weighman wrote:
Same as some of them who originally went to York Rd.
Geoff i am sure you know how many attended some matches at Tattersfield eg 71. Not a question just an observation.
I am more concerned about future attendances after this pandemic .
It's really hard to even hazard a guess when anything that doesn't involve social distancing will be allowed again. We certainly can't allow the general public to let their guard down on social distancing or else we could be back to square one (or worse) very quickly.
How would it be perceived if sportsman were allowed to break social distancing rules for training and playing the likes of rugby and football? If Joe Bloggs isn't allowed go to the beach for a day out with their family, what would they think about sport being played? It may be socially unacceptable for one to happen without the other.
It's almost certain that sport behind closed doors will happen first but how sustainable is rugby behind closed doors, especially at our level?
Live streaming of games would be the only way of bringing in any income. Maybe there is an untapped source of spectator to be had but the cost of decent quality streaming would carry an expense too. What would be a realistic price to view a live streamed Dons game? Presumably all season ticket holders would get the live stream of home games for free.
Predicting human behaviour is tricky but once mass gatherings are allowed again, people may be attracted back to sport in greater numbers than before because they've missed it so much, or the exact opposite may occur with everyone being afraid to mass gather at all. The older generation (which I suspect makes up quite a large proportion of Dons fans) may fall into the latter category. I'm 61. I'm not sure how I will feel.
On a more light-hearted note, with attendances of 500, the Dons fans could still socially distance as they could have 30 seats to themselves should all four sides of the Keepmoat be open!
I do worry whether all rugby clubs (and football clubs for that matter) will survive. Ultimately, the level of damage will be directly linked to how long the game is out of action.
The worse case scenario is that all contact sports and mass gatherings could be banned until a vaccine is produced. With a best case scenario, we could be back up and running by June, but that would be dependent on lockdown release measures not resulting in an increase of covid-19 cases.
My best guess is that the kids will go back to school first, then non-essential shops will be allowed to open, then people who are currently working from home will be allowed back to their workplace - all with social distancing in place. Measuring the consequences of each 'release' would take at least three weeks as this is how long it takes to see the consequences of an action.
With those points in mind, June perhaps appears optimistic... but given the present situation, all we can do is hope for the best but be prepared for whatever else may come our way.
Stay safe and try to keep your spirits up as much as possible.
