Sports without Spectators

[Zardnaar]

The AFL is apparently planning some extreme measures to get the season played.

Playing behind closed doors per the gathering ban from Monday, they want to cram extra rounds in before the assumed total lockdown of society during the peak pandemic period (which they're advised will be in June/July).

That would mean a quicker turnaround, to a game every 5 days instead of one weekend per round. That burden is going to mean shorter games, larger playing lists with new players being signed, more onfield rotations.

I don't know yet what the NRL (rugby league) is planning, I've seen suggestions they want to pick a location and play every game there. They also need to work out what to do about the New Zealand border closure, there's a team based in Auckland called the NZ Warriors who obviously can't play teams in NZ any more.

The A-League soccer is nearly finished (6 of 29 weeks left, plus playoffs) for the current season but faces the same border dilemma with Wellington Phoenix.

Super Rugby (rugby union) must surely be impossible with the NZ border decision, and that's assuming Argentina or South Africa don't make their own similar measures.

We're expecting the border thing to get worse. Something along the lines of complete lockdown citizens and residents only with chartered flights to pick up citizens stuck overseas. Cargo and medicine will be allowed.

Wife's aunty is in Adelaide, cruise got canceled. She should have canceled herself a few weeks ago.

Tourism sector will basically be gone, they're being advised to look at domestic and Australian only.

We're not panicking yet, I expect that in the next week. Family went shopping at 7:30 am. We've still got the shelves stocked and have toilet paper. Give it a week.

Paracetamol is gonna be short, rice, canned goods, etc. Probably pasta as well.

 

[FredLC]

I do not particularly care for Flamengo, but those two last-minute goals saved me from an entire summer's worth of putting up with fans bragging all over the place.

Be careful. People frequently fall for Flamengo after they tried for a while.

A reserve player. I'm trying to find the name, but it wasn't even a confirmed diagnosis. Over the river in Uruguay they've already suspended their tournament, but the narcogovernment in Argentina believes in ‘ruling by news headline’ i.e. staying in control of the narrative no matter what reality has to say about it. So first downplay everything and only start a quarantine after players have been forced to mix up and play a couple hours' worth of contact sport under (or after) a deluge, in the cold. Many of the players themselves and His Handiness Diego Armando Maradona himself have actually spoken out in favour of an immediate suspension.

Government is issuing recommendations here, but decisions appear to being left for the leagues themselves. Anyway, the NBB (Brazilian basketball league) decided to keep the matches without public attending; the Judo association already suspended activities and it looks like the regional football will stop too. Commentators say that the Rio de Janeiro league will stop by Monday, after today's round.

The only good thing about football seems to be Ronaldinho winning yet another title (prize: a 16-kg. suckling pig).

You guys are getting how sketchy is Ronaldinho's recent past? He has empty bank accounts, his passport is confiscated because he refuses to pay a LARGE fine after building without authorization in a preserved area; he owes millions in property taxes, he had a charity foundation that was closed by authorities because of scandals with handling public money, and he was involved in a pyramid scheme and is answering an 80 million dollars public lawsuit.

And now, falsified documentation and connections with money laundering and the organized crime in Paraguay.

Looks like the football idol and the citizen live in different universes!

Regards .

 

[Birdjaguar]

You guys are getting how sketchy is Ronaldinho's recent past? He has empty bank accounts, his passport is confiscated because he refuses to pay a LARGE fine after building without authorization in a preserved area; he owes millions in property taxes, he had a charity foundation that was closed by authorities because of scandals with handling public money, and he was involved in a pyramid scheme and is answering an 80 million dollars public lawsuit.

And now, falsified documentation and connections with money laundering and the organized crime in Paraguay.

Looks like the football idol and the citizen live in different universes!

Regards .

Is he friends with the Trump Family?

 

[Takhisis]

I love how you've capitalised the word ‘family’ as is done with such as ‘Gambino’, ‘Corleone’, ‘Capone’ and others.

Be careful. People frequently fall for Flamengo after they tried for a while.

Fall to, maybe. Fall for, never.

Government is issuing recommendations here, but decisions appear to being left for the leagues themselves. Anyway, the NBB (Brazilian basketball league) decided to keep the matches without public attending; the Judo association already suspended activities and it looks like the regional football will stop too. Commentators say that the Rio de Janeiro league will stop by Monday, after today's round.

Just to keep up the pretense that everything is all right the dictatorial misgovernment has forced the league to keep playing so teams are criss-crossing the country, thus risking becoming active inter-provincial vectors.

You guys are getting how sketchy is Ronaldinho's recent past? He has empty bank accounts, his passport is confiscated because he refuses to pay a LARGE fine after building without authorization in a preserved area; he owes millions in property taxes, he had a charity foundation that was closed by authorities because of scandals with handling public money, and he was involved in a pyramid scheme and is answering an 80 million dollars public lawsuit.

