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With the coronavirus becoming more and more of an issue as we get closer and closer to the start of the 2020 NFL season one big question keeps on coming up. Should the NFL create a bubble for the 2020-2021 season?
So far every league that has returned has used a bubble except for one. That one, Major League Baseball, has been hit with an outbreak on one team already, with the Miami Marlins having 19 players and staff testing positive in only the first week of the season. The other leagues, however, like the NBA and NHL, have had few to no positive tests once they entered their respective bubbles. That is a big vote of confidence for the bubble strategy. Football, however, is a completely different beast than hockey or basketball. Let's look at the factors that will play into whether or not the NFL should attempt a bubble.
Positive- More Control
Probably the biggest reason for putting the league into a bubble or multiple bubbles like the NHL is the amount of control it gives the league over what players do during the season. While in the bubble, the league can closely monitor what each player is doing, make rules about leaving the bubble, or any other issues that may arise. Without a bubble you run the risk of players interacting with more people from the general public who may either have the virus or have come in contact with someone who has it.
Negative- Limited Options
The biggest issue for the NFL that other sports don't have as much of an issue with is where to put the bubbles. Even for the best case scenario, let's go with four bubbles, one for each division. That is eight teams, which means four games each week. The only way that would work under a normal schedule is if you played a game at nine in the morning along with the other normal times on a typical NFL Sunday. The other potential option, especially with potentially no college football for at least the first month of the season, is playing two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday. At least with other sports you can use multiple facilities at the same time, like the NBA in Orlando. The NFL you don't have anywhere you can go that would give you the option of even multiple college caliber stadiums within a short distance.
Positive- More Likely To Finish The Season
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After seeing the difference in how things have been between the MLB and the NFL, the likelihood of the baseball season finishing is getting slimmer and slimmer by the day. With two teams shut down now, it's getting harder and harder for the league to have every team finish with the same amount of games played for each team, if they are even able to finish at all. At least with baseball there is a possibility of teams playing doubleheaders, which has been discussed with another rule change, having teams play seven inning games instead of nine. In the NFL, however, unless they are going to play two halves, there is no potential for teams to make up games if a game has to be cancelled due to a team getting infected. Even in baseball with a season of 60 games the loss of games is making it harder and harder on the schedule, but at least they have some leeway. Football, on the other hand, has no leeway so an outbreak and cancellation of a game would be completely disastrous to the league as a whole.
Negative- Playing Field Conditions and Accommodations
The thing about football that is different than any other sport is how much damage the field takes on a regular basis. With that amount of repair needed between games, the feasibility of playing multiple contests on the same playing surface in the same day is just a disaster waiting to happen. Even on fields that host multiple teams on consecutive days, issues have arisen. Players get injured due to divots in the field and other issues with the turf. The likelihood of these types of issues occurring when multiple games being played in the same day goes up exponentially.
Another issue that comes into play for football that is not nearly as much of an issue for other sports, especially basketball and hockey with their limited rosters, is where to house all of these players throughout the season. Not only do you have to secure hotels or other accommodations for the entire bubble, but you also have to ensure that every member of the hotel staff is properly protected from bringing the virus to the league. And this is for over four times as many players and staff as is necessary for the NBA.
All in all, while in an ideal world the bubble would definitely be the safest option for the NFL to ensure the completion of the 2020 season, the logistics of one might be too much to contend with. The best option, in my opinion, is exactly what the NFL is doing; enforcing extremely steep penalties to any player who does something that results in them getting the virus in order to make sure the players are as safe and protected as possible, and even that might not be enough. The NFL is in a precarious spot, with no real plan on how to move forward and the season barreling towards them at an astounding speed. Whether or not they will be able to get through it is anyone's guess, but the likelihood is not looking good at this point.
