Would you feel safe attending a game at Fenway tonight?

would you attend a game at Fenway tonight-pick 1


  • Total voters
    384

bankshot1

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Feb 12, 2003
24,651
where I was last at
As the immortal Ned Martin once proclaimed, a long time ago, "Theres a pandemic on the field"

While taking some license with Ned's famous observation from 1967, there may be a pandemic in the stands. Knowing the risks you know, would you feel comfortable watching a game at Fenway in 2020?

We are a community of mostly Sox fans, most of whom have spent a lot of time in Fenway, America's most cramped ballpark. So we know the deal, If you're taller than 5'5"" your knees get squished by the seat in front of you, if you're over 175 lbs, those seats squeeze your ass. Either way your elbow to elbow next to your neighbor. The normal social distance in Fenway is about 2 inches. Under those conditions how do you feel about seeing a game at America's most beloved closet with 30,000 strangers?

Or would you require social distance protocols with about 20-30% of the traditional crowd, (my ballpark estimate) masks required, but at probably premium pricing.

Would you pass a beer and dogs down the row? Or the change? Or would you only sit on the aisle to cut the risks? Would you take your kids or grand kids to a game?

So many hypotheticals to ponder as we consider how fans adapt to the challenges of being a fan in the age of covid-19.

Or do you say screw it I'm watching DOB, RemDawg and Eck, and save my knees.

Take me out to the ball game
I don't need a big crowd
Buy me some peanuts and N-95 mask
I don't care, there's always the Cask

whaddya say SoSH
 
Last edited:

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
I would love nothing more than to get to Fenway and enjoy a beer and a game, but there is no way in hell I will go to any pro sporting event for a long time. I don't even want to go out to dinner let alone a ballpark or a stadium.
 

snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
15,667
I don't need some drunk unmasked clown screaming in my face in the bathroom this year. See you someday.
 

54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
10,154
Westwood MA
I would love nothing more than to get to Fenway and enjoy a beer and a game, but there is no way in hell I will go to any pro sporting event for a long time. I don't even want to go out to dinner let alone a ballpark or a stadium.
This.

No thanks, check back with me in a year.
 

geoflin

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Feb 26, 2004
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Melrose MA
Season ticket holder, no way I'm going to Fenway this year even if they allow fans in, I'll see about next year.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
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Apr 23, 2010
6,247
from the wilds of western ma
With Walsh(correctly) banning all large public events through Labor Day, and the marathon already cancelled, I'll be shocked if any of us have to even make the decision. Maybe playoff games?(optimist) Which, tempting though it would be, I'm not getting anywhere near.
 

axx

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Jul 16, 2005
8,126
Yes, absolutely. The numbers in MA look extremely good right now. NYC looks good too, just from a quick glance at their data. Maybe we have some amount of herd immunity going on... especially after the protests and riots didn't end up causing a spike like some people had feared.

I'll be shocked if any of us have to even make the decision.
That I do agree with.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Mar 26, 2005
30,482
nowhere near BOS so not really a consideration but as PP says, Monster seats would probably be best (assuming no one's giving my family a box by ourselves).

Speaking of boxes, wonder what they are thinking about food as buffets are no go.
 

amRadio

New Member
Feb 7, 2019
798
I'm a caretaker for an older family member who is very much in a compromised demographic. I feel like I'm riding this out harder than most so I would have to continue to say no. Tough days, but I feel very lucky to be able to quarantine the way that I am at the same time. Hope you all are holding up.
 

Scoops Bolling

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Jun 19, 2007
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Are the EMC Club seats the ones directly behind homeplate (i.e. the old .406 club, which I still call the .406 club and have no idea what the current name for is), or are they the box directly to the right (facing home plate from the mound) of the owner's glassed in box, which is what I initially thought the poll was referring to? I've sat in the latter, and would feel comfortable there given the ability to distance within the box, although I'd care about the guest list. If it was the old .406 club, fuck that, I don't want to be a single concourse with other people.
 

bigq

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Jul 15, 2005
11,083
No way. I felt moderately uncomfortable about large groups of people pre-COVID. Now I’m terrified.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
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I don’t see myself going to any live event with more than 100 people at it until 2022. I just don’t trust people to actually wear the masks. I had Bruins season tickets for 10 years and I would’ve definitely dropped them if I still had them now. Security was a joke in that building anyway. No way they could enforce a mask policy.
 

