There has been a lot of talk about COVID 19.  A lot.  And while the POV is primarily a sports blog, when a pandemic or world events threatens sports, there is a lot of overlap, and that is why I am writing this article.

I have, for some time, been trying to figure out for myself if the hype around COVID-19 is real.  The TV & Print media climate (on both sides I’ll point out) in the United States is not helping.  Neither does social media.  Certainly there are some basic facts that are real – 130,000+ deaths in the US vs ~35,000 for a standard flu season.  But there is also a segment of the population (including some close personal friends of mine outside of this blog) that continue to drive the narrative that COVID 19 is not as bad as some folks would have us believe.

And so I decided to take the politics and media out of it and do my own research, which I am about about to share with you.  Keep in mind, it is EXTREMELY important to take the politics out of this.  In some cases I’ve forced myself to absorb a viewpoint from a media outlet that leans opposite of my own personal political leanings.  This has been difficult, and yet educational.  At the end of the day though, I have avoided quoting or using data from media outlets in, as so to not politicize my findings.  I would ask that you do the same if you are posting and sharing links.

If someone chooses to post a link from a particular outlet, I need two rules to be followed:  1.  The link needs to be fact based.  And any “facts” quoted are fair game to be (civilly) debunked.  And if they are debunked – with facts cited from a credible source – well then you get to suffer the ignominy of that in the eyes of your peers, and I may also choose to delete your comment.   2.  You as a reader need to approach any link posted with an open mind, and comment on the content – and not the politics of the media outlet.  I will be ruthless in striking down comments that stray from these guidelines, and I reserve the right to be the sole arbiter here.  I don’t need to keep writing this blog, after all.

With that being said, lets get onto the original premise of the article.  Just how bad is COVID?  And should “they” really be considering cancelling the college football season because of it? Continue reading “How Bad Is it?” →