After watching the NBA finals this week and the European soccer championships, I will not be surprised to see upsurge in COVID cases in Wisconsin, Arizona, Italy and the UK in the next few weeks. Given the ease of restrictions in the U.S. and the UK recently, i am not surprised that there were fans in the arenas and stadiums for these championship games. But I was disappointed to see fans were allowed to watch the games on large tv screens outside of stadiums where the games took place and also at venues of the visiting teams.
So if the game was in Phoenix, there were also thousands of fans in Milwaukee watching the game together. Same in Phoenix when the Suns were playing in Milwaukee. Venues in England outside of Wembley were fill with spectators as were those in many Italian cities. Even cities in the U.S. where there are lots of Italian or English fans, there were crowds gathered to watch the game today.
Most spectators in whatever venue were not masked and they were closer together than those in the stadiums. After big plays or at the end of the games, people were hugging each other. I think these gatherings were probably more dangerous than the those inside the stadiums. Also people will gather at bars and other crowded places after the games. Given the variants in both the U.S. and Europe, I will not be surprised that there will be an upsurge in the next two to three weeks.
It'll be interesting to see the stats for all those areas. I heard that there is an uptick of cases due to the Delta variant in states that opened up early and had loose mask mandates. I don't know if this fake news or not.
ReplyDeleteEven though I know that vaccinated people can still get the virus, it seems to me that most of the people who are not vaccinated probably won't get it by now (and I realize there are exceptions to this). But if you are going out in public without the vaccine and get it, then that's your fault. It's not like before that there was no vaccine. So hopefully this vaccine works for the people who got it. I think if you are one of those people that went to these crowds, you better hope it does.
As I am fully vaccinated, I plan on going to football games this fall. I'll have to see what the situation is, but I know most everyone around me and they are all vaccinated, plus it is outdoors. When it comes to basketball season, that'll be interesting, since it is indoors. Check back with me then!
Are we watching history in the making with Ohtani starting and batting first? I have to admit that I was skeptical that he would excel like he has but it's been truly remarkable. What do you think of Stephen Smith's comments?
-LBOAYM
If things don't get much worse, and that is a big IF, then it would be safe for vaccinated people to watch football in stadiums in the fall. I am more worried about congregation of young people, who are less likely to be vaccinated, outside of venues or indoors where they are shouting and spitting within 6 inches and not 6 feet of each other. I can see the variants multiplying very fast in this situation.
ReplyDeleteOhtani is doing great, just hope he stays healthy. You can't compare players from different eras but Ohtani is Babe Ruth with speed. He is one of the fastest player in baseball at 6'4''! Ruth was probably one of the slowest of his era. Don't forget, Ruth only competed against white players. There were no Blacks, Latinos or Asians in MLB then.
I never liked Stephen Smith. He is just a loud mouth without great insight. Since when do you need to speak good English to be face of baseball? David Ortiz is the most beloved player in New England. I am sure he spoke very little English 25 years ago. Interestingly, Vlad Guerrero, who won the All Star Game MVP, needed an interpreter for his interview. His father played around 20 years in MLB. How is he not able to speak English? He is a great young player who well can be face of baseball as well. But I don't see Smith saying that Guerrero is not qualified.
To be able to speak English fluently is, of course, helpful to become popular in America. But talent, good looks, and charisma are more important. Ohtani sure have those. Look at BTS. Only one out of seven members speak fluent English. Yet they are the most popular band here. Frankly, I think they look too feminine. But then I am not an 18 year old girl. In any case, just like BTS is great for K-Pop's popularity, I think Ohtani will be great for baseball's popularity.
BTW, this is not the first time Smith spoke out against an Asian athlete. He was also outspoken against Jeremy Lin during Linsanity. So while some people say that Smith should stick to topics that he is familiar with such as basketball, I don't think he knows basketball well wither. I don't want to label him a racist but I do think that he is biased.