I've been following MLS as a fan or employee since 1995, which is to say, before they even started kicking balls. Until this season. I am alternately sad and angry that they're risking the health of the players, their families, and the people who have the misfortune to be near them, and the people who have the misfortune to be near THEM, all because Arthur Blank apparently needs some more money. I hope this season is aborted, ideally with extraordinary humility and apologies to every single fan in the form of a one-time cash dividend. I've unsubscribed from all soccer media (I'm not even following soccer on bigsoccer.com!) so I don't really know what's going on the soccer world but the NY Daily News had a headline where they referred to MLS 2020 as this year's Fyre Festival which gave me a chuckle. Anyway, if I can't play soccer, then nobody should.
at this point the Premier League and Bundesliga both seem to be working their way through the pandemic well, in order to complete their seasons. very cautious approaches being taken. hopefully that continues. but what I'm hearing about the NHL's plans scare me. I haven't followed it closely, but bubble cities seems to be the plan (Toronto probably one of them). maybe that's do-able. but up here we really don't want non-essential people coming in from the US. also, I think I heard there are plans being made for players' families to accompany them? wtf?? I hope I got that wrong. MLB and the NBA seems to be trying the same bubble thing. but at the same time there are reports of multiple positive tests from a number of teams. all seems very premature to me ....
a couple of minutes after I posted that, CNN had a piece that showed that - on a per capita basis - the US infection rate is now 10 times higher than Canada's.
Arthur Blank strikes me as a bozo. I'm not sure how well NASCAR is doing since its re-start to the season since there is a lot of support staff surrounding each driver, but it seems like the more individual sports like tennis and golf are better equipped to handle any surges or up-ticks in COVID cases. There have been several PGA players skip out on tournaments due to a positive test for themselves or their caddies or just as a precaution even if their test happens to come up negative. Even though there have been documented cases of an increase in Europe recently for the virus, those increases are minuscule compared to the disaster that's affecting the United States.
I don't know this fair. I think downtown hotlanta probably needs the money worse than Blank. I could be wrong, but I think how he did his team is much better than most pro franchises have done. If what I have read about how they did their project hiring local people wherever possible and being an economic engine for the city providing jobs fro locals sounded like he wasn't the worst guy to award a franchise to. It could be all PR BS, I don't know, but I doubt MLSis trying to re-open because Arthur needs money. Seems a reach to me.
He should absolutely be canonized. The hard work he's done to help bring a grassroots movement to reality is nothing short of astounding. There was this time he saw a puppy in the Upper Northeast (I think it was Boston, but not sure) and thought to himself, "I need to bring this puppy and others like him into the fold and turn them into Emotional Support Dogs"... the way he's managed to keep the prices of food and beer lower than some other franchises... he's even spent some money to help out a struggling club over in Scotland. The man's generosity knows no bounds. You'd have done better to use Precourt than Uncle Arthur.
Update: He didn't move to campus today. Moved back one week due to the increase in cases. Targeting next Monday.
FC Dallas has pulled out of MLS Is Back because of too many positive COVID tests. Yeah, I wish we had sports too, but this is obviously insanity.
Assuming the school decided to postpone for a week... I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head. I hope things work out at your kid's school. I'm not optimistic.
I can see how a well-managed country like Germany could start up the Bundesliga and play the last few games in empty stadiums just to finish off the season, but for MLS, which is 2 games into the season, it is simply asinine. And even more asinine to do it in a place like Orlando. Shut down MLS for the year. If things settle down, have an early season tournament in Florida or California or Arizona in January or February, then start the season in earnest in March.
I was more hopeful than skeptical about MLS re-starting with its tournament action. But Orlando? In a state that's trending upward with COVID cases? I'm glad to see games being played here. If a hard-hit place like Italy can resume it's pro soccer league play, then other places can do it too. We still aren't out of the woods on this stuff though, and it seems like things will get worse before they get better, because our national response and the lack of compliance by large swaths of the population have frankly, been dismal. The Ivy League is scrapping sports for the Fall. The Big 5 Power Leagues aren't willing to cancel football play this year...yet. ESPN and CBS Sports are my go-to sources about what's going to potentially happen on the collegiate sports scene for the 2020-21 school year. I think the BCS schools are trying to be optimistic about playing football this fall, but I wouldn't be surprised if privately, they are preparing statements to say how unfeasible it would be to play games at all.
No, I don't think the American sports leagues should be resuming right now. Czech Republic had a much quicker/comprehensive national response to Covid-19 than the US, but despite that our resumed football season is having issues with delays because of players/staff testing for two teams testing positive because of a regional outbreak that started in a single coal mine. The US has multiple larger outbreaks and inadequate national and (in most cases) local response for contact tracing and containment.
At least the Fire will not lose to an expansion team in the COVID-19 Cup. This seems like a sensible plan. Also for Corona Cup 2020, why Orlando? In Summer? One of the worst states in the midst of the pandemic? (Yes, I know the answer: ESPN) Since there are no fans anyway (which basically means "A regular Chicago Fire match") and the teams are isolated and the games on tv, they could put the tournament on anywhere there are a few fields and some hotels. How about Wyoming? Seems about the safest place these days. UFC has "fight island" although I would not suggest that for MLS.
Seriously, they could have done this at a college with lots of empty dorm rooms and a few nice fields in a place that is not having problems, like Vermont. And Florida in July (forget about it being a Covid breeding ground) is like having a winter tournament in Saskatchewan.
I think that it didn't look so bad back in April, when they planned this, as everyone was dying of pneumonia.