At this point, nothing has been a surprise to sports fans across the country, as a second coronavirus wave is on the horizon, the future of college football is in jeopardy. Whether it is the cancellation of Maryland v. Ohio State, or the postponement of Louisiana State and Alabama, the increased number of altered sporting events has raised the eyebrows of many.
An avid college football fan, specifically for Ohio State University, Kinnelon sophomore Christopher Kimberlin expresses how this football season has caught him off-guard.
“I feel like they could have done more to keep the athletes isolated for the football season. You see that the MLB and NBA have nearly no cases, so if they did something similar to that we would not have this problem,” Kimberlin said.
With nearly 160,000+ new cases, and numbers being compared to what it was in April, College Football is nearly on the brink of a total cancellation, and if procedures aren’t enforced, we could be looking at the end of the 2020 season.
Nelson Lopez, a student-athlete at Kinnelon, knows what it is like to have his season nearly stripped from him.
“When you have a game with your rival, you want to crush them, and to have it canceled is a terrible feeling,” Lopez said.
The pain and hardship of a highly anticipated game being postponed or canceled is a feeling that not many can describe. Coronavirus has not only stripped many college athletes of their games, but professional athletes have been feeling this pain since early March.
According to ESPN, the coronavirus has cost College Football nearly $4 billion. With this, comes the decreased number of possible scholarships, reduced scholarships, and fewer opportunities for walk-ons to make a name for themselves in the sports world.
As for fans, stadiums have begun to limit the capacity of fans at the stadium. However, in some cases, such as Syracuse University, attendance of any sort is prohibited.
The recent shutdown of Wisconsin Univerity has been sort of a “reality check”. Athletes, students, and fans alike have been given the unrelenting reminder that this virus is still present in our country.
With conferences such as the Big Ten, or the PAC-12 pushing for harsh policies, some schools are better prepared for this virus than others. Many southern schools will face the repercussions for weaker protocol, which is the unfortunate reality that we currently live in.
