Michigan Football families voice support for Coach & #letmplay
August 11th, 2020 at 11:45 AM ^
I’m here for the “they’re all wrong and don’t understand the potential consequences” crowd that knows the only safe and sensible solution available is to cancel the season.
similar to the “Jim is wrong” crowd from yesterday.
I get the sentiment from that train of thought. It just feels myopic.
August 11th, 2020 at 11:50 AM ^
Pretty powerful that Dr. Chris Hutchinson, joined the chorus.
"I support Aidan, not only as his father but as an ER doc who has lived through some of the worst Covid in the country. I support them playing as the protocols at the University of Michigan have proven to work. I feel my son is in the safest program and conference in the country."
The NHL has managed the situation pretty well.
August 11th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
NHL is in a relative bubble. College campuses are not that.
August 11th, 2020 at 1:15 PM ^
Before the NHL established its policy, they weren't in a bubble.... Student athletes on scholarship are inclined to follow the rules of the program or they can lose their scholarship. So.....couldn't the university establish policy similar to the NHL's? Students will be partaking in remote learning all across the country, why can't football players? Universities have shit-tons of student housing, couldn't the team be required to live in a specific dorm and follow specific protocols?
Maybe that's all irrational thinking, but the NHL seems to have a pretty good plan in place and its working pretty flawlessly thus far.
August 11th, 2020 at 2:13 PM ^
The problem with your idea is that the players are not professionals. They are ostensibly students first, then athletes. They don't get paid, so you can't really impose those kind of restrictions on them if the same isn't applied to the rest of the student body. Also, there's the fact that the optics would be really bad if we had the football team (and by extension, BBall as well) living on campus while the main student body does "remote learning", at a school charging what UofM does... it's not a good look. CREAM type of a thing.
August 11th, 2020 at 2:48 PM ^
I'm guessing you don't realize that many athletes aren't allowed to go home for the entire Christmas break, like the rest of the student body. Athletes on scholarship have quite a few team rules to follow, that the rest of the student body does not....
Being part of the team is a privilege that comes with rules and restrictions, that's nothing new. Many colleges in the state system in PA are allowing students to live on campus if they choose to, even thought most of the semester will be done through remote learning.
August 11th, 2020 at 11:52 AM ^
Nooooo it needs to be cancelled bc I'm emotional right now why don't they understand meeeee!!!??? It's not the players not their parents rights to make decisions, it's miiiiinne!!! Gawwllllll
August 11th, 2020 at 12:57 PM ^
"They" want everything canceled because it validates their belief that the only way to fight the Covid is to hide indoors until the miracle man comes with vaccine to save us all at the end of the movie. "They" can afford to do exactly that, as their job is either gone, or is allowing them to work from home.
I have no problem with "them" locking themselves away until this blows over. I would appreciate "them" not forcing me to do the same. I will take the precautions I believe protect me, and continue to live life the best I can. Everyone else should be entitled to do the same.
August 11th, 2020 at 2:01 PM ^
Would be fine if it weren’t for the minor fact of limits on our medical system. We’ve seen in multiple states where elective surgeries were canceled, ambulances were diverted from hospitals at levels much higher than normal, times patients spent in ERs waiting to be admitted were much higher than normal etc. your actions have consequences for everyone in society.
August 11th, 2020 at 2:52 PM ^
Medical system, blah blah blah. Outside of NY and Detroit at the beginning of this pandemic our medical system as been just fine. Canceling electives is a sensible precaution. Several of our hospitals have done so at different times (and I think one still isn't doing any).
My actions are to take sensible precautions to slow the spread of the Covid. And honestly, I don't want the crap, so I social distance like nobodies business. But I'm not going to stop living. You can. That's your choice.
