COVID and the season
 

I'd like to see what your opinions are on what effect this pandemic will have on the upcoming season. I have a hard time seeing 60,000 people jammed into a stadium before we have a vaccine for this bitch. I doubt they play the season. If we don't, how would that change how you-as a football team-manage this year? It will tax front offices and give organizations with a great management team a huge leg up on 2021 as they will have two years to put their stamp on the team. If there is no college football (I would say this is almost a given) then the 2021 draft becomes a huge crap shoot (how would you even decide the order?). Gonna be interesting

Well it depends if the older generations decide to bite the bullet so the younger generations can go back to work and keep the economy rolling. At least according to the governor of Texas and perhaps the president.


I think they will play the games. Might not be in front of a crowd, but I think they will play. Depends how it goes in the next couple months. I’m in Florida right now and it doesn’t seem people are listening all the much. Less people out, but still more than probably should be. I think Florida is going to see a spike. This thing lasts so long out of a host it’s crazy. And although not the deadliest pathogen in the world it’s so contagious. We might have to find a compromise in the next six months.

Eventually this will pass. They will find a vaccine, things will return to normal. They will have to ease the economic burden on small business and make big sacrifices. And there will be a one or two year hit. But people will go back to work, we will buy things again. I just wish this thing was taken more seriously at the beginning and more preparation occurred. Our cases continue to rise dramatically as the rest of the work is starting to plateau.

Most places just need a 3 month shelter in place with good compliance to not overwhelm their hospital system, which shouldn't preclude a football season (it may preclude a baseball season). The link below shows current projections.

https://covidactnow.org/

Thanks Dam, that is a great site. I am currently reading "The Great Influenza" a book about the 1918 flu pandemic. Without fail, every locality that eased up on their shelter saw another spike. Every epidemiologist I've listened to thinks this will come back in the fall. It is early but after the damage we will have already inflicted on our economy I have a hard time seeing us chancing throwing it away because of football. If that happens, the front office that works this correctly will have a huge advantage. I'd put money on Ballard being up there.

Growing more and more pessimistic that we will see much of a season this year. The curves just don't show the US really turning the corner at all yet- despite "most" people being somewhat shut down (no idea why the FED won't step in and put this to a stop- well yes of course I do but that's for another conversation).

The IHME site released by Birx appears to have a great deal of sensitivity in it regarding the actual impact of a lock down- and each day the predicted death count is increasing as we still have states that aren't locked down, and we have states that aren't really adhering to it even after issuance (even here, go by the local Lowes or Menards--- PACKED- how many new cases are being birthed in those locations each day????).

Still too many people that don't know they have it going around giving it to others right now so the curve while likely flattening enough to really help the hospital load, is just going to elongate and thus make it a longer time to get back to "normal".

The anti-body test stands a chance at getting us back to some normalcy until we get a vaccine. Germany is already preparing a "cleared" type of card for those that have proven they've already had it and are good to go (uncertain for how long yet but I bet we'll find out you have a good long term immunity to it after infection clears...). We appear, according to Birx, just about ready to be able to do this simple finger prick and test process. Run that out, and you can easily see teams pushing this through their rosters and clearing guys to play in a very rapid fashion (Birx herself yesterday said she could see an entire hospital testing their entire system in a day). The problem becomes, let's say a LOT of people have already had it, let's say it gets to 50% (as a representative sample that would imply 50% of the US has already had it), that's still only 50% of a roster that would be cleared to participate... that's not going to work.

I could definitely see this type of testing being used to allow the US to get some All-Star type games set up as charity, goodwill, spirit lifters in the very near term- things just to give us something to watch and enjoy, which would be great for the overall spirit, but short of a miracle vaccine popping up in the next 6-8 weeks, I don't see a real NFL season sadly...

If interested in the IHME models:

https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections

Right now, and it's early, but right now IN is actually looking pretty good in terms of being able to withstand the "surge" (grading on a terribly sad gradient of course...)

You won't see a vaccine for 18 months. If they can get this thing under control in the next 2 months, we will see, if they allow personal interaction.

I had to run to Indy to fix a daughters car. I couldn't hug her when we were done. Indy is a hot spot. IU Med (Methodist) and other hospital in the area are all hands on deck. Any doctor who can stand a shift in the ER's and wards is there. No elective ANYTHING. The ER people are exhausted.

All sports will be cancelled until this is over or there is a vaccine or both. Perhaps there will be some sort of "virtual" sports in their place (like Nascar is doing). It's going to suck. Bigly.

What the hell is NASCAR doing?

cousins and sisters

Actually They are I-Racing.