Question about in person attendance at basketball games

[aucat]

Maybe this has been discussed previously, and I missed it, but I just wanted to ask for clarification. Yesterday I was watching an SEC game on TV
and I noticed that they had people in the arena. The crowd size was obviously restricted. It appeared the arena was about20- 25% full at most.
Second, the people in the stands were spaced out well. And third, everyone appeared to be wearing a mask.

I am all about safety with this pandemic, but it got me to wondering if we could do this here, especially for the MSU women's games which typically only fill the arena to about 25% capacity anyway. Obviously, you would need to keep the refreshment stands closed, water fountains turned off, etc.

But am I off base here? What do other fans think? If those restrictions were followed, I would feel pretty safe attending a game.

I guess the decision has probably been made for the entire season so it may be a moot point, but just wondering what others know. Thanks.

[coloradocat]

Why do you want to kill grandma?

[mslacatfan]

I think you could EASILY have people in the stands at 25% capacity for men’s/women’s games. And have more than adequate social distancing and safety rules in place....

It’s a complete F’ing joke.

Just my opinion.

[aucat]

Why do you want to kill grandma?

I don't want to hurt anyone. From what I am reading, the cleanliness, wearing of masks, and social distancing
is what is critical. I still go to the grocery store to buy groceries, but I wear a mask and I maintain distance from
others, and I keep my hands clean/sanitized.

[BobcatDel]

Maybe this has been discussed previously, and I missed it, but I just wanted to ask for clarification. Yesterday I was watching an SEC game on TV
and I noticed that they had people in the arena. The crowd size was obviously restricted. It appeared the arena was about20- 25% full at most.
Second, the people in the stands were spaced out well. And third, everyone appeared to be wearing a mask.

I am all about safety with this pandemic, but it got me to wondering if we could do this here, especially for the MSU women's games which typically only fill the arena to about 25% capacity anyway. Obviously, you would need to keep the refreshment stands closed, water fountains turned off, etc.

But am I off base here? What do other fans think? If those restrictions were followed, I would feel pretty safe attending a game.

I guess the decision has probably been made for the entire season so it may be a moot point, but just wondering what others know. Thanks.

Not sure it has been made for entire season so there is hope for a limited attendance later. What I know (very little but some thoughts....)

Yes I have also noted that some conferences are allowing in very limited fans. Even our women played in Utah with a few fans in stands...less than 200. And I saw a Montana high school game last night with perhaps 300-400 folks in stands.

The governor is opening some areas of state but the decisions will still depend on local health authorities and local conditions. Right now Gallatin County Health Officials are being pretty conservative and I know the university is trying to be a good citizen working with county.

Beyond the county, there are a lot of folks that will have their finger in making the decision, will other teams agree to play us if we allow in say 500 fans? How do our AD and Coach feel about it? Will the MUS have a say...I guess we need UM to agree because it seems like we can’t do anything independently? Would the conference allow it?

I did send a note to AD asking if they have considered giving something like 20 tickets to each player and coach so you could allow in parents and perhaps 300-400 fans. Or if Gallatin County would stay shuttered would they want to play in Great Falls or Billings or say play the Idaho game in Dillon with 500 fans. I remember the game a couple years ago in Great Falls that was wonderfully supported and I know Kola Bad Bear personal fan club would easily take up 500 seats in Billings Metra.

I personally think it could be safely done.

Even if you allowed in cheerleaders, university students and the band it would be a start. Just looking at Montana data through end of last year, only 1 person under the age of 30 passed away and I believe it was 12 under 40. Similar trend is noted with national statistics where 95% of deaths are over age 50 and less that 1500 deaths were under age 30 out of 250,000 deaths.

Some would argue well that would be a “spreader” event but to me it’s not like the kids aren’t going to bars, house parties, dates, classes already so sitting 500 or more students spaced out is not something I would worry about.

