Omicron Panic Throws NCAA Bowl Season into Pandemic Pandemonium – Opinion

Omicron is causing more college bowl cancellations..

The news comes out tonight the University of Miami will be unable to play in this year’s Sun Bowl. Originally, UM had planned to face the opposition.Washington State is not the only state affected by this outbreak. However, Florida’s school has also been experiencing difficulties. Although the team confirmed that there was a large number of COVID-positive players, they originally planned to forgo any ritual pregame activities in the coming days. Despite hopes that enough players could be cleared by the New Year’s Eve kickoff, the school tonight declared this would not be a feasible goal.

The effects of COVID’s latest winter epidemic on college football post-season schedules is no surprise. It is surprising that the Omicron variant has spread rapidly and caused a ripple effect. This wave could be seen growing in scope. This is not only causing problems in college Bowl weeks, but also causing cancellations of contests due to overpromising vaccines.

In October, it was announced that the NCAA had been Modifying its rules after-season College football eligibility. They require teams that qualify for the bowl invitation to maintain a winning percentage of at least.500 and play a minimum amount of games each year. These standards have been removed for the 2021 season, meaning that any team would be eligible. In case of COVID, this would allow for exceptions. It also recognizes that some conferences had a reduced schedule.

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The paradox is that more eligible teams now have fewer available bowls. The big announcement came earlier this week when Texas A&M had to pull out of its appearance in the Gator Bowl, due to COVID causing a severe lack of players. Already affected by injuries and some transfers, the outbreak on the Aggies’ roster meant 40 players would not be available. Organizations were left with little time and will play Wake Forest against Rutgers on December 31.

However, a growing list of other teams are being affected by such late notices that cancellations have begun. Following the announcement by Boston College that 40 of its players were also unable to participate in their December 27 Military Bowl, it has been cancelled. Because the University of Virginia, which was hosting the inaugural Fenway Bowl, has suffered, the Bowl’s cancellation means that the revitalized SMU program will be cancelled.  Also, the Hawaii Bowl was cancelled less than 24hrs before kickoff. Memphis received a tropical vacation as a reward. 

AP/Reuters Feed Library
AP/Reuters Feed Library

Numerous sports leagues were affected by the recent rash of new cases. Last week, the NFL saw a number of games be rescheduled after rosters were affected by significant COVID cases. The NBA also had its fair share of player withdrawals. A few NHL teams had so many positive players that they were able to siphon off minor league skaters from their teams. Officials of the league took a very serious decision and suspended the entire league for a week. 

It has had an impact on the Olympics as well, because the NHL was considering sending athletes to the Winter Games. A two-week break would further delay the season, as 50 games have been postponed. However, even the slightest hint of an outbreak could have led to cancellation. China officials announced that athletes who test positive during the Games would be taken into quarantine for further testing. This could last several weeks.

The reactions to the news are similar to those seen elsewhere in the country. However, the question is growing about how much of it might have been overreacted. Most of the athletes involved are already vaccinated. Therefore, any positive results are unlikely to indicate a severe case. Now factor in that Omicron is showing to be both transmissible but diminished in its physical influence – so much so This is similar to the common cold.The impact.   

It will be fascinating to see how the reactions of different sectors will unfold over the next months. Sports industries can be used as a test bed for how we deal with this evolving virus, and the ever-fluid pandemic response.

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