ADVERTISEMENT

Devil's Advocate

MeetTheFerentz

HR Heisman
Nov 20, 2006
9,000
15,406
113
There seem to be a lot of angry people today regarding the restart of B1G football. A lot of blame going toward Kevin Warren and others in the handling of this situation.

I seem to be in the vast minority in that I am pleased with the prudence of the conference in dealing with starting football in the middle of a pandemic.

The B1G waited for rapid testing to be available for them, and have established the strictest protocols for return to play. The B1G has always held itself to higher standards, and this is no different.

People need to consider that this pandemic may still wipe out the college football season altogether. I sure as heck hope not, but I think it will be obvious by late October whether it will end up being a success. If things are shut down by then, then the B1G would be commended for its caution, not putting players at risk.

B1G is still looking at a 9-game schedule for everyone and eligibility for the CFP.

I know everyone is hacked off with Kevin Warren right now, but I do appreciate this quote from him - "We have to realize that this is a fluid situation, and we only wanted to make sure that we put the safety of our student athletes at the forefront of all our decisions. We need to be able to adapt. Based upon the standards that were set by our chancellors and presidents from Day 1 is that we need to make sure that we create an environment that would allow our student athletes to participate in intercollegiate athletics in a healthy and safe environment with the standards that we needed. We had to go to work. We had to show some flexibility. Once we reached that point that we felt comfortable, we were able to proceed forward. This is about looking forward. We understand the journey that we had to go through; all the meetings with our presidents and members of the task force, just internally, but also realizing that one of the things about leadership is that it's important that you are in a perpetual process of gathering and analyzing information, setting high standards and also looking at each other to say that we now have met those standards for our student athletes to participate."

So, everyone can go along with their "why could all these other conferences do it" or "why could Iowa H.S. football do it" or "what lousy leadership we have" arguments...or you can be happy that it looks like we will have a football season to look forward to, and can be proud to be fans of a team in a conference that continues to prove itself elite in every way.
 
They go from releasing a revised conference only schedule to days later saying it’s postponed until ??? and won’t be revisited. Now 4 weeks later it’s back on although now without built in Saturday’s to work through cancellations.

The University of Illinois announced rapid testing before football was cancelled and they knew the other rapid testing would soon be available. They were too quick to cancel and while Warren didn’t make the decision by himself he was the mouthpiece for it or lack thereof. If you can’t see what the issues are then I don’t know what to tell you.

This all came at the time some universities were welcoming students back on campus yet football was too dangerous even though the athletes would be safer in their respective sports than out in the general public.
 
Bottom line is because of the leaks the B1G presidents took a lot of heat over this closed door decision that caught even many of their athletic department's by surprise. A lot of them were called out publicly by the public, major donors, the coaches, and the media. They didn't like the heat. I'm glad they were put under the microscope.
 
Kevin Warren admitted to being surprised by the "backlash" from the first decision to cancel the season. He even said, "we are not going to revisit" the decision. Yeah, right, public pressure got him to change his mind in a big way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pmtdc
Bottom line is because of the leaks the B1G presidents took a lot of heat over this closed door decision that caught even many of their athletic department's by surprise. A lot of them were called out publicly by the public, major donors, the coaches, and the media. They didn't like the heat. I'm glad they were put under the microscope.
They aren’t legally allowed to do a closed door decision, that was the issue. These players are attending a public university with a public scholarship. These clowns really thought they were going to get away without trying to have a season? Lmao. Some of those players’ dads have 10x the money as Mr. Warren. The legal ramifications and potential loss of earnings these players were facing was astronomical. You can’t just prevent people from making millions nonchalantly, not how the world works. SMH.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Auger and jo12208
There seem to be a lot of angry people today regarding the restart of B1G football. A lot of blame going toward Kevin Warren and others in the handling of this situation.

I seem to be in the vast minority in that I am pleased with the prudence of the conference in dealing with starting football in the middle of a pandemic.

The B1G waited for rapid testing to be available for them, and have established the strictest protocols for return to play. The B1G has always held itself to higher standards, and this is no different.

People need to consider that this pandemic may still wipe out the college football season altogether. I sure as heck hope not, but I think it will be obvious by late October whether it will end up being a success. If things are shut down by then, then the B1G would be commended for its caution, not putting players at risk.

B1G is still looking at a 9-game schedule for everyone and eligibility for the CFP.

I know everyone is hacked off with Kevin Warren right now, but I do appreciate this quote from him - "We have to realize that this is a fluid situation, and we only wanted to make sure that we put the safety of our student athletes at the forefront of all our decisions. We need to be able to adapt. Based upon the standards that were set by our chancellors and presidents from Day 1 is that we need to make sure that we create an environment that would allow our student athletes to participate in intercollegiate athletics in a healthy and safe environment with the standards that we needed. We had to go to work. We had to show some flexibility. Once we reached that point that we felt comfortable, we were able to proceed forward. This is about looking forward. We understand the journey that we had to go through; all the meetings with our presidents and members of the task force, just internally, but also realizing that one of the things about leadership is that it's important that you are in a perpetual process of gathering and analyzing information, setting high standards and also looking at each other to say that we now have met those standards for our student athletes to participate."

