NFL teams are closing facilities while the Saints look at LSU. 2020 just gets odder.
Breathe easy, Who Dat fans (with a mask on, of course, when standing within six feet of someone). The New Orleans Saints are off this week, according to the ever evolving NFL schedule.
That much we know.
Truth be told, the original 2020 NFL schedule isn’t worth the paper it was printed on, assuming that archaic practice is still performed in this uber technological world.
COVID-19 is wreaking havoc with the league schedule.
But that was to be expected. League officials warned us of that possibility months ago when they declared the COVID-’20 season would be played amid the deadly pandemic with a zillion mandated protocols in place.
Truth be told, we live our lives day to day anyway, so why should the NFL be any different?
Games are being postponed now on a weekly basis and moved to later dates because of positive tests/outbreaks at team facilities throughout the league. Case in point: The Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills played Tuesday night, marking just the second NFL game to be played on a Tuesday in nearly 75 years.
The elements forced changes in 2010 and 1946 but never a pandemic.
Just this week, the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons were forced to shutter their workplace doors, joining Tennessee, Minnesota and, yes, New England, on two different occasions by my count.
Actually, I’ve lost count.
After a week to pause and reflect while continuing the mandatory COVID testing, the 3-2 Saints are scheduled to resume their schedule Oct. 25 against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Unless, of course, the game gets shifted to Tiger Stadium on LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge. Unhappy with the current game-day fan restrictions placed on them by New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell, Saints officials are discussing that distinct possibility with LSU officials in the hope of putting upwards of 25,000 fans in Tiger Stadium.
It’s given a 50-50 chance of coming to fruition.
Cantrell has given her short-term blessing, saying “I think (Tiger Stadium) could be a great place temporarily.’‘
Saints coach Sean Payton enthusiastically embraced the idea.
“I welcome it,’‘ he said. “That would be exciting.’‘
As of now, only 750 fans can attend Saints games at the Superdome under Phase 3.2 in Orleans Parish, which has been the case the past two home games.
Cantrell offered no timetable for issuing looser fan restrictions, implying COVID-19 and public health officials hold all the cards.
Not all is lost, Saints fans.
Super Bowl LIX will be played in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025. Our city was slated to host the game a year earlier but a scheduling conflict with Mardi Gras forced the game to be moved back a year.
The game will still be played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Actually, it won’t be called the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in 2025 since that title sponsorship with the German auto maker expires after this season.
I have to assume we will have found a bi-partisan approved vaccine by 2025, and the dome will be packed and the health and economy of our country will be back to normal.
We can only hope.