Pitt the Elder

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Sep 7, 2013
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I'd go if there were no more than ~1,000 fans let in, ticketed so they are spread throughout the seats.
I'm in a similar boat. Outdoors, socially distant, masks worn, 10-20% capacity, etc, and I think it would be as safe as hanging out in any park. Also, for all the fuss, it doesn't look like the mass protests in NYC, etc resulted in any meaningful spike in cases.
 

pk1627

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I asked for and received a full refund on the season ticket in Pavillion. Too tight; no vaccine.

However, i think they may work out a decent protocol in EMC, and would attend after asking questions.
 

BigSoxFan

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May 31, 2007
47,083
Wouldn’t feel safe and have absolutely no desire to watch a game in a stadium that doesn’t have the same atmosphere as it did before. So much easier to just watch on tv. Sports have a real problem on their hands.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
24,369
I'm in a similar boat. Outdoors, socially distant, masks worn, 10-20% capacity, etc, and I think it would be as safe as hanging out in any park. Also, for all the fuss, it doesn't look like the mass protests in NYC, etc resulted in any meaningful spike in cases.
1. Do we know this?

2. How could this be possible? We are talking about thousands or even tens of thousands of people all on top of each other in virtually every major city in the US for two solid weeks, many of them screaming and many coughing due to pepper spray. Many wore masks but many did not. The virus doesn’t know that the people are gathered for a righteous cause. It just does what it does. How could it be dangerous in a ballpark but not in the streets with thousands of yelling people? Do the laws of physics (or in this case, chemistry and biology) change based on the reason for the gathering of thousands of people?
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Sep 27, 2016
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Properly spaced out, with enforced masking? Yeah, I'd probably do it, if it were just me. Would be a unique way to see the game, and not just from hearing the players and coaches talking - the old park still has a character that just makes you feel good when you're there, even absent screaming crowds. My issue is that we've been hardcore about distancing and forbearance for the sake of my wife's parents (who watch our kids 3x / week), so I'd never get clearance on that and probably wouldn't even ask. But if the kids were back in school and we weren't concerned with our elders? Yeah, I could go for a socially-distanced fenway frank and a game.
 

Minneapolis Millers

Wants you to please think of the Twins fans!
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Jul 15, 2005
4,753
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Well... How much are the tickets??

Seriously, I’m pretty risk averse and get annoyed when people on the walking/biking paths get too close. I wouldn’t go today. But if they could limit it to 20% (with safety for employees), it would probably be as safe as going food shopping.
 

grimshaw

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May 16, 2007
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Portland
I would feel safe enough sitting in my own section with nobody remotely close to me. I would never go though because I have relatives with pre-existing conditions.
 

DaveRoberts'Shoes

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I’ve already had it so I’m immortal and shit, but I don’t think I’d even go this year - it’s going to be such a weird year and I can’t bring myself to deal with the weirdness that will be inherent to this season, if there is one.
 

Pitt the Elder

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Sep 7, 2013
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1. Do we know this?

2. How could this be possible? We are talking about thousands or even tens of thousands of people all on top of each other in virtually every major city in the US for two solid weeks, many of them screaming and many coughing due to pepper spray. Many wore masks but many did not. The virus doesn’t know that the people are gathered for a righteous cause. It just does what it does. How could it be dangerous in a ballpark but not in the streets with thousands of yelling people? Do the laws of physics (or in this case, chemistry and biology) change based on the reason for the gathering of thousands of people?
I'm not an epidemiologist and I'm no more capable of watching the news than the next guy but, from what I've read, there doesn't seem to be clusters popping up related to protests (https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/24/883017035/what-contact-tracing-may-tell-about-cluster-spread-of-the-coronavirus,https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/black-lives-matter-protests-haven-t-led-covid-19-spikes-n1232045). Whether you're outdoors or indoors seems to matter a lot, for reasons I'm not qualified to speak to but which seem to relate to the virus's ability to remain viable in respiratory droplets that are subject to outdoor airflow and sunlight. It's quite possible that it's safer to watch a baseball game at Fenway Park with a few thousand other fans wearing masks and taking other precautions than having a sit-down meal indoors at a restaurant at half capacity.
 

brs3

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May 20, 2008
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Yes, absolutely. The numbers in MA look extremely good right now. NYC looks good too, just from a quick glance at their data. Maybe we have some amount of herd immunity going on... especially after the protests and riots didn't end up causing a spike like some people had feared.

That I do agree with.
The issue here is there isn't concrete evidence that someone who had Covid can't get it again. Anecdotally there's some hope that that's the case, but it's too early to tell. That squarely puts me in the Nope category.

If there is not a vaccine by Opening Day 2021, I suspect we won't see regular season games until there is one, despite all of the planning going on for MLB and all of the other major sports.

