Paul Kapustka – Page 5

Weekend update: Some college football fans seem to ignore Covid-19 precautions

September 13, 2020 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Well, the first “real” weekend of limited-audience experiments in college and pro football is now in the books, and from a fan-compliance standpoint, it is still very much a work in progress. While Mobile Sports Report wasn’t able to be at any of the games live, we did try to keep a finger on the pulse of what was happening via news reports and Twitter posts, the latter of course are always subject to the caveat that sometimes we simply can’t verify the validity of the posts.

But from corroborations on social media and from news reports, it was pretty obvious that at certain venues — especially Florida State and Oklahoma — fans, especially college students, were simply not adhering to the Covid-19 precautions put in place by the venues that were allowing fans to attend.

“Masks are required.”

About that, @floridastate… pic.twitter.com/nfha5Khyb1

— Travis Akers (@travisakers) September 12, 2020

Since the Florida State game (a 16-13 loss to Georgia Tech) was on national TV on ABC, it was pretty easy for anyone to see that many in the limited-attendance crowd were not paying any attention to rules about masks and social distancing. The Tallahassee Democrat ran a story about the national reaction to the fans, and got this quote from FSU athletic director David Coburn:

“We were disappointed with some fans, particularly some student fans, at the Georgia Tech football game who did not comply with our policies regarding social distancing and wearing masks while in their seats,” FSU Athletic Director David Coburn said Sunday in a statement to the Democrat. “There was ample room for all fans to remain safely distanced. We have three weeks until our next home game, and we will re-double our efforts to both inform our patrons and improve compliance with the new rules.”

Florida State students are a whole other breed when it comes to actually using common sense. Do they even know what social distancing is? Or masks in this situation? pic.twitter.com/NR7JHddjp4

— Matthew Gold (@matthewgold2000) September 12, 2020

The bigger question that goes unanswered, of course, is why there was no attempt to enforce the Covid-19 rules.

Some similar behavior was on display at Oklahoma, where students also seemed to ignore Covid-19 precautions once inside the stadium. A story in the OU Daily has a photograph showing students massing close together, with minimal mask wearing. Though OU had protocols in place — like distance markers at concession stands — an attendee at the game noted that while “many followed the protocols a significant number [of fans] did not.”

Socially distanced fans (and band) at Notre Dame’s home opener. (Screen shot from NBC broadcast)

Notre Dame, on the other hand, seemed to have a better amount of buy-in from students on Covid-19 safety procedures. From what we could tell by watching the NBC broadcast of the Irish’s win over Duke, students (and the band) seemed to be complying well with social distancing in the stands and the wearing of masks.

Were the pro games better?

Two of the NFL games this weekend, including the Thursday night season opener in Kansas City, also allowed a limited number of fans, and as far as we can tell (from tracking Twitter and news reports) fans at those games largely followed the extensive procedures put in place ahead of the games. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-20 in their home opener, had a full web page that described what fans needed to do to help keep everyone safe. With no reports of bad fan behavior in Jacksonville we are assuming most of the fans in attendance complied with the rules.

And while fans at the Kansas City Chiefs’ home opener may have earned some national derision for booing the players’ pregame solidarity moment, from what we could tell it looked like fans in the seats were staying apart and masked. Thanks to the Twitter feed of Tom Proebstle for his posts from Arrowhead.

Our new world order (temporarily) in the stands at Arrowhead #sportsbiz #stadia pic.twitter.com/1HTqpDGNzB

— Tom Proebstle (@tomproebstle) September 11, 2020

So far normal at concessions other than the dots at Arrowhead #sportsbiz #stadia pic.twitter.com/APv0SOtBgu

— Tom Proebstle (@tomproebstle) September 11, 2020

In seats at Arrowhead, staff are reminding you to wear your mask #sportsbiz #stadia #foggyglasses pic.twitter.com/1RZdpVVrLd

— Tom Proebstle (@tomproebstle) September 10, 2020

Not sure how this will hold up in the restrooms at Arrowhead #Stadia #sportsbiz pic.twitter.com/ap27IaT6Xf

— Tom Proebstle (@tomproebstle) September 11, 2020

Filed Under: coronavirus, Covid-19, NCAA Football, NFL Tagged With: Covid-19, Florida State University, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Mobile Sports Report, NCAA, NFL, Notre Dame, Paul Kapustka, University of Oklahoma

Montreal Impact picks Aruba for new Wi-Fi network at Saputo Stadium

September 1, 2020 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

When fans are allowed back into Saputo Stadium, home of Major League Soccer’s Montreal Impact, at some future point they will be able to connect to a new Wi-Fi network using gear from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

The ongoing deployment, announced today in a press release, will use approximately 250 802.11ac Wave 2 (aka Wi-Fi 5) APs to cover the 19,000-plus seat venue, according to Aruba. In the metal-framed sections of the venue, Aruba said 128 of the APs will be deployed in an under-seat enclosure.

