St. Louis Blues Playing In Empty Arena Due To Virus Not Off Table

The St. Louis Blues fans have traveled well and helped fill up other buildings. They might not fill up any buildings if the virus frenzy continues though.

The St. Louis Blues are playing a wait and see game with regards to the new strain of the coronavirus. However, things might be out of their control as people start to react elsewhere.

The Blues are in the middle of a situation that nobody fully understands. The world is reacting to something even they don’t really know.

People are freaking out to the point where a fight broke out on a plane and the aircraft had to depart and be grounded because someone was coughing. Others are reacting out of fear and that fear is being stoked like a fire by news organizations that are more interested in ratings than facts.

The only thing we do know at this point is there are several NHL teams, and other sports teams/leagues, that are limiting media access and have closed their locker rooms. Sports, such as soccer, around the world are closing their arenas and stadiums as well, the Swiss hockey league played games in empty arenas and some basketball conferences are cancelling their tournaments. This is all potentially setting up historic decisions for the NHL or, at the very least, their franchises.

The San Jose Sharks have been put in a rather precarious position. The county in which their home arena resides has released an edict that forbids any gatherings of over 1000 people. Why 900 people together would be safe is beyond me, but I digress. Of course, this means the Sharks next three home games are now up in the air.

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No official decision has been made, but everything is open for the Sharks at this point. They may end up playing those home games in an empty arena. They may play their “home” games in the arenas of their opponents, if the buildings are even available. Often concerts and other events are scheduled in arenas when nobody is playing sports in there.

There is also the faint possibility of playing in nearby arenas. However, as NBC Sports points out, those buildings might also fall under this ban or not be readily available for hockey.

So, why does that all apply to the Blues? Well, there is at least one documented case of this new strain of virus in St. Louis. So, who is to say they won’t reach a scenario where the team has to decide whether to play in front of an empty building? Maybe the city of St. Louis makes that decision for them.

There is a lot out of their hands at the moment. The NHL already issued a memo asking players to limit their contact with fans. Players were asked not to high-five fans or make unnecessary contact, including using strangers’ pens and taking their items to autograph. League commisioner Gary Bettman took further steps, stopping all business-related travel for league employees outside North America.

But, the problem with fear is it is not rational. You can present someone with the facts about the number of people that have died from the flu, but all it does is incite more reaction that is not good for anyone.

Of course, these decisions are not going to just affect fans. Players are having very diverse reactions too.

LeBron James was not in favor of having to shut fans out. Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, said he would prefer to not play games rather than play them without fans.

However, some are on the other side. One player for the Oklahoma City Thunder was fully in favor of playing without fans if that would keep people safe.

Personally, I hope it does not come to that for the Blues or for any team. Part of what makes hockey so exciting is the reaction of the crowd and the roar when a goal is scored or the silence of fans if your team is on the road. But, safety is paramount in these odd times.

Being able to audibly pick up everything a player or coach says during a game will be eerie and unsettling without any crowd noise to drown it out. The game will lack a certain energy, no matter how the teams play.

That said, it has to be said that as much as I am personally against a lot of the misinformation going around and fear-mongering, people are often stupid. For every person that is freaking out and buying too much toilet paper, you have another person that does not wash their hands or stay home when they are not feeling well.

Nobody wants anyone to be ill or worse and many of us would feel bad if someone we knew caught this virus and did not make it through because someone said life must press on.

At this point, it should still be ok to make light of the situation as long as we don’t develop any cold or callous feelings toward things that are actually happening. Just because the mortality rate is less than or equal to the flu does not mean the loss of any life should be overlooked, especially for a sporting event.

Nevertheless, hiding away in a corner won’t make these things go away. Until such a moment as the Blues absolutely have to play in an empty arena or cancel games, I hope they continue to play in front of some of the best fans in the country and also that everyone is smart about attending games and other events if they aren’t feeling the best.

Like so many “epidemics” or “pandemics” before, this one will pass. For now, let’s all be intelligent about our own personal habits and hopefully we will have sports like Blues hockey to continue to distract us from all the nonsense going on in this country and the world – looking at you politicians.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.