I personally fall in the category where I have a 1 in 20 chance of dying IF I contract it. I WOULD attend but only if attendance was well spread out and all safety protocols taken. And I sure would not try to prevent others from going if their comfort level was higher than mine.

[BelgradeBobcat]

It might be a Big Sky Conference policy. I don't think there have been any fans at any Big Sky games anywhere. I really don't know though.

[coloradocat]

Why do you want to kill grandma?

I don't want to hurt anyone. From what I am reading, the cleanliness, wearing of masks, and social distancing
is what is critical. I still go to the grocery store to buy groceries, but I wear a mask and I maintain distance from
others, and I keep my hands clean/sanitized.

If we've learned anything from 2020 it's that questions like this aren't allowed. It doesn't matter how rational you are. For some people if you question the official narrative at all you only care about yourself and want others to die.

[grizzh8r]

Maybe this has been discussed previously, and I missed it, but I just wanted to ask for clarification. Yesterday I was watching an SEC game on TV
and I noticed that they had people in the arena. The crowd size was obviously restricted. It appeared the arena was about20- 25% full at most.
Second, the people in the stands were spaced out well. And third, everyone appeared to be wearing a mask.

I am all about safety with this pandemic, but it got me to wondering if we could do this here, especially for the MSU women's games which typically only fill the arena to about 25% capacity anyway. Obviously, you would need to keep the refreshment stands closed, water fountains turned off, etc.

But am I off base here? What do other fans think? If those restrictions were followed, I would feel pretty safe attending a game.

I guess the decision has probably been made for the entire season so it may be a moot point, but just wondering what others know. Thanks.

The reason the SEC has fans is completely due to state and local political influence. Meaning that in the south, those in decision making positions are generally conservatives, who realize that people possess brains and can decide for themselves about how to handle personal responsibility and accountability in regards to taking measues to limit the spread. Generally, these states have remained mostly open and have allowed attendance at sporting events since about September on. The east coast, west coast, PNW, and upper midwest states were largely controlled by liberals (in 2020 at least) who evidently think people are stupid and therefore enacted draconian measures (some worse than others) in a attempt to control a pandemic. What's really interesting is when you look at the per capita infection rates of two states on very different ends of the political spectrum and ways of handling the situation - Georgia and California - and their infection rates per capita are almost identical. Source below. It's interesting to see the states in that same general neighborhood of infection rate numbers, they are a smattering of America. Pretty telling to me that you really can't successfully legislate a pandemic. At least not in a country with as much personal freedom as we are used to enjoying.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/110 ... -by-state/

[aucat]

Yes, I did some research and see that it is decided county by county, so I'm sorry I even brought it up. The university has supported the county's efforts and right now at this point, the best thing we can do is get this dang vaccine going. Once we get a handle on that I am sure things will change for the better. Let's face it, we have never been through anything like this before, so I'm not going to criticize the county, state or anyone else. And speaking of that, I think the attempt to preserve the 2021 football season is more important than trying to play a few games this "spring." So I support MSU on that.

Go Cats

[MSU01]

I don't want to hurt anyone. From what I am reading, the cleanliness, wearing of masks, and social distancing
is what is critical. I still go to the grocery store to buy groceries, but I wear a mask and I maintain distance from
others, and I keep my hands clean/sanitized.

You bring up a great point. Personally I'd love to attend a few Bobcat basketball games this year as part of a socially distanced, masked crowd. There is of course a clear and obvious distinction between attendance at sporting events and going to the grocery store, in that one is a recreational activity and the other is essential. I'm good with staying away and watching from home on TV this spring if the authorities decide that's the best way to run things. By the time football season rolls around next September with the vaccines having been made available to the general public by that point (hopefully), I certainly expect a common-sense solution that will allow fans back in the stadium at least at some level.

[BozoneCat]

As one of the few (that I know of) healthcare providers on this forum, I have a different insight into this situation. I'm as hardcore pro-mask, pro-distancing, pro-restrictions as they come. Arguing "freedom" and personal responsibility doesn't really hold any weight with me, I think clearly way too many Americans have demonstrated that they can't be bothered to inconvenience themselves for any significant or insignificant reason.

