Notes, quotes and a thought or two…
East Central Community College announced this week that they were going to have students return to campus for the fall semester.
This is a huge step in the right direction when it comes to college athletics this fall.
The general consensus was that if there were no students on campuses, there would be no fall sports. So by East Central saying they are bringing students back to campus, there’s a good chance that the junior college football season will be played this fall.
That’s also good news for fans of high school and college football as well, I believe.
High schools have already started bringing kids back to campuses in small groups and started summer workouts, which was a very important step. It’s important because it really does take all summer to get kids ready to play a football season. And when you add in the fact that most of them had been away from the weight room for almost three months, it was essential to get them started on a summer program.
Now, I have no idea what the high school football season is going to look like at this point but I feel certain that the powers that control such things are going to do everything they can to have a football season. Even at the high school level, there is too much money involved. And generally speaking, it’s been my experience that when it comes to money versus common sense, money generally wins out.
As for major college football, that may be a different story. They have started bringing the players back but there is still major discussions going on as to whether there will be a season or not. Several college presidents have said they will not play a season if they don’t have students on campus. Education can still go on through distance learning but football can’t.
While it may have been fine to cancel college baseball and other spring sports, I again think that money is going to be the contributing factor when it comes to college football. I don’t know what that’s going to look like but I suspect it will be different than what we are used to. I just can’t see the university presidents just deciding to do away with the season. I can see every person who passes through the gates forfeiting any rights they may have by entering the game, but I don’t see the presidents letting go of the revenue that comes from college football.
I joked with my wife a week or so into this whole mess that we would know it was serious when they decided to cancel The Neshoba County Fair. Well, the Fair board voted to call off Mississippi’s Giant House party for the 2020 season. For me and sports, that means no Heart O’ Dixie Triathlon. I guess I’ll have to wait another year to try and take that on, which is probably a good thing.
Now with the Fair cancelled, I will say that if we don’t have college football this fall, you’ll know there are greater things at work than meet the eye, which I have said all along. I don’t know what those greater things are or where this all leads to but I can say that it’s all in God’s plan. And honestly, if everyone could just accept that and move forward, the world would be a whole lot better place.
Robbie Robertson is sports editor for The Newton County Appeal. You can email him at rrobertson12811@yahoo.com
