The HuntingPA.com Outdoor Community banner

Thoughts on Sports Before Fall or Winter

2K views 26 replies 16 participants last post by  DethFrumAbuv 
#1 ·
What do you all think about the possibilities and ramifications about pro sports finishing their seasons (NBA, NHL, and toss in MLS) or even having a season (MLB and NFL)?

I assume that more/better tests are coming, but I don't assume some radical gae changer, like a 5 minute test you can do yourself at home.

I think the sports that paused will have a very hard time getting it restarted. In the next few months the testing needs to focus on where it is needed the most for medical reasons. Patients, health care workers, first responders, caregivers, service workers.

Cant justify daily testing the Lakers and the Bucks, or the Pens and the Golden Knights, as they play in the Stanley Cup finals or NBA finals. Plus all the team personnel and refs. Not by June.

Further out, I could see some kind of condensed baseball season. It would have to be like spring training, the Grapefruit and the Cactus leagues. A short season to set the seedings and then a college style tournament. A triple elimination set of opening rounds, get it down four teams in each leage then best-of-three until the finals, best of five.

NFL has the best chance. The game is perfect for TV so stadium crowds and gate reciepts probably the least important out of all the sports. The NFL also has the resources to just start its own testing lab. They could justify testing the people needed to put on the games and excess capacity is given to the system.

Sports are important for the people's sense of normalcy. You might not watch any sports, but recognize many do. For a few hours, fans can forget the other stuff.

Given the timelines, I think the NFL has the best shot at it.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I agree the NFL has the best chance by far. They may get a late start to preseason training and camp and not get in all 17 games, but think they have a chance of getting a season in. Maybe even allowing spectators for part, if not all of the season.

A lot of money to be made on any type of NBA action. I'm sure they will do their best to have some sort of finish to their season, but that may be harder to pull off. Maybe a late summer tourney and championship game if at all feasible. But I must say, I have my doubts the time frame will allow it.

I could see MLB getting an abbreviated season in this year with maybe a third of the number of games and no spectators.

MLS and NHL, knowing very little of either, I have no idea.....

If these leagues are unable to pull off live games, look for some to field something similar to a version of iRacing. Especially the NFL. They will want to keep fan interest, and it appears people will watch video game based play to get their sports fix. Vegas taking action on iSports....never thought I'd live to see the day.....:smile_big:
 
#3 ·
unfortunately racing sims are the only ones that will pull this off.
maybe golf??

basically any team type game is out
nobody will watch 1 guy smashing an xbox controller mimicking a whole team vs. 1 other guy
but they will watch a group

its working for iracing for 2 reasons

ALL the real life stars can participate in 1 event ,like normal.
and visually there is little change . if you seen a Irace it looks like a real race ,but in standard definition.
it also helps that racing has a 20yr jumpstart with its software backbone
 
#7 ·
You'd be surprise what people will watch. Video gaming is actually a sport of its own, with large venues like Madison Square Garden selling out video gaming championships. People sit there watching people playing video games.

You put NFL players on TV playing a video version of football, that looks real (and todays game do) and people will watch. Most of the players being avid gamers themselves, there would be no shortage of players willing to participate.

And not to forget a principal attraction of the NFL....gambling. If Vegas doesn't take action on the games, the local bookies will. They're hurting too, and would get in on the action. If a guy has cabbage on the game, he will be watching, rest assured.
 
#4 ·
Sports are important for the people's sense of normalcy. You might not watch any sports, but recognize many do. For a few hours, fans can forget the other stuff.
.

I agree with that. I don't watch sports. I can't imagine myself wasting a minute of my life watching over payed grown men play a game.

But that's just me. I know its a big part of some peoples lives and it matters to them and its also a part of our culture here. So its a big deal and it would do people a lot of good to see base ball start like normal. Any thing that can entertain people cooped up at home and give them something to talk about would be a great thing.
 
