Fans Or No Fans, Don’t Drop The Ball!
August 12th, 2020
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
The Bucs will be there. The Panthers will be there. The FOX football crew will be there.
What about you?
When Tampa Bay kicks off its home schedule Sept. 20, a limited number of fans may be allowed to enter Raymond James Stadium — or there could be no paying customers at all.
We still haven’t heard full details of the franchise’s policy regarding home attendance, but other precincts have been reporting in. Washington just announced a total ban on fans at home games, joining the Raiders, Giants and Jets in prohibition.
Green Bay won’t allow any supporters at Lambeau, at least through the first two home dates.
Yes, this is a Bucs home game, just a lot of Giants blue.
Other NFL cities are more flexible at this point. The Falcons, Texans and Jaguars appear willing to welcome at least some fans into their home stadiums.
The Dolphins are also leaning toward a reduced capacity policy, but no final determination has been made.
“If we can have fans at our games in a safe way, I’m all for it,” says Miami coach Brian Flores. “If the people that make those decisions don’t think that’s the right thing to do, then we’ll play without fans.”
The Bucs have yet to make their stance known publicly, but I’m confident they will join their fellow Sunshine State partners and allow fans in at a reduced capacity — if they can.
If governors ran the show, you’d have to think the Bucs and Dolphins would have already declared themselves open for business. The Jaguars already have. Ron DeSantis has been steadfast about the need to open schools and resume competitive sports amid this pandemic.
Should the Bucs be given the go-ahead to open up Raymond James Stadium in a reduced capacity, it’s hard to imagine the Glazers taking a hard stance to lock fans out. But the ultimate decision makers are health experts and local government leaders.
Will fans get to see Shaq Barrett drink Teddy Bridgewater’s Gatorade?
In this case, the Tampa Sports Authority wields significant power.
Rich Irony
The very idea of the 2020 Bucs playing to an empty stadium along Dale Mabry Highway is repulsive to a fan base that still can’t believe Tom Brady will be throwing to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin this fall.
Members of Buc Nation would surely agree to any waiver that gives up all rights to sue the franchise about contracting the coronavirus. The overwhelming response would be: where do I sign?
The irony of this situation is Tampa Bay’s dismal home record … without any fan restrictions.
The Bucs haven’t posted a winning record at home since 2008, Jon Gruden’s final season patrolling the sidelines. Raheem Morris, Greg Schiano, Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter failed to establish a home stadium advantage and the Bucs were 2-5 at RayJay in their first season under Bruce Arians.
Whether there are 20,000 fans in attendance or 65,000 empty seats, there are no excuses for this franchise dropping the ball in the home opener. Carolina is in full rebuilding mode while the Bucs are expected by many to end a 12-year playoff drought.
You can’t mask the fact that the Bucs will be prohibitive favorites on the afternoon of Sept. 20. Concession booths may be shut down, but Brady will be open for business.
The Buc playbook should be operating at full capacity — even if fans are sitting two seats apart.
Bill Currie Ford
813-872-5555
5815 N. Dale Mabry Hwy.
Tampa, FL 33614
BillCurrieFord.com
Ira Kaufman’s column is presented by Bill Currie Ford. Click on Ira to visit BillCurrieFord.com.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:20 pm
But I’m scared.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:33 pm
Joe
Respect your sports coverage but not your legal chops. If you think a signed piece of paper at the gate is going to preclude any lawsuits if someone attends and dies from Covid you need to enroll in Law school.
Think of the considerations…money…open er up and cash in.
Liability…close er down and take no risk
PR…that’s a mixed bag..probably a bit better right now for the let us watch crowd…but if a person gets ill at a game the PR could head South in a New York minute.
