Cantrell: Saints football with no fans is 'the way to go' (1 Viewer)

[Bill]

Cantrell: Saints football with no fans is 'the way to go'

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Canterell says there should be "no fans present" if the Saints play this season in New Orleans.

wwl.radio.com

 

[RiverRat]

We’re talking 4 months from now... I’ve been taking the virus very seriously, but come on. Why is this even a subject right now? If we’re still in this state 4 months from now, we’ve got bigger problems than football attendance.

 

[NatureBoy]

Who would trust her judgement on anything?

 

[Day1]

Pay your tax and I will consider what you have to say, Madam Mayor.

 

[gavinj]

This is going to morph into “if you go to a sporting event or a festival, you must wear a mask” between now and August imo.

 

[SaintsFan11]

Instead of towel giveaways, they should put black and gold masks on all seats, and maybe a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Cheaper for Gayle than foregoing all of those $12 beer sales.

 

[HouseCall]

Instead of towel giveaways, they should put black and gold masks on all seats, and maybe a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Cheaper for Gayle than foregoing all of those $12 beer sales.

Though it's hard to drink a beer and eat with a mask on.

 

[St. Widge]

We’re talking 4 months from now... I’ve been taking the virus very seriously, but come on. Why is this even a subject right now? If we’re still in this state 4 months from now, we’ve got bigger problems than football attendance.

Probably because she keeps getting asked about it?

I'm no fan of the Mayor, but people keep asking her about things like Saints football, Essence Fest, and Jazz Fest. So she is giving the best answer she can. And given all the hell she took for not canceling Mardi Gras before anyone really knew the extent of this virus and before the NBA even shutdown, I don't blame her for being a bit gun shy and overly cautious.

 

[Quiet Storm]

We’re talking 4 months from now... I’ve been taking the virus very seriously, but come on. Why is this even a subject right now? If we’re still in this state 4 months from now, we’ve got bigger problems than football attendance.

I brought this up last month when people on here (in the cancel/delay the season thread) were talking about it. There's no way we shouldn't have a season/nor be able to go to games. The WHOLE point of quarantine was to NOT over crowd the hospitals. We are doing that!

In September we should be able to go games. Hospitals at that time should be able to handle whatever cases pop up. It's kinda ridiculous to think we can't go to games or go back to somewhat normalcy by then.

It's a glorified flu bug. Really getting tired of hearing about this virus. The flu kills people too, easily contagious, but no one ever panics over getting that!

 

[HouseCall]

Probably because she keeps getting asked about it?

I'm no fan of the Mayor, but people keep asking her about things like Saints football, Essence Fest, and Jazz Fest. So she is giving the best answer she can. And given all the hell she took for not canceling Mardi Gras before anyone really knew the extent of this virus and before the NBA even shutdown, I don't blame her for being a bit gun shy and overly cautious.

Agreed. 4 months from now is a long time and a lot of things can change. She's already cancelled all events through the end of 2020 - so naturally, the football question is going to come up between now and then.

Since she's already cancelled everything else, she cant very well imply that, despite that fact, multiple events will be held in the enclosed Superdome with 70k+ people prior to the end of 2020.

 

[Bill]

Probably because she keeps getting asked about it?

I'm no fan of the Mayor, but people keep asking her about things like Saints football, Essence Fest, and Jazz Fest. So she is giving the best answer she can. And given all the hell she took for not canceling Mardi Gras before anyone really knew the extent of this virus and before the NBA even shutdown, I don't blame her for being a bit gun shy and overly cautious.

Perhaps she is a bit gun shy now... but wouldn't it be a lot better for her to talk about all the good people in state and local government who are now keeping tabs on the virus situation (data & trends) so the city can make the best decisions when it's necessary to do so rather than give such a negative forecast before the facts and outcome of this pandemic is known???

Being adept at saying nothing is usually what politicians are good at.

 

[St. Widge]

Perhaps she is a bit gun shy now... but wouldn't it be a lot better for her to talk about all the good people in state and local government who are now keeping tabs on the virus situation (data & trends) so the city can make the best decisions when it's necessary to do so rather than give such a negative forecast before the facts and outcome of this pandemic is known???

Being adept at saying nothing is usually what politicians are good at.

I'm sure she has talked to people in state and local government. In fact, Governor Edwards has already suggested that at best football season is going to look very different than it has in the past when talking about LSU. And Baton Rouge has not had near the outbreak that New Orleans has. At best we aren't lifting the stay a home order until at least May 16th. Is it really that odd to think that we won't be ready to pack 70,000 people in the Dome only 3 months later? And this is exactly the kind of thing that MLB and the NFL are already discussing regarding their up coming seasons and what the NBA had planned to do before they shut down. Is it that out of left field for her to suggest that it's a possiblity?

And here is the thing, it's not like she issued an order saying that is the way it is going to be. There is plenty of time for things to settle down. And, if it is safe, I'm sure that she would love to pack the Dome with people. It generates tax revenue that makes her look better and makes people happy. That all leads to the one thing she really cares about. Getting Latoya Cantrell elected to a second term as Mayor.

Frankly, it's the people freaking out over what she said that are overreacting. Not the Mayor who was responding to questions from the press which are questions I guarantee everyone here already had on their mind.

And from a more meta point of view, I'd rather be told what the worse case scenario is and then be happy if it's better than be told everything will be sunshine and roses only to find out that they knew better all along.

 

[the bank]

Thanks LaTweeta - How can you make that call five months in advance.

 

[livefromDC]

I don't know how you all think something on the scale of the NFL or Jazz Fest works, but this isn't a high school dance we're talking about. 4 months away is not plenty of time for these discuss and the ramifications of making these decisions. She's in the unenviable position of having to make a decision soon about something that affects hundreds of thousands of people later. It's not easy. And I'm never going to fault someone erring on the side of saving lives versus risking lives. If it has to happen it's going to take each day between now and then to create the logistics for carrying this out.

If after the first game, 100 people die. Would it have been worth it? 50 people? What number of people dying because they went to a football game is justifiable for Saintsreport members? This virus has done in 3 weeks (with heavy changes to our way of life), what it takes the flu a year to achieve. Respect it. We see what it can do. Let's not forget that because we're all itching for football.

 

[Bill]

Is it really that odd to think that we won't be ready to pack 70,000 people in the Dome only 3 months later?

It may be that she's absolutely right about needed to continue with the social distancing efforts by the time the season begins.
But my point was: Why give this negative news now when she really didn't have to. It's not totally impossible that the situation could change for the better.

Maybe this is what she considers to be 'letting the folks down easy'.