Will You Go to Husky Stadium on Game Day?
Will you go?
Four months from the scheduled opener against Michigan at Husky Stadium, University of Washington football fans are considering the coronavirus threat and asking themselves that very question.
Dave Rost is a Husky season-ticket holder for nearly half a century and such a loyal team follower that ESPN and countless newspapers have done stories on him. He's had these discussions.
Unless things dramatically change, he won't be in attendance.
"I'm a high-risk guy over 65," Rost said. "I wouldn't put myself at risk. If there's no testing, I'm not going to go."
All over the country, college football fans and their corresponding universities are having these kinds of dialogues. Do they hold games? Permit full-stadium crowds? Do they test for the virus?
In the Southeastern Conference, which offers the most rabid fan base, where football is considered something akin to religion, Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network interviewed Michael Saag, University of Alabama-Birmingham infectious disease director, who offered an ominous warning.
"Besides yelling, cheering spreads the virus in a big, big way," Saag said. "We'll have to see if infections spike after a big game."
This leaves leagues and schools to ponder whether they should restrict crowd sizes or eliminate fans altogether. A lot of people are determined to go.
Washington athletic director Jenn Cohen recently told her alums the school has had an 88-percent renewal rate for Husky football season tickets.
Ohio State officials reports an 87-percent rate of football season-ticket retention, which encompasses a 44,000 fan base. People are eager to watch their Buckeyes.
At Georgia, president Jere Morehouse expressed hope that they'll be able to fill Sanford Stadium with fans on fall Saturdays. He didn't say how they were going to do it.
"Personally, I'm hoping that we don't have to put any restrictions on at Sanford Stadium, but I have no idea what the public-health experts are going to be telling us at that point," Morehouse said. "If they say we have to have social distancing or you have to wear masks, then we'll approach things as we're advised to do."
If crowds are restricted, Husky fans want to know, how does the school decide who gets let in. The biggest donors? The students?
While school officials haven't offered anything definitive, fans such as Rost are regularly surveyed on what they would like to see done and given updates.
It may be well into July before the UW determines any game-day procedures. School officials say they're working on these issues.
Meantime, Rost says he'll adjust to whatever the outcome is. He'll continue to support the university and hang onto his season ticket. Even if he doesn't use them.
"I don't mind watching games on TV for a year," he said. "I'm still going to have to tailgate with my buddies. We could meet up at some place like Sand Point (Country Club), have a few drinks and go home."
