Some people might not have noticed, but the NFL Regular Season officially kicked-off last night, in a game between the Houston Texans and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs--the first time two opposing teams performed full contact on the field since February. This season promises to be quite interesting, given the fact that there was little preparation to see how well players would actually perform, not just due to lack of sufficient physical conditioning and practice, but how COVID-19 would effect how they played, and how it would effect who even got on the field.
The NFL’s latest numbers say that out 2,747 players tested, currently only four have tested positive for the virus, which I admit seems a bit far-fetched. The NFL does expect a rise in cases, however, and has expanded the number of players allowed on the practice squad as emergency replacements. Players who test positive are isolated and forbidden from team facilities and other players, and placed on a special “reserve” list. Players can return after 10 days for additional tests, but a player must not have experienced symptoms for three days prior. During games only game officials, coaches and other sideline personnel are required to wear face masks; for players, it is “highly recommended” but not required, even when on the sidelines. However, players are required to wear masks at hotels and public environments generally, and are subject to fines if they are caught without masks--or in one case in Seattle, getting cut from the team for sneaking in an unauthorized girlfriend.
Another factor that has been born out in both the restarts of the NBA and MLB seasons is the lack of a “home field advantage” due to the lack of fans in the stands. In the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals, the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks imploded, losing all three of its home games, while going into Game 7 of their series, Boston and Toronto have won all three of their games on the opponent’s own floor. A few NFL teams, like the Chiefs for last night’s game, will allow limited numbers of fans in their stadiums, but most teams plan on “piping-in” artificial fan noise, which may be good for a laugh track, and more a distraction than an “advantage.”
As for the game itself, in between the Texans opening the scoring with a touchdown midway in the first quarter, and their second score midway into the fourth quarter, it was a fairly uncompetitive contest, with the Chiefs scoring 31 unanswered points on the way to a 34-20 victory. Maybe it was just me, but it appeared that the level of play was somewhat tentative, like the Pro Bowl in which players generally hold back to avoid injuring each other. The Chiefs just executed plays better, with Patrick Mahomes throwing mostly “safe” short passes, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire sneaking through a few more holes.
As might be expected, there was “controversy.” Coming into the game. Eric Trump had to throw in his worthless two-bit. When he read that the Dallas Cowboys management was going to allow players to do pregame “protests,” Trump tweeted “Football is officially dead — so much for “America’s sport.” Goodbye NFL... I’m gone.” Not that anybody should care what he thinks; Eric is generally lampooned as the lamest brain in the family. Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports noted that he has had a twitter account since 2009--and this was only his second NFL-related tweet in all that time. Obviously, like his father and Donald Jr., Eric Trump is channeling his racially-insensitive impulses, and believes all of this is part of a “plot” to make his father look like a racist asshole, which of course he is anyways.
Naturally this spilled over into last night’s game, and likely will do so for the rest of season, however long it lasts. The Texans management decided to stay in the locker room during the pipe-in rendition of the National Anthem and Alicia Keyes performing the “black” national anthem that hardly anyone knew existed or had heard before, "Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The team management’s reasoning was quizzical to say the least; they didn’t want to create any “speculation” about management’s political position, while one player, Michael Thomas, claimed that it was a “distraction” and an “empty gesture,” which seems to suggests that management and players were not on the same page on the issue, so this was a “compromise.” After each song was finished, the Texans came out to a chorus of boos, and there was a “smattering” of booing when both teams participated in a “moment of silence.” Maybe some fans think this is all an “empty gesture” and a “distraction” too.
Anyways, I’m a life-long Packer fan, so I can’t wait to see how all the off-season “drama” in Green Bay plays out on the field.
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