Cal Football: Oregon Won't Allow Sports With Big Crowds Through September

Oregon’s governor announced that sporting events with large crowds would not be allowed in the state at least through September, the Oregonian reported Thursday.

This would affect Oregon and Oregon State’s home football games through the first month of the season, and could impact their road games as well.

This announcement also could be a harbinger of what might happen in California.

Here is an excerpt from the Oregonian report:

With the threat of the coronavirus still looming, [Oregon Gov. Kate] Brown said large gatherings of people for events such as sporting events, concerts and festivals cannot go on in Oregon until effective prevention and treatment for the coronavirus, such as a vaccine, is available.

Brown said such large gatherings planned through the end of September should be canceled or modified. It was not immediately clear whether sporting events without crowds would be permitted across the state.

This leaves open the possibility of playing football games without people in the stands, although that decision does not seem imminent.

So how do we decipher what Oregon’s announcement might mean for California and Cal football?

The CDC reported this week that Oregon had just 2,839 cases of COVID-19, while California had 56,212. (The San Jose Mercury-News reported the number of coronavirus cases in California had jumped to 60,567 by Thursday.)

You would guess from those numbers that Oregon might be more willing to ramp up its economy and return to normalcy more quickly than California.

Looking a little closer, 28,644 of the California cases are in Los Angeles County, according to Los Angeles County public health, while the total in the Bay Area was 9,118 through Tuesday, the Mercury-News reported.

Nonetheless, Los Angeles County reportedly is beginning the reopening process before the Bay Area.

Gov. Brown announced Oregon is taking the first steps toward reopening on May 15.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week that the state will begin the reopening process late this week, giving authority to counties as to when they want to begin that process.

Los Angeles county will begin reopening on a limited basis on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, the Bay Area is reopening more slowly than other areas of the state, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The numbers and their possible implications are now spinning in my head trying to determine the odds of Cal playing football games in September, and, if games are played, whether spectators will be allowed into the stadiums, and, if so, how many will be granted entrance.

I am reminded once again that sporting events are down the list of priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the future of sports, including college football, remains on many people’s minds.

My conclusion of all this as it relates to Cal football in 2020?

I can’t conclude anything.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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