And now, falsified documentation and connections with money laundering and the organized crime in Paraguay.

Looks like the football idol and the citizen live in different universes!

Nah, that's what football pretty much is these days.

 

[Takhisis]

Finally the Argentine government, the last holdout in CONMEBOL, has decided to postpone football matches i.e. suspend the tournament after the players, trainers, etc. acted on their own and decided on their own that they would refuse to play. The incompetence of this unconstitutional bunch of imbeciles is astonishing.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Just to keep up the pretense that everything is all right the dictatorial misgovernment has forced the league to keep playing so teams are criss-crossing the country, thus risking becoming active inter-provincial vectors.

This is made far worse by the fact that if a footballer appears to have all the symptoms of the virus there's no way to know if he has it or is just faking.

 

[Takhisis]

@FredLC Jorge Jesus has coronavirus!

 

[FredLC]

@FredLC Jorge Jesus has coronavirus!

I saw it. And he is in the risk demographic.

But apparently it was a weak proof. A counter proof was taken, results pending.

The players appear to be all clear!

Regards .

 

[FredLC]

Fall to, maybe. Fall for, never.

Hincha de Boca, I reckon?

 

[Lohrenswald]

what's the point of a sport if you won't do it without spectators

 

[Arwon]

Finally the Argentine government, the last holdout in CONMEBOL, has decided to postpone football matches i.e. suspend the tournament after the players, trainers, etc. acted on their own and decided on their own that they would refuse to play. The incompetence of this unconstitutional bunch of imbeciles is astonishing.

Don't worry you can still watch the A-League

Or if mid level professional soccer doesn't do it for you, the Australian football starts on Thursday and the Rugby League will continue after starting last week, though possibly without New Zealand soon.

We'll see how much they get played before they each have to suspend play due to positive tests.

But in the mean time some leagues have spotted a market opportunity for filling in with overseas broadcasting.

 

[Takhisis]

Please don't insult me, Fred.

Don't worry you can still watch the A-League

Or if mid level professional soccer doesn't do it for you, the Australian football starts on Thursday and the Rugby League will continue after starting last week, though possibly without New Zealand soon.

We'll see how much they get played before they each have to suspend play due to positive tests.

But in the mean time some leagues have spotted a market opportunity for filling in with overseas broadcasting.

Rugby, (field) hockey and so on have already stopped here. I don't think your other sports will take long to follow suit.

 

[Arwon]

Yeah, literally as soon as there's a positive test in a player they'll be stopping for a fortnight. The AFL's "we'll start now, play as much as we can, when we can, and go til December if we have to" approach is the prevailing one. With Australian testing fairly widespread and the disease on a relatively slow track for western countries, they might just get away with it.

With closed doors, it's pretty much just a risky workplace so much less of a concern than mass gatherings were.

 

[FredLC]

Please don't insult me, Fred.

Ah, risking that an argentinean supports Boca is a relatively safe bet.

And not River either.

What is it? Racing? San Lorenzo? Velez? Lanus?

 

[Birdjaguar]

what's the point of a sport if you won't do it without spectators

TV revenue!

 

[warpus]

I'm a season ticket holder for Toronto FC, they play in MLS, which is a North American soccer/football league.

We played 2 matches, one away, and one home.. since then the season has been suspended and we're waiting to see what happens next. If this keeps up, I'll get like 95% of my money back and won't have to pay for transportation to get there, and all the eating out, and drinking, and...

I'm also a big supporter of the Canadian Premier League and was going to head out to the first ever match of the first ever expansion team.. from Ottawa.. our nation's capital.. but.. yeah.. this might not happen now.. although it's scheduled for may (the season starts late, and they start playing even later, because they joined the league so late and are still assembling a squad)

I also wanted to fly out to Halifax this June or July for a week and just have a little vacation there, meet up with the football supporters/fans there, have them take me to their pubs, then we'd all go to the game..

maybe it will still happen! maybe not. I'm not missing the lack of sports on TV at all though. It gives me more time to do other stuff

 

[Birdjaguar]

I wonder what the sports sections of the newspapers will do with no scores to report? Blank pages?

 

[Zardnaar]

WrestleMania has been canceled sorta they're gonna do it from crowdless performance centre.

 

[Takhisis]

I wonder what the sports sections of the newspapers will do with no scores to report? Blank pages?

I've posted about this earlier, and I still stand by it, that now, if ever, is the time for e-sports to catch on.

 

[IglooDame]

I wonder what the sports sections of the newspapers will do with no scores to report? Blank pages?

Our local television sports reporters are doing straight news reports now, I suspect filling in for reporters that are dealing with children that aren't in school now.