Unlike most football predictions these have nothing to do with who will win what game, end up in the championship or win the Super Bowl. Sports will never be the same again after 2020 and these predictions have to do with those changes.
1. The NFL is bleeding revenue since indications are there will be no or limited fans in the stands this season. To recoup that revenue the NFL will move some games to Saturday night and put that package of games out to bid. (I've been making this prediction since June.)
2. I expect the NFL to have a new Commissioner by Super Bowl LVI and that almost any university that finished in the Top 20 in the polls in the last two-years but who does not play football this fall with have a new University President by the Fall of 2021.
3. A number of teams (both pro and college) will utilize hydroyxchloroquine and zinc as prophylactics this fall and those teams will do much better than the teams that don't.
4. College football teams and conferences who do not play this fall will be at a big disadvantage for years to come in recruiting high school players. Not playing will cost millions not just this season but for a decade to come as top players flock to schools and conferences that decided to play this year. If you're a top high school player in California why would you go to USC if the conference or the State prohibits football this fall? Why not go to a school in Florida, Texas or Georgia that values football the same way that player does?
5. States that allow football will vote for Republicans in the November election (Texas, Florida, Georgia) while States that vote to shut down sports in the Fall will vote for new leadership (where a choice is available). Some States that are purple right now will end up being solidly Red. Some pundits (looking at you Pat Forde) will try to blame the lack of football on President Trump but those with a grain of common sense will understand that it wasn't Trump who allowed football to be played in Texas but not in California.
Bonus prediction: the number of people who play fantasy football will be down 30-50% year over year because of the way the NFL handled kneeling during the anthem and because football is no longer that important to people.
I'm a big sports fan (or at least I was) but this weekend I didn't watch a minute of a single game although the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics were all playing. That would have been unfathomable before 2020. Last night I was in a sports bar and it wasn't until the third inning was in progress that someone requested the Red Sox be put on the TV's. There's a big reckoning coming for sports revenue because people have learned that they can live without it.
Geez, I didn't know the Red Sox were even playing. I couldn't name a single player on the team. Is Dustin Pedroia still playing?
ReplyDeletePedroia is still being paid by the Red Sox - does that count?
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