Alabama bars close with hopes of preserving Alabama football season
Fans in Tuscaloosa want to see an Alabama football season. So they’re closing the Crimson Tide’s single biggest threat: Bars.
When explaining his decision to close down bars amid the growing spread of COVID-19, the mayor of Tuscaloosa appealed to what really matters to Alabamians. It’s all about Alabama football.
On Monday, Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox announced a new order closing bars and bar service at restaurants throughout the city for the next two weeks. It’s the latest measure to help stem the outbreak of coronavirus cases which coincided with the return of students to campus for the fall semester.
Speaking on The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday, Maddox highlighted the popularity of bars with students and their role in spreading the virus.
“We had 531 students in five days have coronavirus. We know there are certain places where they are most certain to have contracted the coronavirus. We had to shut that down. If we don’t shut that down, we lose the fall,” Paul Finebaum quoted Maddox.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox: "We had 531 students in five days have coronavirus. We know there are certain places where they are most certain to have contracted the coronavirus. We had to shut that down. If we don’t shut that down, we lose the fall.”
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) August 28, 2020
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox on closing bars: “(Bar owners) have taken it on the chin, but unfortunately, it’s in our bars in our city where students gather, and it's in the bars where we see the spread of the coronavirus.”
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) August 28, 2020
The biggest threat to an Alabama football season is Alabama students.
Spiking numbers of COVID-19 have the college football season in the SEC sitting on a knife’s edge. The conference, especially Alabama, wants to play this fall but they won’t be able to justify it if the coronavirus continues to spread like wildfire in college towns like Tuscaloosa.
Getting community spread under control is critical for football going forward. All it would take is one major outbreak among football players to throw the whole season into doubt.
Considering the value of football to the community, appealing to that particular worry is a smart strategy by Maddox. If you want football, you have to make better decisions. If you want football, you’ll live without bars.
The Tide are hoping to go forward with a 10-game conference-only football schedule beginning on Sept. 26 against Missouri. If all goes as planned, they will have 20 percent of Bryant-Denny Stadium filled for five home games.
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