The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in an era of new normalcy wherein businesses do not operate at their optimal capacity and masks are required in order to leave your home. Yet the far-reaching effects of coronavirus go even further; they have permeated into the realm of sports and have drastically changed how sports seasons will be conducted. Most recently brought up in the News is PAC-12 and the Big Ten conference’s decisions to post-pone their seasons while NFL teams are playing albeit without fans.

The decospm to play without fans has been a contentious one. The New Orleans Saints have declared that the next to home games they are playing will not have any in-person spectators. This decision cmes after the infection rate in the greater New Orleans area continues to grow. Dissimilar to the Saint, however, is the Atlanta Falcons who intend to fill their stadium to a lower caspacity of 10,000 to 20,000 people. The Houstn Texans parralell the sentiment expressed by the Falcons and are allowing just under 14,00 spectators to attend their games.

The difference in NFL choices reflects the uncertainty and difference of opinion regarding how the virus ought to be handled. Many southern states– except Louisiana– have chosen to adopt an approach that rests upon individual decision making rather than group health. There is a general consenus in places like Texas that it is up to the individual t make decisions about risking their health and it should not be the role of the government to make these decisions.

When it comes to college football, however, in some cases there will not be any games at all. This is the case for Big Ten schls and PAC 12. These schools have opted to postpone their seasons to the springtime. But according to an NBC article, President Trump and the corporate greed of Universities might change these decisions.

The United State’s fumbling of the coronairus pandemic has brought abut a plethora of issues. And there are no signs that the virus will stop soon. In order fr football to reutn to normalcy, the country will need to adopt a more vigilant approach and halt the virus in its tracks. At the same time though, if there is not going to be a vaccine for quite sme time, some suggest a return to normal life might be the best thing fot the economy and well being of Americans in general.