Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Crew are Playing - Don't Go

Jay Inslee, Governor of the State of Washington, is expected to announce today that he will be banning events that have gatherings of more than 250 people. This includes sporting events.

Now, a governor "banning" gatherings is a pretty big deal in the United States. Many US citizens believe that they can make their own decisions on what they attend and what they don't. There are others that might take a more legally minded approach to it and say that it is outright illegal to make such a ban.

As much as it might make some sense to ban events in favor of "social distancing," I do not think this is something a governor can enforce. Yesterday, here in Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made suggestions and recommendations. Perhaps that's the way to go? I'm not sure.

That said: With all the information available to us, I do not think it is a good idea to be going to sporting events (or any large gatherings). Young and old. This includes the Crew home game this weekend.

You, dear reader, are young and strong and can fight off any super-duper virus that you get. I'm sure of it. But, in a few week's time I will be in Virginia with my 80+-year-old father. I am going to be taking as few risks as possible over the next few weeks to reduce the chances of getting the Coronavirus. Not because I think I'll get ill, but because I know that it is possible that I could make someone else gravely ill.

MLS will not make decisions to postpone games or otherwise do anything that will hurt revenue. You have to do that yourself.

It would be wonderful if Dr. Pete Edwards, part Operator of the Columbus Crew and someone I'm sure knows better, came out and recommended to MLS the game be postponed to later in the year.

The data out there tells us that reducing the "spike" in cases is the best thing we can do. That means it might be a little uncomfortable for a few weeks via social distancing, but ultimately, it will get under control and minimize the impact on communities.

The Crew are already the last team to have played in Seattle before a serious lockdown on events. That's a bit scary in and of itself. If MLS doesn't do anything this weekend, I would say as a red-blooded make your own decisions American...

...do not go.

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