A UI football player walks past the Dick Butkus statue in front of the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Center on Monday, August 10, 2020.
When a football player suffers a torn ACL, who is to blame? Is it the guy who hit him? Is it the turf that didn’t give or the brace that didn’t support? Or is it the player himself?
The answer of course, is none of the above. Football is a physical game and injuries happen. Unfortunately, it is part of the sport. Honestly, knees aren’t meant for football.
On a totally related topic, are the guys recovering from torn ACLs going to have a chance to test their knees in 2020?
As I write this Monday evening, I have no idea. The rumors and stories say the season — at least the Big Ten portion — is about to be canceled. Or delayed until the spring.
Neither is a great option for the sport and league.
If the season is called off and the next football game involving Illinois is played in fall 2021, what happens to this year’s seniors? And the juniors who are NFL-ready?
Illinois coach Lovie Smith spent the first four years of his tenure pointing toward 2020.
Now, poof, will it be gone?
It will be a shame for the players, coaches, schools and fans. Accommodations will need to be made. Follow the pattern of the spring sports and allow the seniors to return for another year. It’s only fair.
If the season is delayed until the spring, as has been suggested, it will give those seniors a chance to complete their journeys. And allow them another set of games to impress NFL scouts.
If it is decided to push college football to the spring, I can’t imagine playing a full schedule. Especially if the idea will be to come back and play again in 2021.
Stick with the Big Ten-only model and schedule it as early as possible. Start in March and wrap it up by early May. Then, push back the start of the 2021 season a month to October. That will give the players four full months between seasons.
Good news for those who never enjoyed spring practice: It will go away. Maybe not permanently, but for at least a few years while the long-term impact is assessed.
I have thought for years that around-the-clock football is a mistake. Might be time for the schools to allow the players to return home each summer to recharge their batteries.
Dollars and sense
No question, the loss of fall football and the money that goes with it will have a huge financial impact on schools. And the communities.
College football is worth millions to the communities each year. The hotels, restaurants, bars, gas stations and grocery stores rely on the revenue.
Champaign-Urbana will be a quiet place on Saturdays in September if no games take place this fall. And that is only one of 14 Big Ten cities. In the long run, these cities will recover, but it will take time. And cause a lot of heartache.
Television revenue is a huge source of income in the Big Ten. It has mostly been a good thing, helping to pay for other sports. But there has been a downside to the explosion of revenue. Schools have built and built some more. And they are paying coaches salaries that are way out of whack with the rest of life.
I am never going to complain about how much somebody makes. Coaches work endless hours and have lives I wouldn’t want.
But the coronavirus pandemic should force all schools to examine how they are doing business.
I hope the solution isn’t to cut sports because that would be a short-sighted mistake. Instead, cuts can be made in salaries and the way teams travel. Take a bus instead of flying for most sports. Stay at the two-star hotel instead of the four-star version. We’ll leave the light on for you.
Lovie Smith and Brad Underwood might not want to read this, but you can live on $1 million less a season. Neither guy started out at that salary and they did just fine. When life returns to normal, the schools will owe them. But for now, they need to be part of the answer.
The blame game
If college football goes on hiatus, whose fault is it?
Easy answer: All of us.
The citizens who wouldn’t wear masks, ignored social distancing and held large parties in defiance of common sense. The states that rushed to reopen business against the advice of science. The federal government that was at first slow to acknowledge the potential danger and botched the response.
The case counts in other countries prove we don’t have to be where we are today.
As of Monday afternoon, the U.S. had 5 million-plus cases and 163,000-plus deaths related to COVID-19.
Australia, home to Illini punter Blake Hayes, has 21,000-plus cases and 313 deaths. Canada, home to Illini defensive back Sydney Brown and running back Chase Brown, has 120,000 cases and 8,982 deaths.
Ireland, where Illinois is supposed to open 2021 season against Nebraska, has 26,000-plus cases and 1,772 deaths.
Our country is the greatest place on the planet. There is nowhere else I would rather live. And we usually get it right.
Not this time. So far, we have failed. And sadly, many have paid for it with their lives.
College football doesn’t compare to real loss. And we will be fine without it. Perhaps, the loss of the game we love will inspire us to do the right things and make sure we can return to stadiums across the country.
The sooner the better.
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August 11, 2020 at 09:00PM
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Asmussen | Who's to blame? Easy answer: All of us - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
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