August 11th, 2020 at 3:13 PM ^
It does seem like the medical system has handled the recent waves in TX better than it did in New York. Though its still obviously been difficult. This is probably reflected to a point in the much lower death rate down there vs. NY. This Slate article provides some anecdotal information on that where a Nurse who worked both New York and Houston says the following, “It’s like night and day. First of all, the hospital is clean and up-to-date. There aren’t COVID patients literally laying around everywhere. Everybody has their own private room. And you have experienced doctors and nurse practitioners at your disposal whenever you need them…. But it hasn’t been as crazy [as New York] here in Houston, at least not where I’m at”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/covid-nurse-new-york-houston-interview.html
It seems like the hospitalization rate has been significantly lower than the 20% figure the WHO estimated at the start of this. I went through the data from the Covid Tracking Project and came up with a 11% of confirmed cases hospitalized number throughout the whole pandemic in the US. It also appears to be going down. The hospitalization rate for states that peaked early was 17% of confirmed cases and for states that recently peaked its only 9%.
You can take this a step further and apply the 6x actual cases vs. confirmed number the CDC estimates in their most recent projections and come up with an overall hospitalization rate of 1.8% with recent surge states only at 1.4% of individuals infected. We are really very lucky that this thing did not end up with a 20% hospitalization across everyone who was infected. We would not have even been close to having enough resources to deal with that.
August 11th, 2020 at 11:55 AM ^
This is really THE week. And today may be THE day.
The question is ultimately this:
Are we going to move forward, allowing some people to participate in activities that give some measure of purpose in their life, while understanding that 100% perfection as regards people catching the virus isn't possible? Or will we not do that?
I know what page I'm on. Let's move forward. #LetThemPlay
August 11th, 2020 at 12:02 PM ^
Today is *the* day... unless they decide to delay/defer taking action again.
It's not like the Big Ten is known for punting.
August 11th, 2020 at 11:46 AM ^
People say things, new at 11
Tonight on mgoblog action news
August 11th, 2020 at 11:47 AM ^
The past 24 hours have seen some extraordinary Soviet naval activity.
August 11th, 2020 at 11:59 AM ^
"You son of a bitch!"
August 11th, 2020 at 11:59 AM ^
Thank you for the vaccine, Vlad.
August 11th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
Does it have any dioxin or polonium-210 in it?
August 11th, 2020 at 12:03 PM ^
I said speak your mind Vlad, but Jesus!
August 11th, 2020 at 12:53 PM ^
Apparently the Red October is attempting to defect to Michigan with a sample of the new Russian Covid-19 vaccine. Michigan Coast Guard forces are attempting to make contact while dodging the Russian Northern fleet performing extensive "training exercises".
August 11th, 2020 at 1:38 PM ^
50 Watts!
August 11th, 2020 at 2:22 PM ^
"one chance in three"
August 11th, 2020 at 1:32 PM ^
One ping!
August 11th, 2020 at 11:52 AM ^
What else would you expect them to say? Of course, the coaches and players and their families want them to play.
They're no different than the gym owners who want their gyms to be open and the movie theater companies who want to open their movie theaters, etc.
What we have seen over the past five months is what most of us have always known or suspected...that most people are narrowly focused on their own interests and desires.
August 11th, 2020 at 12:29 PM ^
I have no reason to doubt that the Michigan program is doing excellently in terms of detection and mitigation right now. But that's an argument for allowing practices to continue with the added qualifier "...when Ann Arbor has its current level of COVID-19 incidence."
It is not evidence that they can continue to practice if Ann Arbor becomes a hot spot (perhaps predictable with the arrival of students), nor is it support for the idea that they safely play games versus other programs with different standards.
/your friendly neighborhood MGo medical doctor and MGo biochemist
August 11th, 2020 at 12:33 PM ^
It’s certainly not possible that the players and their families have looked at this intensely, consulted their own doctors, talked to public health experts and concluded that given proper health protocols the best decision for them is to play football. They clearly only care about money.
August 11th, 2020 at 1:29 PM ^
That's your opinion though. I'm sure they all looked very closely at it. Shouldn't they be able to decide for themselves the risk/reward?
My entire financial life involves around analyzing risk. We all see things differently even when we look at the same facts and evidence. Thankfully I'm the one who gets to make all these important decisions as I would not want it any other way.
I would think that most feel same way about their own lives. Not sure why that would bother anyone else.
August 11th, 2020 at 2:42 PM ^
thinking you missed the </s> there pal
Or maybe I just read every post these days with that filter on. Makes things funner.