That said, I would be ALL in favor of this. Above all, I feel that we need to use some damn common sense when it comes to managing the pandemic, and that hasn't really been done from the get-go. It is completely feasible to have 1000 people, or slightly more, at a basketball game where they could easily be spread out and distanced. Require masks, and have a few ushers on hand to make sure people aren't moving around and getting too close. I don't really see why that would be so difficult? If we're going to let the kids play, they deserve to play in front of fans.

[lv2hoop]

As one of the few (that I know of) healthcare providers on this forum, I have a different insight into this situation. I'm as hardcore pro-mask, pro-distancing, pro-restrictions as they come. Arguing "freedom" and personal responsibility doesn't really hold any weight with me, I think clearly way too many Americans have demonstrated that they can't be bothered to inconvenience themselves for any significant or insignificant reason.

That said, I would be ALL in favor of this. Above all, I feel that we need to use some damn common sense when it comes to managing the pandemic, and that hasn't really been done from the get-go. It is completely feasible to have 1000 people, or slightly more, at a basketball game where they could easily be spread out and distanced. Require masks, and have a few ushers on hand to make sure people aren't moving around and getting too close. I don't really see why that would be so difficult? If we're going to let the kids play, they deserve to play in front of fans.

Great post — thanks for sharing your perspective as a person working in health care!!

[wapiti]

Why do you want to kill grandma?

I don't want to hurt anyone. From what I am reading, the cleanliness, wearing of masks, and social distancing
is what is critical. I still go to the grocery store to buy groceries, but I wear a mask and I maintain distance from
others, and I keep my hands clean/sanitized.

If we've learned anything from 2020 it's that questions like this aren't allowed. It doesn't matter how rational you are. For some people if you question the official narrative at all you only care about yourself and want others to die.

I have questioned the effectiveness of masks and oh wow did have I ever received an ear-full.
I brought science and data to that discussion and the opposition did not care about the science and data that supported the ineffectiveness of wearing a mask.

[ilovethecats]

Why do you want to kill grandma?

I don't want to hurt anyone. From what I am reading, the cleanliness, wearing of masks, and social distancing
is what is critical. I still go to the grocery store to buy groceries, but I wear a mask and I maintain distance from
others, and I keep my hands clean/sanitized.

If we've learned anything from 2020 it's that questions like this aren't allowed. It doesn't matter how rational you are. For some people if you question the official narrative at all you only care about yourself and want others to die.

I have questioned the effectiveness of masks and oh wow did have I ever received an ear-full.
I brought science and data to that discussion and the opposition did not care about the science and data that supported the ineffectiveness of wearing a mask.

Yep it’s a tough conversation to have. Questions typically get blasted pretty good. I have one more that’s been bothering me that maybe someone far wiser could help me with.

The flu is basically non existent this year. Thank god it went away or we’d really be in trouble. USA Today reported on this and said that in the same time period in 2019 and 2020, we had 65,000 reported cases in 2019 and only 1000 cases in 2020. This seems odd to me but still, isn’t really my question.

The CDC said the main reason for such a massive drop in flu cases this past year is because everyone is wearing masks and social distancing. However, Covid cases continue to skyrocket. I’ve read on this board and others it’s because many people aren’t wearing masks or social distancing?

I need a lot of help wrapping the old brain around this one.

[MSU01]

Yep it’s a tough conversation to have. Questions typically get blasted pretty good. I have one more that’s been bothering me that maybe someone far wiser could help me with.

The flu is basically non existent this year. Thank god it went away or we’d really be in trouble. USA Today reported on this and said that in the same time period in 2019 and 2020, we had 65,000 reported cases in 2019 and only 1000 cases in 2020. This seems odd to me but still, isn’t really my question.

