College football fans and traditions are back, even with Covid-19 still here

College football and its audience traditions are back to their full glory as they were in 2019, before the Covid-19 restrictions severely curtailed audience numbers in 2020.

Some of the biggest powerhouses in the country – including Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, and Oklahoma, to name a few – are hosting full capacity games on Saturday. And fans who attend these games don’t have to prove their vaccination status, don’t have to keep social distance, and don’t have to wear masks on their seats.

The return of college football and its unique cultures, which began in earnest last week, is a source of bond for sports fans, but also a source of fear for others.

In general, large gatherings with people nearby carry a higher risk of Covid-19, although the outside environment of the stadium mitigates this risk. The level of risk also depends on each person’s vaccination status, mask usage and the health of their own immune system. Health professionals recommend anyone attending a sporting event avoiding overcrowded tailgates, food stalls, and other crowded indoor areas.

The University of Georgia football team, now number 2 in the country, will play their first home game against the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday at the Sanford Stadium in Athens with 92,746 seats.

Last year’s home games were played with a capacity of around 20-25%, but this year’s home games have no such limits. The university system has also not mandated vaccines for students, and the state is one of the least vaccinated in the country – issues that are additional concern for members of the high-risk community.

“The soccer season ahead is a cause for great terror,” said Usree Bhattacharya, a UGA assistant professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education whose 5-year-old daughter has a rare health problem.

In an interview with CNN, she started crying when she asked the Georgia university system to prescribe masks and vaccines to better protect people like her daughter who wears a mask while others don’t.

“I don’t understand why young children are asked to take responsibility that adults in our community don’t have,” she said.

The two sides of the return of the sport

Georgia’s general lack of Covid-19 rules is in line with most of its fellow Southeastern Conference schools, which are spread across the states with some of the lowest vaccination rates in the US. In the SEC, only Louisiana State University requires that gamblers over 12 provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative PCR test in order to enter in person. Vanderbilt is the only SEC school with a mandate to vaccinate students, faculty, and staff on campus.

Both the SEC and NCAA left schools to make their own decisions – based on local and state requirements – when asked what each was doing to contain the spread of Covid-19 at football matches. Both have Covid-19 protocols for student athletes.

“My request to our fans is to try and capitalize on what science has done,” said Greg Sankey, SEC commissioner, last month.

Georgia’s plan to host such a large crowd comes because the state has fully vaccinated roughly half of its residents ages 12 and older, which is one of the top ten lowest vaccination rates of any state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Athens-Clarke district where the Bulldogs play has a “high” transmission rate of Covid-19, the CDC says.

College football season fully opened last week and stadiums across the country were filled with fans eager to get back to the sporting experience.

In Georgia, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta welcomed nearly 72,000 fans for an Alabama-Miami game on Saturday and approximately 31,000 fans for the Louisville-Ole Miss game on Monday. For both games, the stadium roof was open and masks were required indoors but not outdoors, and there was no compulsory vaccination. including major Big Ten schools in Michigan (109,000 visitors), Maryland (44,000), and Illinois (41,000).

These schools are hardly breaking new ground by holding jam-packed games. The National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball also held full capacity events this summer, and the National Football League will do so when the season kicks off later this week.

No vaccination or mask requirement at UGA

The University System of Georgia, which runs the state’s colleges and universities, has encouraged all students, faculty, and staff to get vaccinated and encouraged people to wear a mask in campus facilities. But it stopped asking for vaccinations or masks.

The system followed the general policy of Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican who opposed vaccines or the use of masks.

The UGA football team also had their own problems controlling the disease. Coach Kirby Smart said last month that more than 90% of the team are vaccinated. Still, he said the team had its “highest surge” in Covid-19 cases this week and that several vaccinated players and staff were diagnosed with breakthrough cases.“This is the highest value that we have achieved since the autumn camp at the moment,” he said, according to CNN subsidiary WXIA. “I think there is this relief that you feel like everything is back to normal. Well, it’s really not for us right now.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday he did not think it was “wise” to attend a crowded sporting event.

“Outside is always better than inside, but even when you have such a close gathering of people, you should get vaccinated first, and when you have meetings, especially indoors, you should wear a mask,” he said.

He encouraged people to get vaccinated and said he expected more local communities to prescribe vaccines.

“There will be sporting events, travel events where the rule will be that you get vaccinated if you want to attend,” said Fauci. “If not, I’m sorry, you won’t make it. And I think if we get more and more of these we will see a sharp drop in the number of cases.”

CNN’s Kevin Dotson, Virginia Langmaid and Amir Vera contributed to this report.

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/11/college-football-fans-and-traditions-are-back-even-with-covid-19-still-here/