#9 ·
Same with me BD....don’t watch any sports. Actually, the CV 19 virus has had little impact on my day to day life. I’m retired, I don’t shop, wife likes to cook at home, don’t go to taverns, casinos, or clubs. I spend most of my time alone, in the woods, on the boat, in the garden, in the beeyard, or at camp. Other than the grandkids not hanging out at the house 3 days a week, my life is unchanged.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I don’t see how the NHL or NBA will be able to complete their season. I don’t watch the NBA, MLS, or racing, but unless they play in empty arenas nothing will happen.

Baseball might have a chance but they would likely have to play with a fraction of the fans. The NFL does have the best chance.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I don't think sports will ever be the same. Gate revenues are destroyed for at least the next two years and broadcast fees are about to be wrecked also. I know personally I am a big fan of a couple local teams and a casual watcher of pretty much whatever is on at a decent threshold of athleticism. With this whole CV-CF I cancelled cable the day the NHL stopped. I had absolutely no reason to pay for cable with the other garbage on there besides live sports. I'll probably never go back. So the big sports world is either going to have to adapt to people like me or be left behind. I miss it but I don't $100 a month miss it, that's for sure. It's kind of a shame in a time like this, but there is so much money and intelligence in sports, as a whole it will be fine.

As far as scheduling this season...who really cares. Anything they try to do will be hokey as all get out. They might as well preserve their sanctity and not bother. I suspect the NHL will realize that and call it pretty soon. They rely most of the big 4 on gate revenue. The NBA is probably most prone to do stupid TV stunts...yeah that's status quo for them. A shame because it's possible the world's best athletes play in that league and it's a joke. The NFL is really too far out to tell, but they wield the most power and that will probably help their cause. MLB is really stuck between a rock and a hard place with the timing of their seasons. They might lose 2 because of this ordeal.

Locally...we'll definitely see contraction and teams moving as a fallout of all this. We may be thanking Richardhead Nutting for being such a pennypincher before this is all over. Cash is king right now and he seems to be quite the tightwad.

Youth sports?!!! WTH? I don't even know what to think? To imagine seniors losing their seasons. Parents already stretched thin, what are they going to do going forward? At the same time there is so much very, very broken with youth sports today. Maybe this fixes some of that and gets kids back to playing neighborhood games and kills this stupid travel sports craze. Probably not, may make it worse. But one can hope.
 
#14 ·
... Youth sports?!!! WTH? I don't even know what to think? To imagine seniors losing their seasons. Parents already stretched thin, what are they going to do going forward? At the same time there is so much very, very broken with youth sports today. Maybe this fixes some of that and gets kids back to playing neighborhood games and kills this stupid travel sports craze...

Absolutely agree.
 
#8 ·
them people going to video game matches aren't the same audience
and watching 2 guys players or not ,playing madden isn't going to cut it .
the NFL NHL NBA and MLB are team games,its the only way they will function.
if they could be simulated in any way realistically in the virtual would they would have,,20 yrs ago

NASCAR is an outlier ,data can be captured, measurements can taken ,they been doing it for decades.
the simulators are so good that real teams use sims to prep for real races.
they are not video "games"...

back in 2001 i put some wheel time in on an early version of what they use now
had a pretty good set up , force feed back wheel and pedals,,
3 27" monitor display spread ,wired into my 150W stereo system
I could even run the sim in 3D.
how realistic can they be?
well I quit playing after I "drove thru" a massive wreck on I95 on my way to the yellow...
I was doing 106mph when I got clear and looked down at my speed...
 
#10 ·
I actually had to log in to respond to this.

Elk, your assertion that there is something very, very wrong with youth sports today is a perfectly placed shot. Travel sports operations prey on austerity issues in local communities as well as the psychological needs of both the parents and children. Perhaps you are right and all of this will be a catalyst for a healthy change but I'm somewhat more circumspect. "Travel" sports are a huge industry anymore.

The other thing that the major pro sports leagues (including the NCAA) is the daunting prospect of having to refund money....no corporation wants to do that!

Stay safe.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Professional sports is about money, the players want to make it for exhibiting their talents and the owners want to make money because that's why they invested in teams.

I think within the next month you will see teams start playing again in centralized locations and in spectator less arenas.
The TV money will make payroll and provide commercial revenue and entertainment and interest for the fans. This is most likely how the rest of the basketball and hockey and baseball seasons go.
Football might be different where the team's would fly out for away games but depending on how things are in the fall probably will not be played in packed stadiums.

