?
(01-10-2021 02:33 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(01-09-2021 11:48 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Here's a New York Times article asking "was it worth it"?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/magaz...demic.html

I would say a lot of FBS schools probably would have wished they didn't play the season. I kind of wished Illinois didn't play. I'm sure Lovie Smith wishes they didn't play. I wish Penn State didn't play. James Franklin had to be away from his family for the season. Was it worth it for him? Harbaugh got an extension but lost a ton of money because of this season. Gus Malzahn lost his job. LSU looks a lot worse. Not everyone came out like Ohio State or Alabama or even Coastal Carolina.

I would say had Ohio State not beaten Clemson I would've said the Big Ten football season would've been a waste of time and in reality we go through a whole season, a whole bunch of postponements and cancellations just to see another damn Alabama-Clemson championship game I'd say the whole season would've been a waste of time.

The Pac-12 season was a waste of time. So was the MAC. I forgot who won the conference. San Jose State was kind of a good story out of the MWC and I have family in the Bay Area so maybe that was worth it.

You seem to base "worth it" on how well a team or conference performed. That's strange to me, because using that standard every season is not worth it to a ton of teams and conferences, the ones that had losing seasons. Not every team and conference can have a winning year. Every game, there is a winner and a loser.

To me, the season absolutely was worth it, because thousands of players got to play football, and thousands of fans like us got to watch and enjoy.

Right. A league’s strength this season doesn’t even register as a factor of whether this season was worth it.
01-10-2021 04:17 PM
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