American Football – On Friday night the NFL football league starts somewhat surprisingly, but according to plan. The defending champion from Kansas City is again the top favorite, but there are also many questions.
Many had not believed that the NFL, the world’s most valuable sports league, would actually go into operation given the continued high Covid-19 numbers in the USA. The Super Bowl champion traditionally opens the season, the Kansas City Chiefs meet the Houston Texans – in front of 16,000 fans. Keystone-SDA answers the most important questions about the new season:
Are there spectators in the stadiums?
Kansas City is one of only six teams that allow spectators from the first game. Around 20 percent of the usual capacity, separated by sector and of course with face masks. The remaining 26 teams start without spectators and reassess the situation after a month or have already decided, like the new Raiders playing in Las Vegas, to play in the empty stadium for the entire season.
What happens in the case of coronavirus?
Although the footballers do not move in a bubble, there were no major sources of infection during preparation. Between August 25 and September 5, 44,510 tests were carried out, only eight were positive. The players and the closest supervisors are tested every day during the season, except on the game day. The aim is to prevent large-scale infections and quickly isolate infected people. Nevertheless, there is fear of a corona outbreak. Similar to the cantons in Switzerland, the federal states are responsible for the measures in the USA – and these can vary greatly from place to place.
Will there be protests against racial discrimination?
There will for sure be – and this time the NFL will support them too. League boss Roger Goodell apologized to former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who four years ago began kneeling down while playing the national anthem to protest discrimination against and police brutality against blacks. He’s been out of work since his contract with the San Francisco 49ers expired. “I wish we’d listened earlier,” says Goodell today. The problem with the NFL: Most fans, sponsors and club owners are white, old and conservative, the majority of the players are young, black and angry. The discussion took off this summer with the death of George Floyd, who suffocated under the knee of a police officer. The players are now allowed to wear stickers with names of victims on their helmets, in the end zones the words “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us” can be read.
Is Kaepernick getting a job again?
For now only in the video game Madden NFL 21 from EA Sports, where players can select him as a quarterback with very good values.
What can Tom Brady still achieve at the age of 43?
That summer’s transfer was superstar Tom Brady moving from the New England Patriots to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now the six-time Super Bowl champion can show after 20 years in Boston that he can be successful even without his mentor and coach Bill Belichick. Tampa Bay has not reached the playoffs in twelve years, but the prospects for Brady are not bad. The Florida team invested generously and provided the veteran with excellent offensive teammates.
Who is the favorite?
This is the easiest question to answer. The Kansas City Chiefs with only 24-year-old quarterback Patrick Mahomes seem to have gotten even stronger. While no team has defended its title since New England (2004 and 2005), Kansas City could break that curse. Former baseball player Mahomes signed a new ten-year contract for $ 477 million last summer, making him the highest paid athlete in the world.
When does the season end?
If all goes well, the Super Bowl will take place on February 7, 2021 in Tampa, in Tom Brady’s new home stadium.
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