We all already know that the novice Covid-19 Virus has made the world weird. It closed our jobs, our schools, and our businesses. It cancelled entertainment for a good 5 month. Now we are back in the swing of having entertainment such as live sports in our lives once again, and people are thrilled. Although they can watch their sports at home, people are itching to fill the stadiums once again. What if there was a way to get the fans back in, at least a little at a time.

Most, if not all venues have suites in them where fans could enjoy the event from the comfort of a sectioned off space in the stadium. This type of seating is usually a luxury, but what if it was opened up for groups for sporting events and concerts. If each suite can usually hold 40 people, we would cut that number in half to obey social distancing guidelines. All fans must wear masks when in the suite and on the stadium property.  These suites would be the only open places in the stadium and would not allow any reentering after exiting them. They would serve bottled and canned beverages as well as prepackaged snacks.

The rules for purchasing and attending a suite are very important to obey. They would first require the names of the guest 1 day prior to the event. This guest would have to submit a NEGATIVE Covid test before arriving at the event. They would then have a scheduled time to enter depending on their suite number. The idea is to limit the entering to one suite at a time to minimize exposure. When they are walking in with their tickets, there will also be temperature checks to ensure that no fan entering the building is running a fever or has any other noticeable symptoms. All the tickets will be mobile so there is no physical touching when you enter. If you are looking to transfer your ticket to someone else, it must be done 24 hours in advance so the venue knows every person that is in attendance in the case of an outbreak. There will be sanitizing stations conveniently placed throughout the stadium and in the suites to ensure that everyone is being as safe as possible. Lastly, just as each suite entered in a time slot, they would exit the same way. There would be an announcement for the suites to exist one at a time. In the event of an emergency, fans can leave at any time but would follow a specific path set up just for their suite. They would tell a security guard of their early exit and alert the rest of the guards. This way we can track where each fan is and ensure no other fans are near them.

Fans are desperate to enjoy the luxury of live sports once again. They will do almost anything to get in and opening the suites may be the first step. Keeping them socially distanced and following the guidelines is the best and safest way for the fans to enjoy their favorite events. We are hoping to be able to open up events fully to the public soon, but until then, this idea may work in the meantime.

The year 2020 has been a very different year for most people. It has been a year of change and growth with the coronavirus, social justice movements, and protests. With everything going on with police brutality, specifically against people of color, and people are wanting to do better in 2020, major actions have been taken. Artists, sports franchises, and businesses have decided to make appropriate and needed changes based on some racially rooted names.

The first big name change came in the music industry with the country trio Lady Antebellum shortening their name to ‘Lady A’ after learning further the root of the word Antebellum. This word, meaning, “occurring or existing before a particular war, especially the American Civil War” went under fire and was dropped after realizing its association with slavery. They released the following statement on their instagram: “When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the southern ‘antebellum’ style home where we took our first photos. As musicians, it reminded us of all the music born in the south that influenced us…southern rock, blues, R&B, gospel and of course country,” the band said. “But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before the civil war, which includes slavery.” They posted their new logo after the release of the statement. Although they received some backlash from the public, overall their change has been both respected and praised.

The next big name change that came out of 2020 was the Washington Redskins. It was announced on Monday, July 13th that they would be retiring the Redskins name and replacing it with a less polarizing one. Although the announcement of what the name has yet to be released, there are a few top runners that are being considered. The main options are The Warriors, The RedTails, The Red Wolves, and The Hogs. The team is being very careful when choosing the name to make sure they will not have any problems with it down the road. With sports teams such as The Braves, The Blackhawks, and The Indians receiving pressure to change, Washington may want to stay away from The Warriors at the risk of that being considered derogatory. Both The RedTails and the Red Wolves would stand to honor The Tuskegee Airmen, a group of all-black fighter pilots who painted the backs of their planes during World War II. With many options to consider, this change is going to make a positive impact all around the NFL and other sport franchises.

2020 is the year for change and we are happy to see major platforms taking steps in the right direction. Some may not agree with the need for the changes but many see the positive impact it will have. Do you think they made the right decision?