Thoughts on fan-less games

MidtownJacket

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After watching the Bundesliga games with the piped in noise, I don't think it was all that bad. Selfishly, I would much prefer to see them played without fans than not played at all. However, the order of operations for that decision should start with the health and safety of the players, coaching/training staff and support groups that make games possible. It would be self-indulgent of me to expect them to just be there for my entertainment, beyond a threshold of reasonable health protections.

Yes, I am aware injuries happen in football, yes I am aware we don't live in bubbles, but we also make decisions all the time to mitigate bad outcomes. We wear seat belts while driving cars, we lock door and arm alarms at night while we sleep, we take vaccinations, wear sunscreen and the list goes on.

I just think we need a better policy in place for games to be played than hoping the sun and heat take care of it. These next few weeks will be instructive as people here in the states have relaxed, in dramatic fashion, their social behaviors. We are seeing packed bars and beaches in Houston and across the South. If indeed we are fortunate and the virus goes down on it's own then thank our lucky stars and let's see the boys play this game we all love so much.
 

TaxJacket

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orientalnc said:
GT is scheduled to play Gardner Webb on Sept 12. I am not sure the exact amount, but we are supposed to pay them somewhere between $500K and $1M just for showing up. I doubt we will be happy doing that with no fans in the stands.
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This is an argument for playing OOC games too. These small schools will most likely have to fold all sports without these payments
 
LibertyTurns

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WreckinGT said:
If our country takes the attitude that we are bored with Coronavirus, time to basically ignore it then yes, schools like Alabama will pack their stadiums. The negative USA vibe here is related to our inherent selfishness. Its pretty obvious that this is becoming too much of an inconvenience to some therefore they are ok with whatever happens if we ignore it. Thats the real reason that our numbers are so bad. It has little to do with the actions of any governor or president. We simply were never capable of handling this seriously, nor are we capable of handling any kind of pandemic seriously.
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We had a threat, we ignored it. We took action, got enraged, then muted our response. Then the threat increased to a point it was obvious to most. We got enraged our response was too little, too late. We asked for ridiculous things, realized what was being asked for was ridiculous, then got enraged again. The people that were right were attacked by those not right, so those that were originally right attacked back & we got enraged again. Those that were right, were right yet again have offered good options but those that have been wrong all along got enraged again & are doubling down on their wrongness. People often get fooled once, they regularly get fooled twice. Around the third time they’ve been fooled they start questioning the fools. Round 4 results in visible rebellion. We’re nearing Round 5. It won’t be long until this foolishness ends, but make no mistake the fools will not go away. They will spew foolishness to the few die hard followers for the rest of eternity. Nobody else will be listening. Only a few that care will even remember what actually happened when toe meets leather.
 
Jmonty71

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orientalnc said:
GT is scheduled to play Gardner Webb on Sept 12. I am not sure the exact amount, but we are supposed to pay them somewhere between $500K and $1M just for showing up. I doubt we will be happy doing that with no fans in the stands.
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Which begs the question. If schools are looking at losing money, by playing with no fans, would they want to play at all? I know, I wouldn't.
 

RamblinRed

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I think the schools/conferences would play the games without fans if necessary becuase they cannot handle not getting the TV money. I don't expect there to be full crowds regardless. Whether there are any fans allowed will likely be determined by what happens in July/Aug as some of the models have the numbers bottoming out in mid-June and then rising through July and into August. Not predicted to go to the level we were at in April but a level 15-20% higher than where we are right now.

FWIW, there has been a shift in American's attitudes toward sports. in general a much higher percentage than 6 weeks ago want sports to return earlier even if that means no fans in the stands
https://morningconsult.com/2020/05/26/sports-poll-fan-less-games/

Keep in mind, even if fans are allowed relatively few are likely to show up based on recent surveys. One survey from this week had 27% of Republicans and 18% of all adults saying 'continuing to socialize in public spaces'. Which is up from a few weeks ago, but still only about 1 in 5 US adults being willing to socialize in public spaces is not a big number.
And in terms of leisure activities, no leisure activity got more than 25% of US Adults to say they are comfortable going out and doing it - with 23% saying they are comfortable going out to eat as the highest (with men 28%, millenials 28% and Republicans 34% being the highest cohorts, women/baby boomers/Democrats had the lowest percentages - all under 20%). Go on a vacation and going to a shopping mall were the only other leisure activities with over 20% saying they were comfortable doing that..