Health…bwahhaaahhaa…since when did health mean anything. It’s all a Dem hoax anyway…it will magically go away…drink some bleach…ram a UV lamp up your butt…this is where a significant amount of our health care advice is coming from. I’m not even going to pretend that HEALTH actually has anything to do with the decision.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:36 pm
Go ahead and make fun moron. Until you have been around it in the hospital or it has affected someone you know.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:38 pm
[Sorry, not going to let this fly because it is grossly inaccurate and a troll job. The NFL has well-publicized protocols in place that were agreed upon by the members of the NFLPA. If you do not believe Joe, simply go to the NFLPA’s site. Google is your friend. And if you do not believe teams want fans in the stadium …. — Joe]
August 12th, 2020 at 2:59 pm
joe – i always see that picture you use when talking about RayJay (the one above with the giants fans from what i think was last year?). Please find another picture, reminders of that game put me into a deep depression and i dont need any reminders of it. please and thank you haha
August 12th, 2020 at 3:02 pm
Literally know of 20 people personally that have had it, all of them including 4 that are over 60 have made a full recovery. At the start of all of this I was concerned, now I just can’t believe that this is as scary as the media and a few uninformed commenters want it to be.
August 12th, 2020 at 3:03 pm
This is my personal experience with all of this, you telling me about your experience will not change the reality that I live in so please save it.
August 12th, 2020 at 3:42 pm
Mike…read Cannons comments on other threads. Based upon his experience, sounds like your friends have been very lucky. Others have commented on friends they have lost. So maybe you should save it. Or share your experience and respect others when they share theirs.
August 12th, 2020 at 3:50 pm
Mike – “you telling me about your experience will not change the reality that I live in so please save it.’
Right back at ya, sir.
August 12th, 2020 at 4:15 pm
So save it when I go about my life.
August 12th, 2020 at 4:21 pm
Joe honestly does not personally know anyone who has/had the virus. Joe heard of one guy who works for someone Joe knows came down with it, but Joe has never met the guy.
Then again, Joe lives a sheltered life. Have TV and a computer, will live comfortably indoors. 🙂
Addendum: Joe does know Cam Brate and his fiance. Both had it. But it’s not like Joe ever breaks bread with them. Do know them professionally.
August 12th, 2020 at 4:32 pm
The irony of a low T ad in Mike’s last post. 😅
August 12th, 2020 at 4:39 pm
The easiest way to control a population is through fear.
I don’t personally know anyone who’s had it either.
My next door neighbor apparantly got it and has has issues from it but she’s also in her mid 70s which explains alot but if someone didn’t tell me that she had it then I would’ve never know because she looks normal and healthy.
Once again………people need to use their own best judgement and not from the “so called experts”.
August 12th, 2020 at 4:48 pm
So it sounds like the Bucs are gonna let fans in. That’s some great news. Sports is bad without fans.
But the best news we seeing with sports is there’s no way they shut down NFL at this point……..Just look at the Marlins. They had a mini outbreak which cause a freakout saying baseball will shut down. Well, turns out they missed just a few game and were all fine playing again in less then a week. The Phillies and the Marlins were the 2 teams playing at the time and nothing happened to the Phillies. I dont even think one player got it(could be wrong) but they didnt miss no games aside from the Marlins games……The freakout was definitely worse then the result.
Morale is NGL season gonna happen for sure!!
GO BUCS!!!!
August 12th, 2020 at 5:05 pm
There wont be any fans in the stands (during the regular season) in the NFL. For Any Team. Period.
August 12th, 2020 at 5:10 pm
Not a single person in this comment thread knows exactly what the short term and long term affects of Covid are. This idiotic, uninformed banter needs to stop. You misinformed fools have not spent one second personally researching this virus (except for typing in the google box or listening to a talking head). To have so much faith that this is “just a Flu” is the stupidest mindset in the world.
August 12th, 2020 at 5:12 pm
Alot of the people are my extended family in Texas, 10 of them had it to various degrees of sickness. A few at my work, and two of my neighbors. All of which are fine now.
August 12th, 2020 at 6:02 pm
Mike, I hope none of then are “long haulers”. Those who recover but have lasting cardiac or lung problems. Check back with them in 6 months.
August 12th, 2020 at 6:03 pm
Sweden !!! That should settle it for the yards who live in fear .
