You didn’t need to be a world-renowned epidemiologist to see Notre Dame’s debacle coming. How has the pandemic impacted college football in 2020? Click to expand UP NEXT Despite a surge in COVID-19 cases — the seven-day rate on campus alone soared from 18.9 cases to 30.7 cases in one week — Notre […]
You didn’t need to be a world-renowned epidemiologist to see Notre Dame’s debacle coming.
How has the pandemic impacted college football in 2020?
UP NEXT
Despite a surge in COVID-19 cases — the seven-day rate on campus alone soared from 18.9 cases to 30.7 cases in one week — Notre Dame treated its Saturday night showdown against top-ranked Clemson as if it was a run-of-the-mill game against Navy. Most of the 11,000-plus in the stands were students, despite athletic director Jack Swarbrick acknowledging after the fact that keeping them in their seats was never going to happen and Notre Dame making little effort to even try.
“Our philosophy of giving our preference to attend the game to students results in a very different dynamic than all the other places we go, where they allocated them to traditional fans. Those people will sit in their assigned seats without exception. Our students are going to move around more. They just are,” Swarbrick told the South Bend Tribune on Sunday.
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Worse, Swarbrick seemed largely unbothered by the students who rushed the field after the double-overtime victory, turning Notre Dame Stadium into a potential petri dish for the coronavirus. Kids will be kids and all that. Swarbrick even did it when he was a student.
Never mind that the world wasn’t overrun with a highly contagious virus back then.
The Rev. John Jenkins, university president, did give students a stern talking to Sunday night, saying it was “very disappointing” to see Notre Dame’s health protocols be ignored and promising “zero tolerance” for any future violations.
Good message, though it would have been more effective had it been said before the game. And been said by anyone besides Father Super Spreader, who lost his right to scold anyone on responsible behavior during a pandemic with his visit to the Rose Garden where he was suspected to have been infected by the coronavirus, among other attendees.
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Easy as it is to pick on Notre Dame, its wholly predictable fiasco needs to be a teachable lesson to everyone else. COVID-19 is not going to magically disappear. Just the opposite, in fact. The United States surpassed 10 million cases Monday, we are closing in on 240,000 deaths and President-elect Joe Biden warned of a “very dark winter.”
With 50 games canceled or postponed since the start of the season, including 13 just since Nov. 1, it is time to reconsider this college football season. Should fans be allowed to attend games? Should the games even be played?
Unlike the NFL, where teams can largely isolate themselves and six- and nine-figure contracts give players heavy incentive to adhere to protocols, college football is at the mercy of its surroundings. When cases are rising in the surrounding community, it’s inevitable a team will soon see the same.
A team can test every day and have rigorous contact tracing, and it is still going to be vulnerable to an outbreak. There are simply too many people from the “outside” — dozens, if not hundreds — who have daily interaction with players and coaches to keep the virus at bay.
At the very least, we shouldn’t be having fans at games.
Whether it’s students who can’t be trusted to stay in their seats and socially distance — even before the field was rushed, parts of Notre Dame’s student section looked like a mosh pit — or adults lining up outside stadiums and bathrooms, these games are not helping contain the fast-moving spread of the virus. There are too many people who still don’t wear masks properly and doubt the seriousness of COVID-19, and all it takes is one of them to cause an outbreak.
Having fans at night games, when inhibitions and common sense are in short supply after a day of “pre-gaming,” only increases the risk.
This isn’t enjoyable for any of us. We all want our old lives and sense of normalcy back. But we’re not there yet, not anywhere close.
And every time someone acts as irresponsibly as everyone at Notre Dame did last weekend, the further off it is.
This isn’t forever. Pfizer’s announcement Monday that its vaccine is proving more than 90% effective against COVID means we could be back to normal before next football season.
In the meantime, a good dose of common sense is necessary. Both from fans expected to follow the rules and the folks who make them.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.
Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams celebrates with offensive lineman Aaron Banks after scoring a touchdown that proved to be the winner in the second overtime against Clemson.
Oregon State wide receiver Trevon Bradford makes a catch in the end zone for a touchdown against Washington State.
Baylor wide receiver R.J. Sneed makes a one-handed catch during the game against Iowa State at Jack Trice Stadium.
Colorado defensive end Terrance Lang hits UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field.
Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Stanford Cardinal.
Oregon wide receiver Mycah Pittman catches a pass against the Stanford Cardinal during the first half at Autzen Stadium.
Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson makes the catch during the first quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Ohio Stadium.
Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano passes during the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
South Carolina wide receiver Jalen Brooks has a long pass go off his fingertips for an incompletion against Texas A&M.
Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams stiff-arms Clemson safety Nolan Turner (24) on his way to a touchdown in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium.
Oklahoma cornerback D.J. Graham (9) defends a ball intended for Kansas wide receiver Steven McBride (19) during the second half at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Baylor cornerback Raleigh Texada (3) intercepts a pass tipped by Iowa State tight end Chase Allen during the game at Jack Trice Stadium.
Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson makes a catch over the defense of Maryland defensive back Kenny Bennett during the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium.
Marshall tight end Xavier Gaines catches a touchdown during the third quarter against Massachusetts.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Kyren Williams (23) celebrates after his first-quarter touchdown against the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium.
Florida receiver Trevon Grimes (8) reaches back to make a touchdown catch during the final moments of the first half of the annual Florida-Georgia rivalry game held at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence enters Notre Dame Stadium before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Texas Tech defensive back Zech McPhearson intercepts a pass intended for TCU wide receiver Blair Conwright at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Vanderbilt wide receiver Cam Johnson runs with the ball while defended by Mississippi State cornerback Martin Emerson during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium.
Illinois quarterback Coran Taylor (7) runs the ball against Minnesota linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin (55) during the first half at Memorial Stadium.
Kansas running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. is tackled by Oklahoma linebacker Brian Asamoah (24), defensive end Ronnie Perkins (7), safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (32) and linebacker Nik Bonitto (11) at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Southern California Trojans wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (8) is defended by Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Jack Jones (0) in the second quarter at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker (1) breaks up a pass intended for Maryland wide receiver Rakim Jarrett (5) during the first quarter at Beaver Stadium.
Marshall’s Tavante Beckett celebrates after a tackle during the first quarter against Massachusetts.
Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec throws a pass in the second quarter against Syracuse.
Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman runs the ball against Illinois.
USF’s Daquan Evans celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Memphis.
Texas running back Bijan Robinson makes a long run against West Virginia.
Michigan wide receiver Cornelius Johnson catches a touchdown pass against Indiana defensive back Jaylin Williams during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium.
USC running back Markese Stepp leaps into the end zone for a touchdown against Arizona State.
UNC wide receiver Emery Simmons makes a touchdown catch against Duke.
Michigan State and Iowa players get ready for a snap.
Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt runs with the ball against East Carolina defensive lineman Rick D’Abreu (45) during the first half at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Houston quarterback Clayton Tune runs with the ball against Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium.
Syracuse wide receiver Taj Harris (3) moves past Boston College defensive back Brandon Sebastian (10) and defensive back Jahmin Muse (8) at the Carrier Dome.
Louisiana-Lafayette defensive lineman Andre Landry (98) reacts as Arkansas State place kicker Blake Grupe (0) misses a field goal in Lafayette, La.
Texas offensive lineman Junior Angilau lifts wide receiver Brennan Eagles after Eagles scored a touchdown against West Virginia at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
Temple cornerback Linwood Crump (11) breaks up a pass intended for SMU wide receiver Danny Gray (5) during the first half in Philadelphia, PA.
Memphis wide receiver Tahj Washington stiff arms South Florida defensive back Christopher Townsel during the first half at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Northwestern wide receiver Kyric McGowan runs against Nebraska during the first half at Ryan Field.
San Jose State quarterback Nick Nash is tackled by San Diego State linebacker Caden McDonald (54) and safety Tariq Thompson (14) in the third quarter.
San Diego State running back Greg Bell (34) is defended by San Jose State Spartans defensive linemen Lando Grey (90) and E.J. Ane (91) in the second quarter.
San Diego State quarterback scores a touchdown run in the second quarter against San Jose State at Dignity Health Sports Park.
BYU defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga jumps up to deflect a pass by Boise State quarterback Jack Sears.
BYU wide receiver Neil Pau’u turns back for the ball during the first half against Boise State.
The Colorado State Rams raise the Bronze Boot trophy after beating Wyoming.
Colorado State wide receiver Dante Wright avoids a tackle from Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma.
Wyoming linebacker Keyon Blankenbaker tackles Colorado State wide receiver Dante Wright (22) as he makes a catch in the first quarter at Canvas Stadium.
48/48 SLIDES
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Notre Dame debacle should make college football rethink fans, season
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