Gov. Wolf won’t commit to Steelers, Eagles hosting games to start 2020 season
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In recent days, President Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease director, have each talked about the prospect of America’s sports world getting back on track after the nation’s battle against covid-19.
All sports were effectively shut down during NCAA basketball conference championship week during early March.
Earlier this week, Trump said: “We have to get our sports back. I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old.”
Fauci followed by discussing a potential return of baseball in a controlled, borderline quarantine setup.
“There’s a way of doing that,” Fauci said in an interview with Snapchat’s Peter Hamby. “Nobody comes to the stadium. Put them in big hotels, wherever you want to play. Keep them very well surveilled, have them tested every week. And make sure they don’t wind up infecting each other or their family and just let them play the season out.”
That may work for baseball in May, June or July. But what about NFL football games in August or September?
On Thursday, I asked Gov. Tom Wolf’s office where he stood on the idea of staging NFL games in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia at the scheduled start of the season. The response was nowhere close to as enthusiastic as Fauci’s or Trump’s.
“It’s too soon to tell how our current mitigation efforts will impact future public events,” Wolf’s press secretary Lyndsay Kensinger said via email.
That can’t even be described as cautious optimism.
“We are following guidelines and protocols set forth by the CDC and health officials from around the state,” Steelers spokesperson Burt Lauten told me in an email after reading the statement from Kensinger. “If and when things change to our current working situation, we will adjust accordingly by following the guidance of the health officials as well as the Governor’s Office.”
The biggest debate about when to open up the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is coming down to who gets to do it and to what extent. The White House? Or governors?
On Thursday, Trump proclaimed authority for the states just days after declaring authority over them.
Once those significant details get ironed out, each of those 50 states will have similar decisions to make. Does the entire state essentially have to open up at once? Or can they go region by region?
In other words, to what degree — if at all — can restrictions be relaxed in the Pittsburgh area, where the coronavirus curve is likely to flatten at a much quicker rate than it will in a bigger city such as Philadelphia? I wonder if a situation may present itself where Heinz Field may be able to open (with or without fans), before Lincoln Financial Field can.
Would Wolf allow such an eventuality to occur? That was specifically asked in my email and not addressed beyond the short reply.
Similarly, would Buffalo have a green light to resume most nonessential activities based on its own fight against its regional infection rates? Or will certain aspects of that reopening be in a waiting pattern until New York City and New Jersey get back to normal?
That could be an even greater disparity than the example cited here in Pennsylvania.
How about other states with dueling NFL cities such as Miami and Tampa? Cleveland and Cincinnati? Houston and Dallas? Los Angeles and San Francisco?
That’s something for the NFL to monitor, as well as all 50 state governments involving sports-related matters and beyond.
For instance, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is starting to allow his state to reopen May 1. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended his state’s shutdown until May 15. And Wolf hasn’t made a decision either way as to whether he will join Cuomo in that direction or go the way of Ohio.
“I have been considering when we end this phase from the time I put it into place,” Wolf said in a conference call Thursday. “What I haven’t done is come up with the dates yet. We need to keep thinking about that, keep talking about it but … I’m not there yet. I’m not ready to provide that date.”
Well, here’s a date to keep in mind: Aug. 6. That’s when the Steelers are scheduled to play the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame game. Granted, that will be in Canton, Ohio. And as we just outlined, maybe Ohio will be on a quicker path to letting an event like that take place.
Maybe not with a crowd, as DeWine has hinted. But, at least, the game might get played.
And who knows, the Steelers may just keep renting out the stadium for a few more weeks — or all year — depending on when Pennsylvania deems pro football a safe enough activity to pursue.
If not there, how about Morgantown, depending on how West Virginia is recovering? Or the Steelers could borrow the Browns or Bengals home stadiums when available. Perhaps Ohio Stadium in Columbus when they aren’t.
Does the “Best Damned Band in the Land” still get to play during pregame ceremonies? They could dot the “i” in “Pittsburgh.”
That may make the whole experiment worthwhile.