Big Den’s Rocky Road back to football

On the eve of the first football match of 2020, the Big Ten conference announces the rules for one more football season, which has been postponed, revived, disconnected and compromised in efforts to control the corona virus infection.

Thursday, Conference Announced The “no match” rule for games was repealed if team players tested positive for the virus – this seemed inevitable because there were no weeks on the table and no room for last-minute changes. The goal is to play in nine games in nine weeks to capture the three Power Five conferences that have already begun.

But a month ago, no one thought Big Ten, with 14 schools across the Midwest and Northeast, would start playing football on Friday night, with the University of Illinois at Wisconsin and even at home the team’s state ranks fourth in the country in individual cases over the past seven days and first among states with Big Ten plans.

“Having football when I can’t go to class – in a way, we’re happy to put this one thing together,” said Anne Isman, a sophomore in Wisconsin, who lives in an apartment in Madison. “At the same time, time feels short.”

Fans and parties will be banned from all venues of the league, but precautions are not fully guaranteed to the mayors of some Big Ten cities.

They know that what happens in the stadiums is only part of the return of football. Fear of groups violating recommended socio-distance ethics led to the sending of 12 mayors around 11 Big Ten schools Letter to the Conference This week, citing concerns about bringing football back, fans are flocking to watch the games – an omnipotent danger of the virus floating freely between face paint, beer bottles and bottlenecks.

“We know the history of football games within our cities,” the mayors wrote. “They create a lot of activity, community gatherings and drinking.”

The mayors, who cover all the Big Ten schools in the surrounding cities except Nebraska, Illinois and Rutgers, asked the conference to consider the number of surrounding communities when deciding whether to host the games. Big Ten officials did not respond to mayors or solicit feedback.

“Madison is a big football city – now that Sports Day is approaching, you’ll feel the change in the environment,” said Luke Carmosino, a Wisconsin junior who recovered from Covid-19 in Madison in September.

Prior to the epidemic, the entire city was closed for games, Isman said, with bars, restaurants and fraternities overflowing with fans from afar. Both students anticipate declines in public health care compliance on sports days.

As long as there are fewer positive corona virus tests among players, team staff and officials, the Big Ten wants to move forward, however it seems unlikely that it will be able to execute its nine games in nine weeks: games had to be postponed as other college conferences erupted into teams, the NFL is already in the Big Ten As such, Purdue coach Jeff Brom will not be on the field after testing positive for the virus this weekend, and Coach PJ said some Minnesota players will miss the starting player as they have been infected with the virus. .

“It’s been like this all year, for no apparent reason,” Fleck said ahead of Saturday’s game against Michigan. “We can find a way.”

Big Ten was one of the first marquee conferences to postpone college football, initially pushing this season into the spring of 2021, amidst the impetus of athletic goals, political arm twisting and corona virus control only to reverse its decision in September.

Ohio State Quarterback was started by Justin Fields #WeWantToPlay Petition, Which attracted more than 300,000 signatures in support of the Fall Schedule. 11 parents in Big Ten schools Letters sent Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren said allowing their sons to play “gives them a better environment.”

President Trump has demanded a loan to help reverse the Big Ten delay, prompting former Vice President Joe Biden to accuse him of pushing the president in the first place.

Conference officials and schools said the president’s comments were not the reason for their decision; In contrast, they said a decrease in corona virus incidence, widespread availability of testing and improved information on myocarditis, as well as inflammation of the heart associated with the virus, led to the resumption.

“It feels more like what the nation feels than what students at Big Ten and NCAA feel,” Carmosino said.

Some Big Ten colleges and their cities had to tighten controls as they brought students back to campus, handing out penalties to crowded parties, or moving classes entirely online. Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, issued an emergency stay order to the college Tuesday, which runs through Nov. 3.

A month ago, Linda Weil, a health officer in Ingham County, which includes Michigan State University, would have suggested not playing football. But now that the number of cases in his district is down with a positive rate of less than 4 per cent, he thinks the arrival of football will have a calming effect as long as fans follow the recommended guidelines.

“We’re all a little tired of all the restrictions, but as long as you take precautions – even in small meetings – we can keep reducing the number of cases,” he said. “We can have this naturalness.”