The CDC said the main reason for such a massive drop in flu cases this past year is because everyone is wearing masks and social distancing. However, Covid cases continue to skyrocket. I’ve read on this board and others it’s because many people aren’t wearing masks or social distancing?

I need a lot of help wrapping the old brain around this one.

I think the best answer for why the flu season has thankfully been almost non-existent this year is that 1) COVID-19 has been shown to be more easily transmissible from person to person than flu viruses, and 2) most people were already taking precautionary measures at some level when flu season began, thereby limiting the spread right from the outset.

I have no desire to get into an argument about mask-wearing, but I think that the overwhelming preponderance of data shows that they DO help in preventing some (not all) infections and reducing the severity of others. That said, they are by no means a perfect solution or guarantee that a person who wears one won't get sick, or that a sick person who wears one won't infect others. The way I see it, it's equally dangerous to hold masks up as a perfect solution for stopping the spread of COVID as it is to say that they're totally useless and nobody should bother wearing them in any situation. The truth, as it generally does, lies somewhere in the middle ground of the two extreme viewpoints.

[ilovethecats]

Yep it’s a tough conversation to have. Questions typically get blasted pretty good. I have one more that’s been bothering me that maybe someone far wiser could help me with.

The flu is basically non existent this year. Thank god it went away or we’d really be in trouble. USA Today reported on this and said that in the same time period in 2019 and 2020, we had 65,000 reported cases in 2019 and only 1000 cases in 2020. This seems odd to me but still, isn’t really my question.

The CDC said the main reason for such a massive drop in flu cases this past year is because everyone is wearing masks and social distancing. However, Covid cases continue to skyrocket. I’ve read on this board and others it’s because many people aren’t wearing masks or social distancing?

I need a lot of help wrapping the old brain around this one.

I think the best answer for why the flu season has thankfully been almost non-existent this year is that 1) COVID-19 has been shown to be more easily transmissible from person to person than flu viruses, and 2) most people were already taking precautionary measures at some level when flu season began, thereby limiting the spread right from the outset.

I have no desire to get into an argument about mask-wearing, but I think that the overwhelming preponderance of data shows that they DO help in preventing some (not all) infections and reducing the severity of others. That said, they are by no means a perfect solution or guarantee that a person who wears one won't get sick, or that a sick person who wears one won't infect others. The way I see it, it's equally dangerous to hold masks up as a perfect solution for stopping the spread of COVID as it is to say that they're totally useless and nobody should bother wearing them in any situation. The truth, as it generally does, lies somewhere in the middle ground of the two extreme viewpoints.

Agree with you completely. The truth almost always lies in the middle.

[grizzh8r]

Yep it’s a tough conversation to have. Questions typically get blasted pretty good. I have one more that’s been bothering me that maybe someone far wiser could help me with.

The flu is basically non existent this year. Thank god it went away or we’d really be in trouble. USA Today reported on this and said that in the same time period in 2019 and 2020, we had 65,000 reported cases in 2019 and only 1000 cases in 2020. This seems odd to me but still, isn’t really my question.

The CDC said the main reason for such a massive drop in flu cases this past year is because everyone is wearing masks and social distancing. However, Covid cases continue to skyrocket. I’ve read on this board and others it’s because many people aren’t wearing masks or social distancing?

I need a lot of help wrapping the old brain around this one.

I think the best answer for why the flu season has thankfully been almost non-existent this year is that 1) COVID-19 has been shown to be more easily transmissible from person to person than flu viruses, and 2) most people were already taking precautionary measures at some level when flu season began, thereby limiting the spread right from the outset.

I have no desire to get into an argument about mask-wearing, but I think that the overwhelming preponderance of data shows that they DO help in preventing some (not all) infections and reducing the severity of others. That said, they are by no means a perfect solution or guarantee that a person who wears one won't get sick, or that a sick person who wears one won't infect others. The way I see it, it's equally dangerous to hold masks up as a perfect solution for stopping the spread of COVID as it is to say that they're totally useless and nobody should bother wearing them in any situation. The truth, as it generally does, lies somewhere in the middle ground of the two extreme viewpoints.