They could pull off an All Star Game perhaps, with no one attending. A one-off event in LA featuring last year's All Stars plus a few big names that weren't there. Livestream it, have bands play in the stands socially distanced between innings, a festival of sorts. I dunno. A plan for 60 games jus feels so ambitious in light of the rest of the country experiencing NYC level infections 2 months later.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,428
I don’t see myself going to any live event with more than 100 people at it until 2022. I just don’t trust people to actually wear the masks. I had Bruins season tickets for 10 years and I would’ve definitely dropped them if I still had them now. Security was a joke in that building anyway. No way they could enforce a mask policy.
I'm in this boat. I may consider August 2021 NBA Finals if Celtics can clinch but that's about it.

Only thing (else) I'll be considering in 2020 or 2021 is an outdoor college "Olympic" sport, in bad weather, on a weekday, i.e soccer or lacrosse or field hockey. And only in MA/CT/RI/VT/upstateNY
 

theapportioner

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Jun 9, 2006
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Assuming good mask compliance and physical distancing, I'd probably feel safe, but ethically I couldn't do it. In addition to possibly infecting others, there's a message that attending a baseball game right now sends, and it's absolutely the wrong one.
 

tims4wins

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Jul 15, 2005
37,054
Hingham, MA
I’d have no problem doing it with social distancing in place, but I have no desire to see a game this “season”, nor to pay for that privilege. So I voted yes, but whatever.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Once I’m vaccinated, I think I’d go...pending whatever fresh new he’ll the world has visited on us by then
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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Sep 10, 2017
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It's a no from me, dawg.

The first 2 decisions we have for large events will be first my wife's season tickets for the Connecticut Sun. That would normally be May 2021 start of season, however with the late 2020 season and NBA calendar shift who knows. Then our Billy Joel concert at Fenway originally scheduled later this summer has been rescheduled for September 2021.
 

geoflin

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Melrose MA
Yes, absolutely. The numbers in MA look extremely good right now. NYC looks good too, just from a quick glance at their data. Maybe we have some amount of herd immunity going on... especially after the protests and riots didn't end up causing a spike like some people had feared.



That I do agree with.
CDC Director Redfield yesterday estimated that 92-95% of people in this country are still susceptible to the virus.
 

axx

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Jul 16, 2005
8,126
The issue here is there isn't concrete evidence that someone who had Covid can't get it again. Anecdotally there's some hope that that's the case, but it's too early to tell. That squarely puts me in the Nope category.
Yeah there's been talk that the immunity doesn't last forever. There could for sure be a second wave at some point. But for now, any outdoor activity here is low risk of even catching it.
 

tonyandpals

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Are the EMC Club seats the ones directly behind homeplate (i.e. the old .406 club, which I still call the .406 club and have no idea what the current name for is), or are they the box directly to the right (facing home plate from the mound) of the owner's glassed in box, which is what I initially thought the poll was referring to? I've sat in the latter, and would feel comfortable there given the ability to distance within the box, although I'd care about the guest list. If it was the old .406 club, fuck that, I don't want to be a single concourse with other people.
EMC/Dell seats are directly behind homeplate, on the 2nd level, under the press box (former .406). The boxes you are talking about would be the suites on the Dell level, that run out from homeplate down the lines. Then there are a few pavilion suites above the pavilion box about even with 3b.

I'd attend a game with family in a box if you could just helicopter us in and let us repel to the suite. The whole process of getting to a game would be the hangup.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Personally, I'm not super concerned about myself, even though I have some asthma which heightens my risk. I just would be concerned for other members of my family that I could pass it to. My family has been pretty conservative during this time, playing things pretty safe, with a few people at higher risk. For me, just not worth going to the ballpark at this point.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,428
It's a no from me, dawg.

The first 2 decisions we have for large events will be first my wife's season tickets for the Connecticut Sun. That would normally be May 2021 start of season, however with the late 2020 season and NBA calendar shift who knows. Then our Billy Joel concert at Fenway originally scheduled later this summer has been rescheduled for September 2021.
Point of correction, Billy concert new date is August 4. 2021
 

AlNipper49

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Apr 3, 2001
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I'd not go for about the same reasons as I barely went before - it's not worth the damn trouble. Same goes for flying - I don't mind the actual flying but I deathly hate the process of driving to the airport, going through security, waiting around like a jackass for an hour, possible delays, etc. Throw in the extra level of ...stuff... going on I'm super happy to just watch it on TV. As I usually do.

I truly don't know how people with season tickets deal with it under normal circumstances. There are only a handful of times in my life where going to the game was better than watching.