During this time of COVID-19, most sports around the world have shut up shop as part of the efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. But one league that’s forged ahead unabated is the NFL, and the league continued its agenda of staying on course last week when it released the schedule for the 2020 season.
When the schedules were revealed last Thursday, they looked like what one would expect from a typical year. There was speculation prior to the release that schedules would be designed in a manner where potential delays to the start of the season could be absorbed. For example, it was believed schedules may be front-loaded with non-conference games, thereby ensuring the games that mattered most for playoff purposes happened later in the year, when there was more likelihood the pandemic would be contained.
But when we got our first look at the Seattle Seahawks’ schedule there didn’t appear to be any of that. There are still four preseason games scheduled, beginning with a game against the Las Vegas Raiders (Las Vegas Raiders? That’s going to take some getting used to) sometime between Aug. 13-17 at CenturyLink Field. The regular season opener is slated for Sept. 13 at Atlanta, and that’s immediately followed by a non-conference game against New England at home on Sept. 20. Seattle’s four contests against AFC opponents come in Weeks 2, 4, 9 and 14, so they’re not really front-loaded. The Seahawks’ NFC West games do get started a little late, with the first one coming on Oct. 25 at Arizona in Week 7. However, given the Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers open the season against one another, it doesn’t seem that back-loading divisional games was a high priority.
Other sports are starting to return. The Korean Baseball Organization is already up and running under strict guidelines, including no fans in the stands. Both NASCAR and German soccer are scheduled to get started this weekend. So the NFL is banking on teams being able to be up and running at full speed in time for the start of the season.
So assuming the season goes ahead as scheduled, which Seahawks game is the one you want to be in the stadium to see?
Seattle’s eight home games this season include the following teams: New England, Dallas, Minnesota, San Francisco, Arizona, New York Giants, New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams. That includes some iconic franchises, playoff contenders and big-city teams, so there’s a lot to lo0k forward to.
We don’t know whether fans will actually be allowed to attend these games, or if they are whether the stadiums will be allowed to be at full capacity. Let’s say you were given the opportunity to purchase tickets to attend one Seahawks game in 2020. Which game would you choose? Make your selection here, and if you choose the “other” option (which includes being uncomfortable attending any games), let us know which game in the comments section:
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