While most members of the sports media spent the Summer scoffing at the idea that college football could take place this season, the SEC remained steadfast in its persuit of a season.
Today at 11 AM central , Florida will travel to Ole Miss marking the debut of SEC football in 2020. No, the famous Grove will not be packed, wall-to-wall with humanity like in years past, but it’s time to claim victory nonetheless.
While the Big 10 and Pac 12 have completely bungled the 2020 football season, conferences like the SEC, Big 12 and ACC simply understood what it was all about. Covid 19 is almost a complete non-factor for these kids. Of 47,000 positive tests around college campuses around the country, there have been 0 deaths and two hospitalizations. It’s time for these young men to reap the rewards of being a student athlete at the highest level.
The SEC Goes Conference Only
Back in July, the SEC adopted a conference-only scheduling model. Schools like Missouri traded games against Central Michigan and Louisiana with almost certain losses to Alabama and LSU. And you know what? That’s ok. 2020 will not be the year that programs and on-field success are judged under a microscope.
What 2020 is about is celebrating the fact that college football’s most revered conference never folded to media fear-mongering. SI’s Pat Forde wrote a borderline insane article back in July about how President Donald Trump’s mismanagement of the coronavirus could cost America a college football season. Forde, like many media members showed their true colors during these trying times. The media uses fear to help perpetuate chaos. Forde and many of his counterparts have been clowned.
The Big 10’s Decision and Risk of Playing Football
When the Big 10 tried to cancel its season, it was not out of safety for the players, that’s ludacris. It was political posturing that failed miserably as athletes and parents banded together to showcase the hypocrisy. Big 10 players were allowed to practice, but not play games. Complete lunacy. Regardless of Covid 19, football poses inherent risks. There are medical personnel and ambulances on site at every high school, college and professional football game in America.
Back on September 12th, Kansas State safety Wayne Jones was seriously injured in a game against Arkansas state. He was down for several minutes and taken away by ambulance. These risks are far more inherent than this virus. In America, our freedoms give us the right to evaluate risks and make decisions on our own accord. It’s pretty great.
No, LSU’s Tiger Stadium will not be producing any deafening roars this season. You won’t see young, scantily clad Florida ladies in short jean shorts chugging cheap beer out of a boot in Gainesville and Alabama’s quad might look like a ghost town, but today, we are playing football in the SEC. It’s a victory and a sign that some level of normalcy may not be too far away.
