Joe Henderson
We know what football means in Florida, and so most of us welcome its return. National Football League teams start their seasons this week. College and high school football games are underway. That is a needed piece of normal.
Gov. Ron DeSantis sure is happy about that. He went to a high school game last Friday and that probably won’t be the last contest he attends. As the state cautiously but steadily reopens though, impatience is the enemy.
Take it slow.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will follow that model. Their first two home games won’t have fans in the stands. The University of South Florida Bulls, who play in the same stadium as the Bucs, have the same policy.
Those are the right moves, even though the Governor last week had other ideas.
“Showing that this community is ready to host a Super Bowl, having fans there is a good first step,” DeSantis said at a meeting in St. Petersburg. “If the Bucs had fans, I’d try to go to the first home game. I’m not going to go if fans are not allowed.”
Tampa is the host city for the Super Bowl in 2021, the fifth time the biggest game came to town. Folks here know how to do that. Rob Higgins, who is the president of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee, will be ready. Not to worry.
So, let’s get back to the original point DeSantis made about in-person attendance.
“Fans here want to be at the games,” the Governor said. “They sold out quickly. They’ve got a lot of great players. They just got Leonard Fournette, I think, right, and then you have Gronk (Rob Gronkowski). This is really exciting and it’s unfortunate that the fans can’t be there for it.”
The Bucs also have a new quarterback this season, some guy named Brady. I hear he is pretty good. DeSantis is correct. Victory-starved fans rushed to buy tickets when the Bucs acquired those players. It is exciting and unfortunate at the same time, but COVID-19 forced tough choices on everyone.
The Bucs play their opening game Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. That’s normally one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL, but not this time. The game will be played before empty seats.
“Unfortunately, at this time, the trends across our state and region do not meet the standards of health and safety we have established with our healthcare and government partners to host fans in the stadium for the first home game,” the Saints said in a statement.
Yes, the Miami Dolphins, in a virus hot spot, will allow 13,000 fans at their home opener on Sept. 20. DeSantis said he reviewed and supports the team’s safety plan. Everyone must wear a mask and no tailgating will be permitted.
The Jacksonville Jaguars play at home this Sunday, also with a greatly reduced seating capacity. The story is the same at Florida and Florida State.
So, are those two places right to open the gates? Is Tampa wrong to wait?
There is no easy answer.
All I know is, we have to remember the virus operates on its terms, not vice versa. Every time we thought we had COVID-19 on the run, it showed that we do not.