Packing 108 thousand people into a college stadiums will not happen this fall unless there is a vaccine is available.

People who will lose out are those working at concessions and have franchise, and lot attendants
 
#13 ·
I live in State College and I heard it referred to as "recession proof" during the 08-09 recession when I was in school. We'll see if that holds this time around with the strong possibility of a cancelled/speactor-less football season. A lot of businesses up here are totally dependent on the football Saturdays in the fall, not to mention graduation and the other big happenings. It's going to be a wild ride and we are just starting down it.
 
#15 ·
Guess I'm lucky. While I like football and hockey, I'm a huge racing fan. Been around it all of my life in one form or another; our family sponsored a local sprint car for many, many years, and I still go to the local tracks every weekend during the racing season.



IRacing is as close to the real thing as it can be, matter of fact I have a WoO race running on DIRTVision in another window on my PC as I type this.
 
#16 ·
lol.I can't disagree with that at all.My son will be 15 this summer and is a pretty serious BB player and wrestler.It's still up in the air whether or not the kids will have a season.It was a let down at first but to be honest,I could live a year without all the drama and -- associated with it.
 
#17 ·
DCE,

In researching an article I wrote on youth travel sports, one thing that was suggested was a sort of "support" group where parents of youth athletes can connect with parents who are "alumni" of the youth travel sports circuit. Lots of good information there. It's a real operation now spanning connections with food and travel industries as well. Communities are actually trying to build for and promote the "youth sports industry" with venues and the like.
 
#19 ·
I put about 25k miles per year on my truck driving to baseball and wrestling tournaments.There were some good times but for what?My kid isn't going to the MLB and I wouldn't let him wrestle in college.Last year,the day after All stars ended,my son just rode dirt bikes,fished and hung out at the city pool with his friends.I'd come home from work and he'd be laughing about all the stupid things they did.It was refreshing to see him just enjoying being a kid for the rest of the summer.That changed my perspective on youth sports.It gets old dealing with the ego's.

Any competitive activity that involves kids brings out the worst in people.My daughter wasn't into sports like my son but she runs barrel horses.She started into 4H when she was 8.At first I thought the people were nice and down to earth but they were no better.Some of the worst behavior I've ever witnessed was in 4H but much of it was behind other people's backs.She won a state championship when she was 11.The next year we were at a district show and some lady came up to her when I wasn't around and warned her that she was being watched,just to psych her out.Who would do that to a little girl?

My son wrestled since he was 6.I'm not a huge wrestling fan but I like what it does to kids,mentally and physically and it doesn't matter who your daddy is.He worked hard and did well but I refused to let him lose any weight.He was a young freshman this past year at 14.He was never a big kid but put 50lbs on in the past 14 months before wrestling started and it was all solid weight.He weighed in right at 152 lbs.They tried getting him down to 126 because they needed someone better at that weight.I refused to let him lose ot and told them to just let him wrestle Jr High instead of varsity.I refuse to stunt my kid's growth for my ego so that may have ruined his varsity career.He ended up blowing his knee out before the first match so it didn't matter anyway.I like sports but they aren't the end all be all and in 5 years,nobody cares anyway.
 
#20 ·
...Last year, the day after All stars ended, my son just rode dirt bikes,fished and hung out at the city pool with his friends. I'd come home from work and he'd be laughing about all the stupid things they did. It was refreshing to see him just enjoying being a kid for the rest of the summer...

And that right there sums up my view of organized kids sports. Especially young kids.
 
