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Gambling on football and schools

Coronavirus Daily
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Gambling on football and schools

Two great experiments begin this month, and their success or failure determines whether the U.S. economy continues on the mend or we have another six months of winter. It's like Groundhog Day, but worse. 

First we have the National Football League, which kicks off its season Sept. 10. Less than two weeks later, the New York City pubic school system will open after the original start was pushed back by 11 days. What unites the two experiments is crowds, and whether you can bring together a large number of people on a consistent basis without everybody getting sick and some people, especially older teachers and coaches, dying.

Can they possibly bring this off? We don't know. Nobody knows. The only way to know is to plunge ahead and try it.

A classroom at a public elementary school in Brooklyn awaits the arrival of students.

Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

In the case of the schools, there's little to go by. Some people point to schools opening successfully in Denmark and Norway. That's of limited practical use when considering the New York school system, the largest in the country, and perhaps the most heterogeneous.

As far as football, of the 32 NFL teams, five are planning to begin the year with at least some fans in attendance, according to ESPN, and a handful are considering it.

I'm not sure if the stakes could be higher for the economy. Succeed with the schools in New York, and perhaps in-person classes go full-time, and watch other school systems slowly follow suit. That frees up all those parents to go back to work on a full-time basis. Succeed with football, and perhaps we can begin to think of other activities done in crowds, like restaurants and theaters, conferences and conventions.

Failmeaning the entire New York City school system is forced to shut down because of high infection rates, and the NFL for the same reason ends its season only weeks after it beginsand the nation burrows down for the winter, and beyond.

It's a gamble, yes. And the stakes are high. There may be schools open here and there, and some football games may be played at the high school or college level, but none are as high-profile as New York City and the NFL. The nation is watching.—Joe Mysak

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