Interestingly, almost 75% of US adults said it should be mandatory for people to be tested before returning to work or school. Democrats tend to be about 10% higher than the average on that question and Republicans 10% lower. Independents pretty much right in the middle
 
TooTall

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Just have the games and let people choose for themselves whether or not they want to attend....you know like every other season. There is no one with a gun pointed at your head to force you to got to a game.
We make life altering decisions everyday. Weaving in and out of traffic or speeding to get to our destination 5 minutes quicker. Eating a greasy cheeseburger for dinner and enjoying a cool adult beverage with it.
You would have to be living under a rock to not know whats going on in the world for the last several months. So if you understand the risks and you still want to come to the games, by all means I'll see you there. If you decide it's not worth the risk, then stay home and enjoy it in your living room from your recliner.
I'll see those that attend in 97days! And those that wish to stay home, hopefully I'll see yall in 2021!
 
orientalnc

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RamblinRed said:
I think the schools/conferences would play the games without fans if necessary becuase they cannot handle not getting the TV money. I don't expect there to be full crowds regardless. Whether there are any fans allowed will likely be determined by what happens in July/Aug as some of the models have the numbers bottoming out in mid-June and then rising through July and into August. Not predicted to go to the level we were at in April but a level 15-20% higher than where we are right now.

FWIW, there has been a shift in American's attitudes toward sports. in general a much higher percentage than 6 weeks ago want sports to return earlier even if that means no fans in the stands
https://morningconsult.com/2020/05/26/sports-poll-fan-less-games/

Keep in mind, even if fans are allowed relatively few are likely to show up based on recent surveys. One survey from this week had 27% of Republicans and 18% of all adults saying 'continuing to socialize in public spaces'. Which is up from a few weeks ago, but still only about 1 in 5 US adults being willing to socialize in public spaces is not a big number.
And in terms of leisure activities, no leisure activity got more than 25% of US Adults to say they are comfortable going out and doing it - with 23% saying they are comfortable going out to eat as the highest (with men 28%, millenials 28% and Republicans 34% being the highest cohorts, women/baby boomers/Democrats had the lowest percentages - all under 20%). Go on a vacation and going to a shopping mall were the only other leisure activities with over 20% saying they were comfortable doing that..

Interestingly, almost 75% of US adults said it should be mandatory for people to be tested before returning to work or school. Democrats tend to be about 10% higher than the average on that question and Republicans 10% lower. Independents pretty much right in the middle
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An interesting survey. Thanks. For our festival planning (1st weekend in October - free admission to all Swarm posters) we are concerned that some attendees will ignore whatever rules we require. How are we going to police that? We can imagine a couple of people getting into a very disruptive argument or fight over social distancing. GT already has that at games when someone just finished his 5th or 6th beer before sitting down behind a couple and their kids. I can see that getting into a broader dispute involving others in that section who agree with one side or the other.
 

MWBATL

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Milwaukee

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TooTall said:
Just have the games and let people choose for themselves whether or not they want to attend....you know like every other season. There is no one with a gun pointed at your head to force you to got to a game.
We make life altering decisions everyday. Weaving in and out of traffic or speeding to get to our destination 5 minutes quicker. Eating a greasy cheeseburger for dinner and enjoying a cool adult beverage with it.
You would have to be living under a rock to not know whats going on in the world for the last several months. So if you understand the risks and you still want to come to the games, by all means I'll see you there. If you decide it's not worth the risk, then stay home and enjoy it in your living room from your recliner.
I'll see those that attend in 97days! And those that wish to stay home, hopefully I'll see yall in 2021!
Click to expand...

It’s looking more and more like there will be fans in the stands, but maybe limited capacity. The interesting part will be the booster “thunder dome” that takes place regarding who gets to attend. It maybe wouldn’t get so crazy with us but at places like Bama it’s gonna get crazy.
 
stech81

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Milwaukee said:
It’s looking more and more like there will be fans in the stands, but maybe limited capacity. The interesting part will be the booster “thunder dome” that takes place regarding who gets to attend. It maybe wouldn’t get so crazy with us but at places like Bama it’s gonna get crazy.
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I would think the players parents first , a number ( not sure how many ) students, last season ticket holder with the highest donors next . problem being with the seats like they are you may only be looking at 15,000 each game
 
TooTall

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stech81 said:
I would think the players parents first , a number ( not sure how many ) students, last season ticket holder with the highest donors next . problem being with the seats like they are you may only be looking at 15,000 each game
Click to expand...
What were the number of season tickets sold last year? Where are we at now?
 
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