As professional and college sports start up again, COVID-19 restrictions have been set in place for the safety of the spectators, allowing students to attend games.
Since the start of the National League Champion Series, Major League Baseball has allowed spectators to attend the games in Arlington, Houston, San Diego and Los Angeles. The new Globe Life Field in Arlington has implemented restrictions, such as wearing a mask when inside the venue, maintaining a social distance from others throughout the game and seating from people other than your groups minimum of six feet away.
“It was a little weird not seeing a full crowd at a sporting event,” junior and Rangers fan Kai Robinson said. “By looking around, you could tell everyone at the game was pretty spaced out. The rule was that you could only take off your mask if you were eating, and some people did not wear them in general, which was a little frustrating.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves played in the semifinal at Globe Life Field throughout Oct. 12-18, and now, the Tampa Bay Rays and Dodgers are playing in the World Series at Globe Life Field. Also, all teams have been playing in neutral zones to ensure the fairness of games. Robinson wanted to explore the new stadium and enjoy a baseball game because he was unable to attend any over the summer.
“While it wasn’t a filled stadium, it was a really loud game because the new stadium has a roof now,” Robinson said. “There was an equal amount of Dodgers and Braves fans and a good amount of Rangers fans too. I think overall, everyone was just cheering for a good baseball game.”
The University of Texas at Austin game versus University of Oklahoma game that took place at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park on Oct. 11 implemented various COVID-19 restrictions, such as no tailgating, 25 percent capacity of the field and no Texas State Fair activities. Senior Ella Henson has been attending the Red River Showdown with her family since she was a child and spotted differences between this year and the past.
“Compared to other years, the spirit in the crowd was definitely down,” Henson said. “There was less noise, more peaceful and people were sitting down instead of sitting down. Normally, I would leave my family during the game to go hang out with friends and go on rides during halftime, but this time I couldn’t.”
“People weren’t following the seating guidelines, which was scary, but I maintained my social distancing and made sure to stay safe.”
Ella Henson,
senior
While there were rules about wearing a mask, most spectators did not follow any social distancing and mask wearing guidelines, including the guards at the game. Seats were placed six feet apart from others not in your group, but those guidelines were also not followed. Because of these situations, Henson tried her best to maintain a good distance from others to be respectful to her peers at school.
“Once people went through the entrance gates, they would take their masks off,” Henson said. “I wasn’t surprised that college students weren’t wearing masks, but I was shocked about the security guards not having masks on. People weren’t following the seating guidelines, which was scary, but I maintained my social distancing and made sure to stay safe.”