“Terry McLaurin” by All-Pro Reels is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
This has been quite the year. Who could deny it? And the National Football league has risen to face the challenges of this new decade. Whether they be new situations with regards to top health or race and politics, the NFL has taken center stage in the biggest issues we as a society, and even as humanity as a whole, have faced this year.
But at the heart of the sport is the desire to have fun. We play it to sweat and run and enter into friendly competition. We watch it to get together with friends and root for our favorite teams. As we look ahead to what’s left of the 2020-2021 season, let’s look at how fans have adapted to changing situations and what the rest of the year will look like.
Making the Most of the Rest of the Regular Season
The end of the season is always the hottest part. This is because we know exactly what is at stake. As teams vie for Wild Cards, things heat up, and the NFL odds coming out of Vegas reflect it. This excitement is something that you can piggyback on.
You can do this in two ways. One is to keep an eye on the wild emotions that people begin to feel as their team’s playoff chances are on the line. People are inherently optimistic and tend to think something is more likely just because they want it to happen. Keep a cool head as others heat up, and you can find overvalued odds and really bring in some bucks.
Another option is to feel these same wild emotions. Refuse to analyze them and let yourself go with the flow. Root for your team. Get pumped when they win and move on if they lose. Sometimes the best way to make the most out of a situation is to just live it.
How Fans Can Adapt to COVID-19
Everything we do these days is within the context of COVID-19. The novel coronavirus has changed the entire globe, and the world of sports and the NFL is no exception. The league itself has experimented with bubbles, reduced stadium capacity, and sidelines many players, including all the quarterbacks for the Denver Broncos.
The league is doing its part, and I am grateful that they are doing what they can to keep the players, staff, and fans safe. The other half of the equation is what we fans can do to stay entertained while keeping our communities safe and strong.
One thing we can do is to watch the games within a concrete social bubble. This means speaking with a few friends about limiting their social contacts and just hanging out together. This is a great way to limit the spread of the virus while also getting together to live the excitement of the final regular-season weeks, the playoffs, and the big Super Bowl.
This should be an explicit agreement. If all are able to respect it and respect each other, then great. Because there is nothing like watching NFL playoffs with friends and some classic dip!
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This Year’s Super Bowl
Super Bowl LV will take place in Tampa Bay, Florida on February 7th. Luckily it will be in a warmer place where being outside will be possible. It will also take place in a stadium, which means it is open air. All of this will help reduce the risk of transmission.
Plus the league has recently announced that it will reduce the capacity of the stadium drastically. Only 20% of the seats will be filled, ensuring the ability to maintain a safe social distance.
The final plans for the big game are still being decided. However, with this announcement, it is clear that the league is taking the challenge seriously. The least we can do as fans is to stick within our predefined social bubbles as we watch the big game.
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