College football season is one of the most look forwarded seasons of the year. Especially in Nebraska, football season is everything. Therefore, the news of a postponed 2020 season was not what Nebraskans wanted to hear.
Once this news broke, Nebraska’s head coach, Scott Frost, said that his team would be willing to play outside the Big Ten in order to still get some games in. Because of this, the Nebraska football program was scrutinized by college football reporters and fans for their eagerness to play a sport during a pandemic. Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos said in a statement, “This has been a difficult and disappointing week for the Husker family. We all look forward to the day when we can cheer on our student athletes, on the field and in the arena.”
Nebraska football players were not happy with this decision and believed it was unfair. Players believed they followed precautions and protocol all summer with the expectation of playing football in the fall. Eight players suid the Big Ten, “Seeking a reversal of the postponement of the fall sports season and greater clarity as to how league leadership arrived at that decision.”
The worst part about no football in Lincoln is the economic aspect of it. Football programs typically bring in majority of colleges money. Without, game days, Lincoln will remain a ghost town and local businesses will directly receive the impact. Typically, restaurants and little stores in Lincoln strictly survive because of the business received during the football season. Now without that, it will be nearly impossible to stay alive.
However, a little hope has been instilled in players, fans and business owners. The Big Ten conference will attempt to play fall sports in the spring of 2021. On the positive side, players will have an even longer off season, with plenty of time to be 110% ready for the season to begin. After all, fans may have their Saturdays occupied with college football. And business owners might just have to stick out the slow business in order to see prosperity in the spring. But for now, everyone is focused on staying healthy and controlling the spread of COVID-19.