Meh. Don't be dramatic. If people can coexist at the malls like in NJ then they should be able to coexist in open air stadiums. Any word for NY and NJ governors?
In the interest of fairness, equality and parity it would seem like the NFL needs to create some uniformity in this regard rather than leaving the decision to each team. It certainly does not seem to be beyond the realm of possibility that some teams may be able to exert undue influence on local authorities regarding occupancy and distancing regulations.
I disagree to an extent. If this were the case they wouldn't have allowed the Chargers to play in front of 31,000 fans every week (with about half being opposing fans). Home field advantages exist in different ways. East and West Coast teams have distinct advantages when the opposite travels their way. The Seahawks and Chiefs fans have their stadiums shaking while the Buccaneers and Bengals are at half capacity. The domes present different advantages. I get that COVID presents a different situation. But I don't like the idea of meddling in an advantage that a team might gain or not based on stadium capacity.
The last I heard only 4 teams would not be allowing fans for games. The Jets, Giants, Eagles, and Raiders. Everyone else will have fans. Has this changed?
So the bigger question then is what is home field advantage, I guess. Is it just being in your own surroundings or is having a crowd there at all part of the equation? The NFL really had no choice in allowing the Chargers to play in a small stadium and they were probably not going to get enough fans to fill it anyway. It doesn't really matter if you're putting 25,000 people in a 31,000 seat stadium or 25,000 in one that could fit 100,000. I don't believe that the ability of a team to draw a decent sized crowd is comparable to the league allowing some teams to play in empty buildings while others can partially fill the house and others may be able to put a body in every seat. I don't know what the answer is especially with some teams possibly having enough sway with their government officials to be allowed to operate outside of prudent guidelines that others, in their locations might be forced to adhere to. Is 80,000 okay for football but only 20,000 for a concert in the same building? The question then is who is responsible for the health and safety of attendees? Is it government, the individual team or the NFL itself? Who gets sued? Certainly if there are 32 different standards the NFL cannot forward the fantasy of parity.
Teams playing with fans in the stands will have a big edge no doubt about it. Teams playing in empty stadiums will at best be playing on a neutral field. I don't know on what legal ground the teams choosing to play in empty stadiums are allowed to do so. The country has been and continues to reopen for business. Next week movie theatres are reopening $0.15 tickets on 8/20 I hear. I just don't understand it. Doing things contrary to what the rest of the country is doing to reopen.
You've got it turned around. The rest of the country is doing things contrary to what the rest of the world is doing. And that's why they can't shake it. And why they present a threat to the rest of us here in the Northeast and around the world. I just don't understand it.
Disagree.... the noise and energy in closer quarters is way more than open space at 25% capacity (but given the nature of things, the later may be what's needed)
FC Dallas played with 25% in the stands, who by the way booed the fuck out of the players kneeling for the anthem. I'm sure ATT&T Stadium will have fans
I think you misunderstood. The claim was that if they were interested in parity the NFL would not have allowed a team to play in a place with only 31,000 seats. Capacity doesn't matter if they can't get more than 25,000 to go to the games anyway. Packing them all into a smaller bowl may help the atmosphere but not the bottom line and the NFL had to let them play somewhere.
Texas has been one of THE dumbest states in handling the pandemic so why wouldn't they double down on their idiocy?