So, everyone can go along with their "why could all these other conferences do it" or "why could Iowa H.S. football do it" or "what lousy leadership we have" arguments...or you can be happy that it looks like we will have a football season to look forward to, and can be proud to be fans of a team in a conference that continues to prove itself elite in every way.
While I agree with your sentiment that the BIG has generally been a leader, and may have thought they were doing the right thing, the fact is they rushed the gun and have now lost their place as that leader. They should have proceeded carefully, and By early September could probably have made the current decision, and been playing by late Sept. (which was the plan that proceeded all of this anyway). Its pretty obvious that Warren doesn't yet the cache of his predecessor, so what he does the rest of this school year will say a lot about his fitness for the job.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: pmtdc
Warren does do a lot of doublespeak and talks a lot without saying much.
You have to remember though, he wan't the one that shut the season down. He doesn't have the power to shut it down or restart it. The presidents and chancellors make that call. He's just a mouthpiece, albeit not a good one, for their decisions.
 
lol tell that to all the swimmers that got cut because of this bullshit and lack of leadership.
Those sports were already on the chopping block, the pandemic just sped the process up. They’re still looking at $50 million shortfall even if they played the whole season.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mstp1992
Always more fun to bitch than to praise.
Praise?

tenor.gif
 
"People need to consider that this pandemic may still wipe out the college football season altogether. "

By "pandemic" do you mean the virus or do you mean people's reaction? Because the virus has cancelled a few practices and postponed a couple games. The virus has not done anything to the season. As an example, only the BigTen's decisions have been the reason they have not played a game yet as a conference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: unclesammy
"People need to consider that this pandemic may still wipe out the college football season altogether. "

By "pandemic" do you mean the virus or do you mean people's reaction? Because the virus has cancelled a few practices and postponed a couple games. The virus has not done anything to the season. As an example, only the BigTen's decisions have been the reason they have not played a game yet as a conference.
Oh, goodie. I was hoping that someone would insert a nutty right-wing conspiracy talking point. Really adds to the discussion. Thanks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dekhawk
There seem to be a lot of angry people today regarding the restart of B1G football. A lot of blame going toward Kevin Warren and others in the handling of this situation.

I seem to be in the vast minority in that I am pleased with the prudence of the conference in dealing with starting football in the middle of a pandemic.

The B1G waited for rapid testing to be available for them, and have established the strictest protocols for return to play. The B1G has always held itself to higher standards, and this is no different.

People need to consider that this pandemic may still wipe out the college football season altogether. I sure as heck hope not, but I think it will be obvious by late October whether it will end up being a success. If things are shut down by then, then the B1G would be commended for its caution, not putting players at risk.

B1G is still looking at a 9-game schedule for everyone and eligibility for the CFP.

I know everyone is hacked off with Kevin Warren right now, but I do appreciate this quote from him - "We have to realize that this is a fluid situation, and we only wanted to make sure that we put the safety of our student athletes at the forefront of all our decisions. We need to be able to adapt. Based upon the standards that were set by our chancellors and presidents from Day 1 is that we need to make sure that we create an environment that would allow our student athletes to participate in intercollegiate athletics in a healthy and safe environment with the standards that we needed. We had to go to work. We had to show some flexibility. Once we reached that point that we felt comfortable, we were able to proceed forward. This is about looking forward. We understand the journey that we had to go through; all the meetings with our presidents and members of the task force, just internally, but also realizing that one of the things about leadership is that it's important that you are in a perpetual process of gathering and analyzing information, setting high standards and also looking at each other to say that we now have met those standards for our student athletes to participate."

So, everyone can go along with their "why could all these other conferences do it" or "why could Iowa H.S. football do it" or "what lousy leadership we have" arguments...or you can be happy that it looks like we will have a football season to look forward to, and can be proud to be fans of a team in a conference that continues to prove itself elite in every way.
 
You must be smoking lefty luckies if you think the B1G looks good for the way they handled this. This was a complete mess from the beginning. Very poor leadership from all involved. They would all be fired if they performed this way in the real world.
 
You must be smoking lefty luckies if you think the B1G looks good for the way they handled this. This was a complete mess from the beginning. Very poor leadership from all involved. They would all be fired if they performed this way in the real world.

No one cares. So much shit happened in 2020 and an election coming. This is not even a blip on any radar. Long forgotten a year from now.

Oh, and you don't really think academia is the real world right? Completely different universe.
 
Warren does do a lot of doublespeak and talks a lot without saying much.
You have to remember though, he wan't the one that shut the season down. He doesn't have the power to shut it down or restart it. The presidents and chancellors make that call. He's just a mouthpiece, albeit not a good one, for their decisions.
While true - it wasn't his decision...but he is the commissioner...and it's his job to help lead these people to make good decisions. And then be the mouthpiece to present it the public. Having closed door secret meetings about it & not looping in your ADs was not doing his job. Letting them rush to a shutdown was not doing his job. He had months to prep & work on guidelines to work through these decisions & did they? Doesn't seem like it...?? If they had, they wouldn't have released a schedule one week & the next shut down the season. So, that is where he failed...
 
