Word came out yesterday that Alabama head football coach Nick Saban tested positive for COVID-19. I want to say I’m surprised, but that’s not the case.
When the South East Conference (SEC) announced that beginning the college football season would begin as scheduled, I just assumed they made the conscious decision that football was more important than the health and safety of its student-athletes and coaches. To think otherwise would be to deny the science on how contagious diseases spread.
I tried to watch the Alabama-Ole Miss game this past Saturday night. I had to turn it off after about 15 minutes. I thought there were too many people at the game. Not only were their spectators in the stands, but there were also even cheerleaders behind the endzone. Talk about unnecessary. It’s one thing to play football during a pandemic, and it’s something else to do without minimizing the number of humans involved.
It doesn’t matter how spread apart people in the stands are. Once the game is over, people will get up to leave with every other person in attendance. Anyone who believes they will remain six feet from others as they try to leave has never been to a sporting event. Every single time I’ve attended a sporting event and then left immediately after the game, I’ve been stuck standing in a huge crowd of people.
As I watched the game and noticed how unsafe people were, I had to turn it off. It got to be like nails on a chalkboard, and not in a good way.
Nick Saban is 68 years old
I wish Nick Saban well. I really do. I hope he makes a full recovery. Too bad he cannot fly to Walter Reed, get treated by a team of doctors, and receive treatments not available to the general public.
Since Coach Saban resides in Alabama, his medical treatment will probably consist of eating grits, drinking ice tea, and receiving prayer. That’s probably enough to make him well. I’ve read reports that show a regiment of prayer, grits, and ice tea is just as effective as a well-calibrated Bacta Tank.
Godspeed Nike Saban. Godspeed.