ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit would be ‘shocked’ if college football happens this fall

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I am no Michael Osterholm, although we are both Luther College alum. I have however been teaching an Introduction to Epidemiology course since 1994. That does not make me an expert, but I have been reading about diseases since my department chair assigned my that course in '94. Another chair subsequently assigned me to teach a History of Public Health class which compliments the other course. Anyway, I think that its probably too early to predict if there will be a football season. The Gophers did play in 1918, the season did not start until early October though, (not sure if that was normal or not at the time). Some have noted the Spanish Flu had 3 waves. The middle wave, the fall of 2018, was the most deadly, "most people died in a 13 week period between mid-Sept and mid December" (Spinney, 2017). So assuming that the following link is correct, they played at that time. The attendances are notably smaller. Hard to say what will happen.
Spinney, L. (2017). Pale Rider: the Spanish Flu of 1918 and how it changed the world. Hatchett Book Group, New York.

1918 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 

I’m glad I checked out GH today. From the very moment I heard about COVID-19 I have been wondering what Kirk Herbstreit thinks. He is my go to on serious issues like this.
 

My hunch is this will be at least a five/sixth month ordeal with the coronavirus at a minimum. We are looking at June time frame.

One thing to consider with football in particular - there is a huge logistic of moving people and equipment with lots of social contact. Do you periodically test each player, coach, university crew members, the travelling media staff, etc... All it takes is one infected individual to spread the coronavirus.

The NCAA, conference commissioners, and athletic directors have some tough decisions on or before the month of June. Some schools that are already on the brink of not being able to afford carrying a football program may end up temporarily suspending or dropping their programs altogether.

Maybe the universities can play virtual football games. Let the coaches play the scheduled non-conference and conference games in virtual reality. The coaches will use actual player stats and tendencies. It will be interesting to see how the Gophers RPO would look like in virtual reality with the coaches designing and executing the plays. The same goes for the defensive side. Heck, we can have more teams in the playoff! Let's have a 2021 Virtual Reality National Football Championship. PJ Fleck, are you listening? :unsure:

Hang in there Gopher fan! Stay positive. We are in uncharted territory.

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OFF TOPIC - FOR THOSE WHO CARE TO READ:
If the history of the Spanish Flu and the way cities/communities implemented social distancing to "flatten the curve" is examined, the decisions made by leaders determined what the curve looked like and the number of fatalities.

Minneapolis introduced social distancing and other measures early and for longer duration. Consequently, Minneapolis had one of the lowest death rates.

www.nationalgeographic.com

How they flattened the curve during the 1918 Spanish Flu

Social distancing isn’t a new idea—it saved thousands of American lives during the last great pandemic. Here's how it worked.
www.nationalgeographic.com www.nationalgeographic.com

The American Epidemic of 1918-1919: Minneapolis, MN
Influenza Encylopedia - A digital Encylopedia
Produced by the University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine and Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library

Minneapolis, Minnesota and the 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic | The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918: A Digital Encyclopedia

www.influenzaarchive.org
 
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MplsGopher said:
That's why you test every player and every staff member, daily if need be.

The testing will be done in a matter of minutes.
Click to expand...
Daily testing would be great, but I’ll bet that testing 2 or 3 times a week would get schools and the NCAA over the hump.
 


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