There seem to be a lot of angry people today regarding the restart of B1G football. A lot of blame going toward Kevin Warren and others in the handling of this situation.

I seem to be in the vast minority in that I am pleased with the prudence of the conference in dealing with starting football in the middle of a pandemic.

The B1G waited for rapid testing to be available for them, and have established the strictest protocols for return to play. The B1G has always held itself to higher standards, and this is no different.

People need to consider that this pandemic may still wipe out the college football season altogether. I sure as heck hope not, but I think it will be obvious by late October whether it will end up being a success. If things are shut down by then, then the B1G would be commended for its caution, not putting players at risk.

B1G is still looking at a 9-game schedule for everyone and eligibility for the CFP.

I know everyone is hacked off with Kevin Warren right now, but I do appreciate this quote from him - "We have to realize that this is a fluid situation, and we only wanted to make sure that we put the safety of our student athletes at the forefront of all our decisions. We need to be able to adapt. Based upon the standards that were set by our chancellors and presidents from Day 1 is that we need to make sure that we create an environment that would allow our student athletes to participate in intercollegiate athletics in a healthy and safe environment with the standards that we needed. We had to go to work. We had to show some flexibility. Once we reached that point that we felt comfortable, we were able to proceed forward. This is about looking forward. We understand the journey that we had to go through; all the meetings with our presidents and members of the task force, just internally, but also realizing that one of the things about leadership is that it's important that you are in a perpetual process of gathering and analyzing information, setting high standards and also looking at each other to say that we now have met those standards for our student athletes to participate."

So, everyone can go along with their "why could all these other conferences do it" or "why could Iowa H.S. football do it" or "what lousy leadership we have" arguments...or you can be happy that it looks like we will have a football season to look forward to, and can be proud to be fans of a team in a conference that continues to prove itself elite in every way.
The B1G was waiting for the other conferences to postpone. When they realized it wasn’t happening they decided to play. Pissed away 4 weeks they could have used for postponed games along the way.
 
It has also become more clear there was never a vote so Mr Warren is responsible. The B1G needs someone in charge that can handle this job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jo12208
It's crazy that some of the folks who have been telling us for months that this virus is like a sneeze to 20 year olds are now so concerned about their health. I assume then that those who didn't want football to start will not be watching the games. Right?
 
Warren sucks ass and should be fired anyway. Their return to play protocols are over the top.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jo12208
Serious question for everyone - If COVID ends up blowing up the college football season entirely by mid-October, will you still be upset that the B1G didn't get a meaningless 4-5 game season in, or will you be glad that they took the cautious route?
 
Serious question for everyone - If COVID ends up blowing up the college football season entirely by mid-October, will you still be upset that the B1G didn't get a meaningless 4-5 game season in, or will you be glad that they took the cautious route?
Why are campuses open then? Think of how low the football “population” is vs the 20 to 30 thousand kids that are on campuses across the country. I’m just don’t get your argument? Why is football such a contaminant?
 
Why are campuses open then? Think of how low the football “population” is vs the 20 to 30 thousand kids that are on campuses across the country. I’m just don’t get your argument? Why is football such a contaminant?
It wasn't an argument, it was a question. Why don't you answer it?
 
The Northwestern president cleared up most of the reasons why the B10 canceled the season initially and admitted he had been one of the presidents who had voted not to play. He said that the medical information and recommended protocols he received from the medical review board Saturday, Sunday, and Monday made the difference for him. He noted in particular that what was even more important to him than the rapid testing that would mitigate the need for extensive contact tracing was the involvement of cardiologists in terms of cardiac monitoring, cardiac research on players who get infected with COVID for the benefit of epidemiological science related to COVID at the B10's stellar research hospitals, and the creation of an officer of epidemiological oversight embedded within each program's medical team. He said political pressure didn't influence his decision at all; it was the unanimous consent of the medical review board (the review board was split five weeks ago which caused him to vote no on the season) and their institution of clear guidelines with the resources to implement the robust protocols for player safety.
 
They go from releasing a revised conference only schedule to days later saying it’s postponed until ??? and won’t be revisited. Now 4 weeks later it’s back on although now without built in Saturday’s to work through cancellations.

The University of Illinois announced rapid testing before football was cancelled and they knew the other rapid testing would soon be available. They were too quick to cancel and while Warren didn’t make the decision by himself he was the mouthpiece for it or lack thereof. If you can’t see what the issues are then I don’t know what to tell you.

This all came at the time some universities were welcoming students back on campus yet football was too dangerous even though the athletes would be safer in their respective sports than out in the general public.
I think what many forget is that there isn't protocol for a pandemic. No one has gone through this before and being prudent is the correct form. You/we have Iowa FB for now. Enjoy it and stop complaining.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: dekhawk
ADVERTISEMENT