Quote:
Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy
I'm with MLB on this one. Sports with no fans would be stupid.
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It would be a little surreal, but it would also give people at home something to grab onto a bit.
And man, time is unbeaten and untied. A guy like Justin Verlander or Zack Greinke or even Clayton Kershaw - those dudes are looking at just a few years left in the league. Or at/near their peaks.
Verlander has his ring(s) but Kershaw and Greinke, if you tell them that they just don't get a shot at it this year because games without fans would be weird, you're taking away one of their last, best shots at the culmination of a lifelong dream.
And then you look at cap sports like the NBA or NHL, you've got teams that made decisions with their cap for this season that are somewhat 'all-in' and now to what effect? The Lakers only have 2-3 years left with LeBron at/near this level. The Blues have pushed hard against their cap this year (likely to the detriment of the next few years) in an attempt to defend their cup.
I think if you can play games without fans in a way that doesn't pose a direct health risk to the players (rapid testing should allow for that), I think you should go ahead and play. It would be good for the national mood, IMO and it's a better solution for those players than just telling them they won't get a shot.
Everything's just a question of finding the best of bad options at this point, but I think there are enough factors weighing in favor of playing that all leagues should be looking for ways to do so.