FSU football: How COVID-19 could affect Gameday rituals
By Kelvin Hunt
As of August 7th, 2020, with a new schedule to prepare for and coaches donning face shields, FSU football began practices for the first time since March.
This article was written by Cole Maines and published by Kelvin Hunt.
It was three days into spring practice, mid- Atlantic Coast Conference playoffs, beginning of the baseball season when everything froze in place and the Earth stopped spinning.
Students sent home, athletics paused, and Zoom became the new overnight tech sensation. Thank God for Zoom and Teams. If it weren’t for them, then no visits would occur, and installing the new playbook for football would be impossible.
At the end of the day, if everything stays its course, games are in sight, with organizations preparing to stack the house with as many fans as the CDC allows.
The Restrictions
The move for the returning sports entities thus far has been no fans or bubbles. The most like-for-like comparisons for the competition format the ACC and NCAA are attempting to implement are similar to what the European soccer leagues have used, as well as Major League Baseball. The only difference is the space allotment for fans.
Baseball and soccer have all resumed or began their seasons with no fans in the stands. The media can get admission, but no fans and vendors, only cardboard cutouts. How will this translate to how FSU football will adjust to continue the season, but accommodate the CDC’s protective guidelines?
FSU football plans to begin the campaign with Doak Campbell stadium filled with 20-25% of its potential occupancy. According to Wayne McGahee, this will limit the seating to about 19,890 fans, not enough to accommodate all over 20,000 season ticket holders. Per McGahee’s article, Coburn also said that a portion of tickets would be given to the students, and the band will also be admitted.