OUT OF THE TUNNEL: LET THERE BE FOOTBALL!
BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF
There will be football this fall! Of course, just how much and where it will come from are still the big questions.
While it was a difficult week south of the border in the NCAA, it was a week of hope and then despair here in the CFL. As for the NFL, it sure feels like it’s going to be business as usual or whatever the new normal is during this pandemic.
There was a little hope left in the CFL for the potential of a season in 2020 but the clock was ticking on getting something done. The clock struck midnight on Monday morning.
TSN’s Dave Naylor reports that the $30 million interest free loan request to the Federal government was officially denied. That ended any hopes of a CFL season in 2020.
This has been a long and bumpy journey for the CFL since the pandemic began in March. From the initial and haphazard original request for a federal loan by Randy Ambrosie, to the multiple deadlines that came and went, to the slow deterioration of the league’s relationship with its players.
We will have a complete wrap on the loss of the 2020 season next week. Let’s hope now they can work on a tremendous return to the field in 2021.
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There have been many that have criticized reporters on the pandemic coverage of football across North America. Many feel that reporters are actually cheering for the cancellation of the game in the fall.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
CFL reporters, in general, are an incredibly cynical bunch. We love the game, we are fans and we want football to happen but not at the cost of the health of anyone involved. What really makes reporters a distrustful bunch are some of the people involved in football. Reporters are cynical of the owners, governors, CFL leadership hierarchy, some of the coaches and even some of the players.
Those who cover the league love the league but the process from when the pandemic hit in March to where we are now has made reporters and you the fans, question the leadership of the CFL.
There is a lot to be done at all levels to help get the CFL back on the field and healthy in time for a triumphant return in 2021. Fingers crossed it all comes together in time.
A healthy relationship between the players and the league would begin to soften the cynicism, as would great leadership at all levels of the CFL towards a return in 2021. The reporters that cover the CFL are not the enemy here, they are just tired of hearing the same things from the same people.
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College football in the United States had one of the wildest weeks in the history of the sport.
Conferences and teams postponed their seasons while others are surging forward. Those players who are left out in the cold this fall are trying to rally to play and while other players are wondering why they are playing this fall at all.
What we do know right now is that 54 FBS teams are not playing this fall. This includes the Big Ten, Pac Ten, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, independents UMass, UConn, New Mexico State and Old Dominion from the Conference USA.
Those currently trying to forge out a season in the fall are the ACC (including Notre Dame), SEC, Big 12, American Athletic Conference, Conference USA (minus Old Dominion), Sun Belt and independents Liberty, BYU and Army.
Out of all of football this is the most interesting battle of agenda, philosophies and where people stand politically.
The Pac Ten and Big Ten were the big two hammers to drop this week. Both laid out different reasons for why they came to this conclusion.
As for the rest of the power five schools in the SEC, ACC and Big 12 they are trying to forge on. This is a house of cards right now. If they decide to play and put the player’s health at risk and they are not outright employees this could be the beginning of the downfall of college football in the south.
Who will be the first to dropout among these three conferences? It would be the ACC and then the Big 12 would follow. The last to make a decision would be the SEC and they will wait until the last second to do so.
The season is scheduled to begin on Saturday, September 5th with a four game schedule.
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Now to the National Football League; the granddaddy of them all. They are plowing ahead for the regular season to begin on September 10th with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans.
Training camps are in full swing but for some reason with the news surrounding the CFL and the NCAA as well as the NHL and NBA having successful (so far) bubble conclusions to their respective seasons, the NFL isn’t top of mind right now.
It soon will be.
The fantasy football invites are starting to create a buzz as well as the debut of HBO’s Hard Knocks which is focusing on the two Los Angeles teams, the Rams and Chargers. Full contact practices begin on August 17th and that will get the NFL media machine cranking at top gear.
If any league has the money and people power to pull off a successful season it is the NFL but without the luxury of an outright bubble, there will be outbreaks. Just look at the problems Major League Baseball is having.
And then there’s Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. He feels like AT&T Stadium is big enough and enough safety precautions are in place that the Cowboys could have fans at their home games. This seems like a whole other level of risk but this is Jerry Jones and this is Texas. As always we will watch and wait to see what our neighbours to the south decide to do, or not do.
(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)
