President says "he believes" 2020 NFL season should start on time in meeting with major sports commissioners
Sports fans have been hammered with bad news lately, but at least this weekend, something good came out of the White House.
On a conference call with commissioners from major league sports across the United States, President Trump reportedly said he believes the NFL season should start on time in September.
The 2020 NFL schedule has not been released and won't be until at least May, but if it follows the usual pattern of beginning the week after Labor Day, the first Sunday of the season will be Sept. 6. In all likelihood, the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will host the first game of the season on Thursday, Sept. 3.
But as big NFL fans know, the season usually starts weeks before September with training camp in the middle of July. Preseason games are also played throughout August. While fans and the media often minimize the importance of veterans getting ready for the season through summer camp and preseason contests, those things are essential for rookies, players on the roster bubble and any teams with first-year head coaches or coordinators.
If the NFL season is going to start on time in September, then Americans will likely need to be able to gather in large crowds by July.
Not to get too political in a sports story, but it's also important to note that Mr. Trump has often changed his tune in regards to coronavirus, wavering between downplaying the virus and warning that hundreds of thousands of Americans could die, during his COVID-19 press briefings. Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Trump said he would like the country to get back to normal and gather in large crowds for Easter on April 12.
That's obviously not going to happen. If the country is lucky, Americans will begin ceasing their social distancing shortly after Memorial Day but Independence Day may be a more realistic goal, which is closing in on the start of training camp.