#21 ·
You put a lot of time,money and effort into youth sports and it's easy to turn into one of "those" dads and I was guilty to a certain extent.My son is a decent athlete and loves baseball just for the game.He would literally have me at the cages 12 months of the year just because he loves to hit.I'd pick him up from wrestling practice and he'd drag me to the cages every night.I'd pick him up from baseball practice and he'd drag me to the cages.He did it because he was hard on himself and wanted to be good but he just loves to play.Adults flat out ruin it.When you have a travel team or all star team,you get 6 or 7 coaches and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what happens.Two years ago he was playing on a travel team that was essentially the 12 year old all star team.The coaches thought they were too good to play in local tournaments so we only traveled.One day another coach approached me to see if my son would play with his team.I said sure as long as it didn't impact his current team.This team only played local tournaments so there was no conflict.That coach went and asked one of his other coaches for permission,like my kid had some sort of contract with them.His one coach jumped me about it the next day and I said what's the problem with him playing another 12-15 games?He said,well the one tournament is during states so he'll miss it anyway.I just laughed and said,the way you're playing these kids,they won't even make it out of districts,which they didn't.The next all star game they benched my son for the entire game except for the one at bat they had to give him.If my kid deserved to sit,I woudn't have had a problem with it but they tried to use him to make a point to me.When my son came out of the dugout and I saw the look on his face,my blood pressure went up about 500 points.I'm embarrassed to this day about what I did but honestly,it was way past the time someone did something.
 
#22 ·
I think MLB will get a 1/2 of season in with no fans or very little maybe have certain seating with distance in mind. I also think depending on how this virus plays out that the NFL may be pay per view a monthly fee or what not,limited fans in game with spacing rules. I think nothing will be the same till we get a vaccine for this,and much more testing to see who has what!!
 
#23 ·
I don't miss it. In fact most of the seasons are too long anymore IMO. Football may be the exception, but they are trying to add games there too.

If they come back, the money should be used to help people, feed people, employ people. An owner or $20M a year person should not be the beneficiary....
 
#24 · (Edited)
Don't miss it...but..I enjoy NHL....not into other pro entertainment....the nice thing about watching NHL is that most games were at night during the week ...so during the week I would catch a game or 2 or 3...weekends I would do other stuff.


dce bought back some great memories of my kids in sports and me coaching....and they definitely tromp the not so good. Soccer..baseball..football...Cheer competitions..Cross Country meets..Wrestling Tourneys..wish my kids were young again...cause as the song says...."Don't Blink...just like that..."

...aside from Cross Country...parents ruined all the other sports for me..the back-stabbing, pettiness, clicks, "living failed dreams" syndrome, ...I could go on.
 
#25 ·
I have seen that both the NHL + NBA are running simulated games using Playstation(I think). These are not "played" by players sitting in their houses but run by the "system". They are even having the games called by the regular announcers. Which can be pretty entertaining at least the Flyers games I've watched... LOL

I assume the players and teams get money for allowing their names to be used by Playstation, granted it's not nearly as much. I'm sure that the same system could be "played" by every major sport that we normally enjoy. Not sure what would happen if in 10 years we are still stuck watching Todays players ... will "play" diminish with "aging" players... but hopefully we're back to normal before then.

IDK if the gambling industry could operate using simulated games or if they could "fix" games easier. However TV rights and ad money could still flow although depending on how many watched it may be diminished.... not sure how many people are buying stuff nowadays either !
 
#26 ·
DCE,

Pardon me if I say it sounds like you are "on your way to recovery" :). Hey, it's a hard thing all around. Parent's feel pressured. It's good to remember that youth travel are not so wildly profitable because they only appeal to the psychological needs of the kids-it's the parents as well. The pressure is incredible. You've been able to step back and look at all of it and go "that's crazy". Kudos.
 
#27 ·
The time my daughters spent in youth sports, including travel softball, were some of the best.

Lucky to have a great group of people, I guess a band of misfits in a way. The girls had a blast, improved their games, made lifelong friends. Many in each other's weddings in more recent times.

Youth sports were necessary to get my daughters to the level to play in college. But they also were a wonderful experience. And the team was solid. By the end we were playing a multi-state regional tournament schedule and collecting a lot of hardware

And I was not a "Daddy Ball" coach. I kept the scorebook for softball, I ran the timing console at swim meets. People who knew the sport coached. Once in a while for a softball game late in pool play on Saturday, they'd let me coach third base a few innings. I vividly remember my first squeeze bunt call that netted a run. Lots of nights in cheap hotels.

Too many parents deluded by dreams of scholarships, and everything but D1 football and basketball just does not work like that.

There are good travel teams and travel coaches out there. No egos involved.
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top