BleedGopher
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per Chip:
Sports leagues are busy brainstorming plans for competition to resume once stay-at-home directives are loosened. Games in empty venues without fans might represent the first step for some.
But that model doesn’t work for college football.
It won’t come close to solving the financial crisis in college sports.
One idea that has gained steam in national media reports calls for football season to be delayed until January or February. This pandemic has proved that our idea of normal is gone, so the sports world will need to be creative to get back on its feet and moving again. For college football, spring ball is better than no ball. But that hypothetical raises many questions.
Case in point: How would the Gophers play home games in January and February? Bring extra hand warmers and your shovel to help clear out from the blizzard in minus-10 degrees windchill.
If this plan materializes, perhaps one possibility would be to move Gophers games to U.S. Bank Stadium — a reverse of the 2010 season in which the Vikings had to borrow the Gophers home stadium in a pinch. Those who risked frostbite attending the Vikings playoff game against Seattle played in below-zero temperature at TCF Bank Stadium in January 2016 likely would vote for other alternatives than dead-of-winter outdoor football. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren could use his Vikings ties to facilitate an agreement.
Other schools in northern climates would face similar logistical hurdles during the harshest months. There are other concerns. A spring season would severely shorten recovery time for players before the 2021 season, assuming a normal start time in the fall. Player safety would be compromised, even if the season is shortened to, say, eight to 10 games.
Further, when would the NFL hold its draft, and would players considered to be early-round picks skip a spring season because of the risks? And would football season coincide with college basketball and March Madness?
“It’s just hard to tell what it’s going to look like,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “There’s a lot of things to talk about.”
Go Gophers!!
Sports leagues are busy brainstorming plans for competition to resume once stay-at-home directives are loosened. Games in empty venues without fans might represent the first step for some.
But that model doesn’t work for college football.
It won’t come close to solving the financial crisis in college sports.
One idea that has gained steam in national media reports calls for football season to be delayed until January or February. This pandemic has proved that our idea of normal is gone, so the sports world will need to be creative to get back on its feet and moving again. For college football, spring ball is better than no ball. But that hypothetical raises many questions.
Case in point: How would the Gophers play home games in January and February? Bring extra hand warmers and your shovel to help clear out from the blizzard in minus-10 degrees windchill.
If this plan materializes, perhaps one possibility would be to move Gophers games to U.S. Bank Stadium — a reverse of the 2010 season in which the Vikings had to borrow the Gophers home stadium in a pinch. Those who risked frostbite attending the Vikings playoff game against Seattle played in below-zero temperature at TCF Bank Stadium in January 2016 likely would vote for other alternatives than dead-of-winter outdoor football. Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren could use his Vikings ties to facilitate an agreement.
Other schools in northern climates would face similar logistical hurdles during the harshest months. There are other concerns. A spring season would severely shorten recovery time for players before the 2021 season, assuming a normal start time in the fall. Player safety would be compromised, even if the season is shortened to, say, eight to 10 games.
Further, when would the NFL hold its draft, and would players considered to be early-round picks skip a spring season because of the risks? And would football season coincide with college basketball and March Madness?
“It’s just hard to tell what it’s going to look like,” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. “There’s a lot of things to talk about.”
Current college football ideas make no sense at all
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!