“Though the pandemic has caused us to have to delay the start of our home game play this year, engaging with fans and allowing them to share their experiences with each other and via social media is still one of the main hallmarks of the in-stadium experience,” said Roger Miron, IT director for Saputo Stadium, in a prepared statement. “Implementing a reliable, high performing Wi-Fi network is the first step in our multi-phase initiative to enable extraordinary experiences, as well as improve our own stadium operations.”

According to the release, Saputo Stadium is working with Canadian telecom partner Vidéotron to deploy Aruba access points, mobility controllers and Aruba core and access switches, as well as Aruba’s Airwave network management system. In addition to fan-facing Internet access, the Impact and Saputo will look to use the new network to power new types of concession features, including mobile ordering, and will also look to debut a stadium app with mobile ticketing capability.

Filed Under: Aruba, MLS, Wi-Fi Tagged With: MLS, Mobile Sports Report, Montreal Impact, Paul Kapustka, Saputo Stadium, Stadium Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi

Kentucky Derby to run without fans

August 24, 2020 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Reversing course from several previously planned options to include fans at this year’s race, the Kentucky Derby announced that the Sept. 5 event will now be held without fans, due to safety concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic.

“With the current significant increases in COVID-19 cases in Louisville as well as across the region, we needed to again revisit our planning,” the race said in a prepared statement. “We have made the difficult decision to hold this year’s Kentucky Derby on September 5 without fans. Churchill Downs and all of our team members feel strongly that it is our collective responsibility as citizens of Louisville to do all we responsibly can to protect the health, safety and security of our community in these challenging times and believe that running the Derby without spectators is the best way to do that. We deeply regret the disappointment this will bring to our loyal fans.”

According to the Derby, the Kentucky Oaks race will still be held on Friday, Sept. 4, and NBC will show both the Oaks (3-6 p.m. Eastern time) and the Derby and its undercard races (2:30 – 7:30 p.m. Eastern time) on TV.

Prior to being rescheduled from its traditional May date due to the pandemic, Mobile Sports Report had heard several strategies for bringing more connectivity to the sprawling grounds of Churchill Downs, where DAS improvements over the years have kept pace with the ever-growing demand for more mobile bandwidth from fans at bucket-list events. Now we will have to wait until 2021 at least to see if Churchill Downs adds in more wireless capacity, especially on the Wi-Fi side.

Filed Under: AT&T, DAS, Horse Racing Tagged With: Churchill Downs, Covid-19, DAS, Kentucky Derby, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka

Pac-12 suspends all sports through end of 2020

August 11, 2020 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Following closely on the heels of the Big Ten, the Pac-12 conference Tuesday suspended all sports through the end of 2020, due to the ongoing complications of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“All of the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors understand the importance of this decision, and the disappointment it will create for our student-athletes, the coaches, support staff and all of our fans,” said Michael H. Schill, president of the University of Oregon, in a statement on the conference website. “Ultimately, our decision was guided by science and a deep commitment to the health and welfare of student-athletes. We certainly hope that the Pac-12 will be able to return to competition in the New Year.”

Filed Under: coronavirus, Covid-19, NCAA Football Tagged With: coronavirus, Covid-19, Mobile Sports Report, Pac-12

Big Ten postpones fall sports, including football, due to Covid-19 pandemic

August 11, 2020 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

The seemingly inevitable became fact Tuesday, when the Big Ten conference announced it was postponing all fall sports, including football, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren in the statement posted on the conference website. “As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall.”

The next question is whether or not other college conferences and schools will follow suit; rumors had surfaced Monday that the Pac-12 was set to make a similar announcement.

Filed Under: coronavirus, Covid-19, NCAA Football Tagged With: Big Ten, coronavirus, Covid-19, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka

Mountain West, Mid-American conferences postpone fall sports; are Big Ten and Pac-12 next?

August 10, 2020 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

The Mountain West conference on Monday postponed all fall sports, including football, joining the Mid-American conference as the first FBS conferences to rule out games this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. And even as foobtall insiders and some politicians called for college football to be played even in the face of rising numbers of Americans testing positive for the disease, rumors surfaced that two of the biggest conferences, the Big Ten and the Pac-12, were ready to announce their own fall sports postponements soon.

Though other sports, including the NBA and the NHL, have staged successful re-openings in the midst of the pandemic, their expensive “bubble” implementations — where teams are basically sequestered in a locale without need to travel — is simply not possible for college sports, especially college football with its large rosters and the need for teams to travel to play a conference schedule while students also attend school. Major League Baseball, which is in the middle of a shortened 2020 season without a bubble, is in danger of having its season scrapped due to continued outbreaks of the virus among teams.

Filed Under: coronavirus, Covid-19, NCAA Football Tagged With: Big Ten, coronavirus, Covid-19, Mid-American Conference, mountain west conference, Pac-12