Filling stadiums with fans is shortsighted and dangerous

Should sporting events should be open to fans? President Trump has expressed his desire for packed sports stadiums. Recently, Ohio State announced that it was making plans to have around 22,000 fans attend its home football games in its 102,000-seat stadium, but they acknowledged that number could be lower. In May, the Miami Dolphins indicated that their plan would put around 15,000 fans in its 65,000 seat stadium. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently raised the attendance capacity level for pro and college sporting events in Texas to 50 percent. According to the Star Tribune, the University of Minnesota has various contingency plans, including filling its football stadium at 75%, 50%, or 25% capacity.

Dr. Anthony Fauci seems to be evolving on this issue. In May, he indicated that he could see a scenario where there would be sports fans in stadiums. Fauci told Peter King of NBC Sports, "I think it’s feasible that negative testing players could play to an empty stadium. Is it guaranteed? No way. … There will be virus out there and you will know your players are negative at the time they step onto the field. You’re not endangering. … Also, if the virus is so low that even in the general community the risk is low, then I could see filling a third of the stadium or half the stadium so people could be six feet apart. I mean, that’s something that is again feasible depending on the level of infection."

However, Fauci told CNN last month that due to the possibility of a second wave of the virus, the NFL might need to employ the bubble approach that the NBA will be using, where its players will be sequestered from the public. He also lamented that there might not be football at all.

As a huge pro and college football fan, I hope to see football return this fall. However, right now, and likely for the next year or so, it's a bad idea to have fans in the stadiums at sporting events.

It's true that fans are an essential part of sports. They add to the energy and passion that fuels sports. They inspire the home team, intimidate the visiting team, and can influence the referees. There is a distinct home field and home court advantage that is reflected in point spreads and final scores. Energetic screaming fans can rattle an opposing team's quarterback in football or cause them to miss foul shots in basketball, as displayed by Arizona State fans' curtain of distraction. However, scattering 15,000 fans throughout an 80,000 seat football stadium would be just as uninspiring and strange as an empty stadium. 

Furthermore, the health risk isn't worth the three hours of sports fans' pandemonium at the stadium. Even if teams required fans to wear masks upon entrance to games, they wouldn't be able to force fans to keep their masks on during the games. Many fans would likely take their masks off at times during the games, put the masks in their pockets, or wear them around their necks. It would be unrealistic for stadium security to patrol the entire stadium and enforce the mandatory mask rule. Fans without masks will pack the common areas of the stadium, including lines for food and concessions as well as the bathrooms and luxury suites. Social distancing in a packed stadium or even a half-filled stadium would be impossible. In addition, thousands of beer guzzling, maskless fans would be tailgating, gathering and yelling in the parking lot before and after the games. 

Filling up an 80,000-seat stadium in a small college town might be exciting. It might give the appearance of a sense of normalcy, However, it will serve as a giant petri dish that will eventually spread to the entire campus and the entire college town. While most college-age students won't suffer severe coronavirus complications, they will serve as carriers that will infect university employees, professors, and local health care providers and first responders.  

While it's feasible and practical to administer coronavirus tests to the athletes, coaches, and officials right before a game, it's not feasible to give these tests to tens of thousands of fans.

Watching sporting events like UFC, cornhole, South Korean baseball, NASCAR, German soccer, golf, and professional tennis without fans has been strange, but it's still live sports. Watching college and pro football games without fans will be better than watching reruns of past Super Bowls or NBA Championship series games where you know the end result ahead of time.

There is a reason why some health officials have recommended that there not be gatherings of more than 10 people in public. It's reasonable to expect that a second wave of the pandemic will take place in the fall during football season. As evidenced by the Spanish Flu a century ago, large public gatherings such as the World War I parade in Philadelphia led to the wider spread of the disease. 

Yes, people are tired of being cooped up inside. They yearn for a sense of normalcy. To many, a packed stadium of sports fans would be a symbol of normalcy. However, until there is a vaccine or a sufficient cure, it's a dumb idea. Right now, we're only in the first inning or first quarter of this struggle against the virus. We have to adapt to this new reality. Watching sports without fans should be a part of this new reality. It's like restaurants being open for takeout only. Yes, you don't get the full restaurant experience, but at least you're getting to eat the food.

Larry Atkins (@larryatkins4) teaches journalism and sports ethics at Arcadia University and journalism at Temple University. He is the author of “Skewed: A Critical Thinker's Guide to Media Bias” (Prometheus Books).