August 12th, 2020 at 6:56 pm
I have had it and I do have some breathing problems. I haven’t smoked a cigarette in 7 years but I did smoke for 20.
I have shortness of breath now that I didn’t have. Granted I am not an athlete anymore and as I get older I delegate the more strenuous jobs to my labor where as I used to constantly keep a tool belt on all the time but regardless I know it is effects from the Virus. I am just glad my family and I have already had it so that it is So much less likely to get it again. Well at least ‘they’ say so.
August 12th, 2020 at 6:57 pm
All of you deniers are not paying attention to the numbers. It’s not getting better. It’s still climbing. But go about your lives.
August 12th, 2020 at 7:00 pm
New today – it’s up on BSPN for anyone that wants to read the story: The NFL’s positive test rate across all personnel stands at 0.46%.
Additionally the NFL added that they’re not aware of a single serious illness for any league employee.
August 12th, 2020 at 8:36 pm
At where I’ve been working the last 5 months about 20 of us got the virus in July here in Miami. only 1 had symptoms, he is 60 and was sick for a week and lost about 20 pounds that week, myself and the other 18 were symptom free. The 60 year old was out of work 2 weeks but hes back now and doing fine. So yes it’s a big deal for a very small number of people and this is tragic, but so is pneumonia and so is the regular flu etc…we never shutdown anything over these things though. Miami has been very hard hit recently and everyone I see is wearing a mask outside of home everywhere and those who are knowingly high risk are staying home, this is all we can do until a vaccine is available (if that happens). Shutting everything down is more detrimental to a larger number of us than the inevitability of some succumbing to this terrible virus. That being said if your not in the high risk demographic and you want to attend a football game, there’s nothing to fear but fear itself, as in your about as likely to get killed by a drunk driver. And to the guy above who said no fan will be at any nfl game this season, period…I hope you don’t have a panic attack when your wrong.
August 12th, 2020 at 8:41 pm
Just sayin’….fans in the stands and playing a season of football are two separate things.
There’s plenty of $$$ to do frequent testing of ALL NFL personnel…ALL OF THEM MULTIPLE TIMES.
So say for example these newest quick result tests…some in a matter of minutes have had accuracy issues. But if they’re even 80% effective they simply give a guy two tests and they’re dang near foolproof. I’ll let someone else do the math.
Point is you can keep the players and coaches in relative cocoon. Fans are totally different. There will be infected people in the stands. Hopefully outdoors and with distancing they will not blow viral loads large enough to infect others. HOPEFULLY!
August 12th, 2020 at 9:37 pm
Sage, sir you shouldn’t suggest that we take the Panthers lightly! They have talent on both sides of the ball, after drafting ALL defensive players in this recent draft. We are the Bucs; we take no one for granted!!
August 13th, 2020 at 8:33 am
On the plus side, if there would be any streakers , they would be a lot less likely to tackle them or restrain them which would some added entertainment….lol
August 13th, 2020 at 12:41 pm
Reality under the popular .004 percent death rate if you gave everyone in the entire country Covid over the next few months 1 in 250 would die from it. 1 in 114 of us will have our lives ended in car wrecks. More than twice as many. Just a tad under .008 will have their lives end by falling. Under these statistics we must ban driving and walking.
Now that the can check how many people actually had Covid by antibody test they are finding that 50 times as many people may have had Covid than originally
thought. So it’s possible that only 1 in 12,500 actually die from this disease. Making driving 109 times as dangerous.
This actually makes the death rate lower than a virgin case of the normal flu. Now you will point out if it is less dangerous than the flu why are more people dying. The answer is two fold. 70% of the people will not get the flu because they had a flu shot or they have partial immunity from having had a close strain.
This is not to downplay someone dying from this it’s just to put some perspective. The poverty and destitution that will follow for the next decade’s depression from shutting down the economy will most likely kill 3 times the people that Covid will.
August 13th, 2020 at 12:44 pm
@Evolving the year of the streaker LOL.