Agree with you completely. The truth almost always lies in the middle.

Unfortunately, those in power don't possess the ability to form a rational thought, nor seek any middle ground. Everything is sensationalized and polarized and if you don't agree, you are vilified for it.

[ilovethecats]

Yep it’s a tough conversation to have. Questions typically get blasted pretty good. I have one more that’s been bothering me that maybe someone far wiser could help me with.

The flu is basically non existent this year. Thank god it went away or we’d really be in trouble. USA Today reported on this and said that in the same time period in 2019 and 2020, we had 65,000 reported cases in 2019 and only 1000 cases in 2020. This seems odd to me but still, isn’t really my question.

The CDC said the main reason for such a massive drop in flu cases this past year is because everyone is wearing masks and social distancing. However, Covid cases continue to skyrocket. I’ve read on this board and others it’s because many people aren’t wearing masks or social distancing?

I need a lot of help wrapping the old brain around this one.

I think the best answer for why the flu season has thankfully been almost non-existent this year is that 1) COVID-19 has been shown to be more easily transmissible from person to person than flu viruses, and 2) most people were already taking precautionary measures at some level when flu season began, thereby limiting the spread right from the outset.

I have no desire to get into an argument about mask-wearing, but I think that the overwhelming preponderance of data shows that they DO help in preventing some (not all) infections and reducing the severity of others. That said, they are by no means a perfect solution or guarantee that a person who wears one won't get sick, or that a sick person who wears one won't infect others. The way I see it, it's equally dangerous to hold masks up as a perfect solution for stopping the spread of COVID as it is to say that they're totally useless and nobody should bother wearing them in any situation. The truth, as it generally does, lies somewhere in the middle ground of the two extreme viewpoints.

Agree with you completely. The truth almost always lies in the middle.

Unfortunately, those in power don't possess the ability to form a rational thought, nor seek any middle ground. Everything is sensationalized and polarized and if you don't agree, you are vilified for it.

I also agree with this. It’s been a mess and not nearly as black and white as some think it is. Or wish it was!

[wapiti]

Yep it’s a tough conversation to have. Questions typically get blasted pretty good. I have one more that’s been bothering me that maybe someone far wiser could help me with.

The flu is basically non existent this year. Thank god it went away or we’d really be in trouble. USA Today reported on this and said that in the same time period in 2019 and 2020, we had 65,000 reported cases in 2019 and only 1000 cases in 2020. This seems odd to me but still, isn’t really my question.

The CDC said the main reason for such a massive drop in flu cases this past year is because everyone is wearing masks and social distancing. However, Covid cases continue to skyrocket. I’ve read on this board and others it’s because many people aren’t wearing masks or social distancing?

I need a lot of help wrapping the old brain around this one.

I think the best answer for why the flu season has thankfully been almost non-existent this year is that 1) COVID-19 has been shown to be more easily transmissible from person to person than flu viruses, and 2) most people were already taking precautionary measures at some level when flu season began, thereby limiting the spread right from the outset.

I have no desire to get into an argument about mask-wearing, but I think that the overwhelming preponderance of data shows that they DO help in preventing some (not all) infections and reducing the severity of others. That said, they are by no means a perfect solution or guarantee that a person who wears one won't get sick, or that a sick person who wears one won't infect others. The way I see it, it's equally dangerous to hold masks up as a perfect solution for stopping the spread of COVID as it is to say that they're totally useless and nobody should bother wearing them in any situation. The truth, as it generally does, lies somewhere in the middle ground of the two extreme viewpoints.

Flu counts are down because the cdc is not tracking the flu like they normally would. I was told that the cdc had mentioned this somewhere in a press release.

[CelticCat]

A lot more people getting flu shots could be a factor:

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/12 ... 608307518/