It’s hard to believe that it was only a month ago when there was mass hysteria regarding all of the positive Coronavirus tests in the Tennessee Titans locker room. Thirteen players tested positive for Fauxvid-19, prompting most media members and blue-check individual on Twitter to panic:
Mini bubbles in upcoming weeks. A major issue for the NFL. Criticism for other teams allowing fans to enter stadiums. The outbreak becoming worse. A “swath” of incubating virus hosts.
All of these posts were written on Oct. 1 or 2. It’s now Nov. 2. One month has passed. And yet, there have been no mini bubbles. There has been no big issue for the NFL. There have been no negative consequences to fans attending NFL games. The outbreak has not become worse. And there has not been a “swath” of incubating virus hosts, whatever that means.
Everything has been fine. Perfectly splendid, in fact. No games have been postponed in weeks, and there haven’t been any major breakouts. There have been some positive cases here and there, but nothing to remotely disrupt the flow of the NFL season.
In fact, no professional athlete has been hospitalized by Fauxvid-19. The Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman said he was close to going to the hospital, but he has been the worst example. Barely anyone has been impacted by this so-called pandemic.
This is hardly a surprise. The Coronavirus preys on the very old and very sick. This is why the average age of death from it is 78, and it’s also why only 10,000 people have died of the disease alone without any comorbidities, per the CDC.
Back in March and the first half of April, we didn’t completely know the scope of the virus. There was some speculation that it could carry a 5-percent death rate. Now, we know the truth. We are aware that the virus poses no threat whatsoever to athletes, as well as the majority of the population. Given that the Titans endured all of these positive tests and escaped completely unscathed, it would be foolish not to lessen restrictions on positive tests. I say this because I saw the following post on a popular fantasy football Web site ahead of Week 8:
“The Broncos and Vikings will need no new positive tests over the next two days for their games to be played.”
What? Why? Who cares about positive tests? If no one is at risk, why do they even matter?
I don’t understand why the NFL is even testing anymore, frankly. The flu is more serious for athletes than Fauxvid-19, and there are no daily tests for the flu. Why even test for Coronavirus if it poses no threat? Why postpone games for no good reason?
The Titans have shown us the way. It’s somewhat understandable that the blue checkmarks, who don’t study science or data, were fearful during the early stages of the season because it wasn’t completely clear what would happen after a breakout on an NFL team. Now, we know. We’re all aware that it’s not a big deal in the slightest, so let’s take this opportunity to end this testing nonsense and have the second half of the season operate as normal.
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