Football Takes On New Look In Alabama Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Saturday, at least some order will be restored to Alabama during this crazy year, as Southeastern Conference football kicks off — albeit a few weeks late — but many football leagues in the area have had to either cancel or adapt to new guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Football is far and away the most popular sport in Alabama, and the coronavirus outbreak has thrown the 2020 season at all levels into disarray. Games have been cancelled, participation has been altered and the number of spectators at games is limited, if not outright forbidden.

This has forced schools and community programs to adapt to what is, in 2020, a new "normal," which ironically is about as far from normal as a situation can get.

Youth football programs

The City of Birmingham Parks & Recreation Department announced in mid-July that the youth football season would be cancelled, becoming the first of many area youth programs to cancel. The Jefferson Shelby Youth Football League — which includes Trussville, Hoover, Spain Park, Vestavia, Oak Mountain, Homewood, Chelsea, Helena, Alabaster, Thompson and Cahaba Valley — quickly followed suit.

"We all know the important role sports can have in the life of a child," Montal Morton, president of Birmingham Park and Recreation Board said in a statement. "But, like many other organizations around the state and country, we could not see a reasonable way that play could occur while providing the necessary safety measures to protect the many people who could potentially be impacted over a long season."

"It was not worth us risking somebody paying the $300 and ordering the uniforms and spending all that money to possibly get canceled a game or two into the season," said Trussville Youth Football League president Rob Stewart in his announcement when the league opted to cancel the season. In Trussville alone, 183 kids were signed up to play football, and another 170 had signed up for cheerleading.

One youth program that opted to play this football season was Mountain Brook Athletics. The league, which includes flag football starting in second grade and tackle football from grades 3-6, had more than 200 kids sign up for football.

The decision to play was one that took a significant amount of deliberation, but it has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents, players and community members, according to league officials.

"The fear and anxiety caused by COVID this year has had a negative impact on our basic way of life.," said longtime youth football coach and Mountain Brook Athletics board member Brian Lucas. "The positive is youth sports — in particular MBA football — has allowed our community an avenue to come together and participate in meaningful events that bring out the best in Mountain Brook. I'm so grateful to meet and coach this entire third grade group of Spartans and will forever be indebted for the balance they have provided our community with a sense of normalcy in these uncertain times."

Social distancing, face coverings and other standard health protocols are in place, similar to what is in place at schools, and the season is still operating according to plan.

Friday Night Lights (and masks)

The decision by the Alabama High School Athletic Association to move forward with high school football was met with criticism from states that opted to cancel high school football, and has still been criticized by many in the state who believe it was the wrong decision.

In the case of high school football in the Birmingham area, the most vocal complaints have come from parents and fans who are not pleased with the restrictions placed on stadium capacity and orders to adhere to social distancing policies and mask requirements.

Hoover High School, the state's largest, plays home games at the 10,500-seat Hoover Met, and the school put in place attendance restrictions of 50 percent capacity for the season. Homewood High School is at 25 percent capacity, while Mountain Brook has limited capacity at Spartan Stadium to 15 percent.

Vestavia Hills had to forfeit the first two games of the season after legendary coach Buddy Anderson tested positive for COVID-19. Mountain Brook's fist two games of the season were wins by forfeit.

Friday, Midfield High School announced it has shut down its season entirely, after forfeiting its last game due to COVID-19 concerns.

"We decided as a district to look out for the safety of the kids and our community because we have a lot of kids that go home to grandparents and elderly people," Midfield athletic director Rod Issac said in a statement. "We looked at the pros and cons and we just had too many cons in terms of football to continue."

Hoover had to reschedule its opening game twice due to cancellations from the opposing team, and both Hewitt-Trussville and Clay-Chalkville have had wins by forfeit due to COVID-19.

"It's like, just get in the games you can get in, and hope you can play again next week," said AHSAA referee Jonathan Smith. "This season, you just have to be thankful you can play at all."

Just being able to play is not good enough for many local residents who want a return to normal quicker than it can get here. A group of Mountain Brook parents have been vocal — even attending the last Mountain Brook Board of Education meeting — about not wanting to wear masks or abide by AHSAA health protocols.

AHSAA Assistant Director Denise Ainsworth said in a news conference before the season started that she realized this season's changes would likely be met with some opposition.

"We realize everyone will not feel comfortable going to a ball game," she said. "If you do not feel comfortable, we do provide the NFHS Network which many schools will provide a feed of the game."

Stadium safety guidelines are left mostly up to the individual school, but all schools must follow the AHSAA safety plan announced before the season started.

Saturdays In Alabama

The economic impact of COVID-19 has been felt worldwide, obviously, but in smaller pockets of the world — like Tuscaloosa and Lee counties in Alabama — the impact will be tremendous simply because of college football. Tuscaloosa County, and the city of Tuscaloosa in particular, stands to lose millions of dollars that it usually sees on game days in the fall.

Lee County, Auburn and Opelika especially, has the same problem. Decreased seating capacity, tailgating restrictions and restaurant seating restrictions put in place by the state will take away significant revenue that many businesses count on in the fall to stay afloat for the rest of the year.

"Speaking for myself and many other students at Alabama, a large amount of students attend UA because of the football program," Jayde Saylor, co-host of The Bama Network said in a Patch interview. "As we have already seen several businesses close down in Tuscaloosa, I would look to see a few more meet the end with no tourists and people coming in for home games."

UAB played its opening football game on ESPN against Central Arkansas, and the empty seats at Legion Field in Birmingham were hard not to notice on television. Decreased capacity at ELgion Field will hurt Birmingham businesses some, but not nearly as much as the lack of a Magic City Classic.

The annual game between Alabama A&M and Alabama State brings in 50,000 attendees and an economic impact of $22.7 million to the city. The game has been moved to the spring, scheduled for April 17, but that does not help when getting businesses to rebound from what has already been a devastating economic time.

When SEC kicks off Saturday morning, the experiment begins. While the hope is that the season can play itself out, fans will need to brace for the unexpected, which could mean game cancellations at the last minute, or even an outright cancellation of the season.

This article originally appeared on the Birmingham Patch