August 11th, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^
Yes, Clearly /S
August 11th, 2020 at 12:48 PM ^
While you may have a valid point, the positioning is not the same.
Many gym owners/theater owners want to be open to make money and survive economically. Period. They may or may not have protocols in place. Typically the owners are not working out at the gym or watching movies in the seats so personal safety may not be an issue or the primary concern.
In this case, parents and coaches are judging the safety for their children. The economic gain may not be the primary motivator here. And the primary safety concern is about the players, maybe not the general public. So I think there are distinctions that should be acknowledged before you use such a broad brush.
August 11th, 2020 at 1:21 PM ^
In the end their decision has no real bearing on your life though unless you leave your home and somehow cross paths with them which means you must have assessed the risk to do that which is no different than what they are doing in their lives with their decisions.
You can't decide the risk levels for every action in every person's life. Not only is that impossible but it's also is a world that most don't want to live in.
August 11th, 2020 at 11:55 AM ^
Just here for all the fear mongers on this board shouting at them and telling them they are horrible for wanting to kill grandma.
August 11th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
I mean... is that *not* a normal thing around here? Grandma has her moments.
August 11th, 2020 at 11:55 AM ^
These players and their families have worked really hard to be where they are right now. It should not be arbitrarily taken away from them. Let the kids play football. It is their decision to make.
August 11th, 2020 at 12:09 PM ^
It's a bad situation and sucks for a player (and his family) to have to go through it. However, if the worst is simply having to miss one season of football...
August 11th, 2020 at 12:11 PM ^
Is it the worst?
Probably not. That is really bad way to frame the issue though.
August 11th, 2020 at 12:27 PM ^
That's funny...the pro-life crowd doesn't think that applies to a woman's right to choose, but they want freedom to wear a mask or play football.
August 11th, 2020 at 12:35 PM ^
What?
August 11th, 2020 at 12:39 PM ^
And (besides being needlessly political)... you know the flip side of that statement applies as well?
August 11th, 2020 at 11:57 AM ^
I mean, they are no different from gym owners except Chris Hutchinson who is an ER doc who has treated Covid patients and understands what is going on. I think his opinion matters unless he is suddenly a quack doctor who doesn’t get it.
August 11th, 2020 at 12:54 PM ^
The irony of people suddenly wanting to listen to doctors is not lost on me.
When do we send apologies to Dr. Fauci and his family?
August 11th, 2020 at 1:00 PM ^
People are listening. Most of the country is wearing masks every place they go.
August 11th, 2020 at 1:56 PM ^
(Stares in Sturgis rally)
August 11th, 2020 at 1:15 PM ^
As is the irony of people who suddenly don’t want to listen to doctors that don’t support their beliefs.
August 11th, 2020 at 1:52 PM ^
You do know that as much as people want to place blame on politicians for people not wanting to wear masks, Fauci was one of the first, in March of 2020 when people were still forming their opinions on COVID topics, to say that people don't need to wear masks:
Not blaming Fauci for people not wearing masks, and to be fair, he has since vocally changed his opinion and become one of the strongest proponents of mask wearing, but his initial words did shape the narrative around masks that many mask-deniers still cling to.
August 11th, 2020 at 2:00 PM ^
So if Fauci can change his narrative around it, then why can't other people change their behaviors?
The fact that some media sites keep videos like this up as some sort of "gotcha" tells you everything you need to know around discourse. People literally profit through eyeballs and clicks by trying to discredit the man.
August 11th, 2020 at 3:28 PM ^
Even in that interview, he was saying that infected people should wear masks. His criticism was that there was a mask shortage (true then, not true now), that people could become infected by fiddling with a mask self (true but much less important as more people become infected), and that most masks don't protect the user (true, but we don't wear masks to protect ourselves but rather to protect others). In other words, all of this made perfect sense at that time and it nevertheless makes perfect sense now to wear (and require) masks. Those positions don't contradict each other.
August 11th, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
Well he wasn't previously but I'm guessing he is now.
August 11th, 2020 at 11:58 AM ^
I guess the question is will they be safer from the virus having a season playing or staying at home, going to some classes on campus and attending big parties on the weekend, since they will not be playing football.