Parents hope fans may be let in soon
Cole Spencer’s parents won’t be in the stands to watch him play this fall, cheering him on every time he throws a touchdown pass. Neither will his school’s rowdy student section, which is especially unfortunate considering it’s the Pine-Richland star quarterback’s senior season.
While plans for fall sports seasons moved forward Friday, when the PIAA board of directors voted to conduct fall sports as scheduled despite the COVID-19 pandemic, fans found out they will not be part of those plans.
“I think it’s kind of ridiculous,” said Cole’s father, Brad. “I go down to Giant Eagle or Lowe’s, and there are tons of people, but I can’t go sit in the stands and be smart and social distance. I understand limiting it and keeping it to just parents or just three people. The majority of stadiums are big enough that we can socially distance and be fine. This is kind of hypocritical. There’s no rhyme or reason to it.”
PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Education recommended that no spectators be allowed at high school sporting events.
“Having no fans is still under the guidance of the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the entire state. That’s not from Allegheny County,” said WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman.
Earlier in the day, the Allegheny County Health Department and WPIAL released a joint statement saying that while the county is adjusting its capacity limit on outdoor gatherings to accommodate high school sports, spectators will be
prohibited from attending events.
Bands and cheerleaders will be allowed, but the groups — which the joint county health department and WPIAL guidelines referred to as “pods” — must not exceed 50 people. There will be three main pods for the game itself, following that same limit. Two of the pods consist of the sidelines (players, coaches and staff) on either side of the field, and the other consists of the players/officials engaged in play on the field. The total facility capacity cannot exceed 250, the outdoor gathering limit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in July. For volleyball, which is played indoors, the capacity limit is just 25. WPIAL teams not competing in Allegheny County are expected to adhere to those guidelines.
“We continue to advocate to having some spectators there, especially at least Mom and Dad,” Lombardi said. “Obviously, the limit of 25 inside is going to be tough, unless somehow we can figure out a way to modify this. We have asked for consideration, but we have heard nothing yet.”
The WPIAL includes schools from nine other counties besides Allegheny. The statement from the county health department and WPIAL included five specific measures:
• Spectators are prohibited from attending in-person K-12 sports-related activities.
• Personal health assessments are expected of each participant on the day of any game.
• Physical distancing of 6 feet is required at all times when not actively engaged in competition.
• Coaches and staff should be masked at all times unless they meet one of the exceptions in the state’s universal face coverings order.
• Participants may not share uniforms, towels, apparel or equipment and are expected to bring their own water bottle or rehydration beverages.
While guidelines may change, as of now, there won’t be any fans for Friday night football. The same goes for soccer, cross country, field hockey, golf, girls tennis and girls volleyball.
The “no spectator” policy isn’t exactly a big hit with parents, among them Molly Kauffman. Her daughter, Katelyn, plays soccer for Norwin High, which is located in Westmoreland County.
“It’s terrible,” she said. “I think they should be able to do something to let fans in. I know it’s hard with football, but soccer, we don’t have a lot of fans. We were hoping they could at least split it up so we can get some fans. I don’t think it’s fair. I hope it will change.”
Lombardi offered some advice for those hoping for change: Make a bunch of phone calls and fire out some emails.
“I think if Mom and Dad and schools want to contact their local legislator and possibly [put] some pressure on the governor’s staff, that would be helpful,” he said. “But I’m not in the political world. We’re here trying to do the best for our schools.”
Here’s the real headscratcher: Fans, sometimes in excess of 100 of them, have regularly been attending youth baseball, club sports and AAU basketball tournaments. So why is that allowed, but fans attending high school events is off-limits?
“Everything is so inconsistent that it just doesn’t make sense,” Brad Spencer said. “If you stick with one rule, OK. But to say, ‘This is fine, but this is not.’ It’s the inconsistency.”
Kathleen Hondru has been looking forward to her son Corban’s senior season at Peters Township in Washington County. He’s part of a class that includes close to two dozen seniors, many of whom have been teammates since they were little. Last season, they helped the Indians reach the WPIAL championship for the first time in school history.
“It’s disappointing we won’t be there physically,” Hondru said. “I think with all of the disappointment COVID has caused for everybody and recently thinking the last couple of weeks there would be no sports, I think we’re in this moment of relief that the kids are going to get a chance to play. If we have to be resourceful of where we’re watching, we’ll do that. If there’s any opportunity to revisit that in some appropriate way that could satisfy the different groups, that would be great. Of course, I’m all in for being creative.”
Some high schools already stream their games online, giving family members and friends the opportunity to follow along. The amount of livestreams will likely soar this fall. Some fans might hold “watch parties” at their homes. Hondru even suggested showing the games on a big screen at a drive-in theater, adding that she hopes they will still be allowed in the parking lot or somewhere just outside the stadium, enabling them to cheer from afar.
Don’t look for Brad Spencer to be attending any watch parties or even watching the game with anybody besides his wife, Joann, and some other family members. It’s not that he’s a nonsocial person. It’s because his son is the quarterback.
“Some people would, but with my son being the QB, I stay away from people as far as I usually can,” he said, laughing. “I like watching football, but I don’t like to hear any negative things.”
For players, tossing or kicking the ball around in a stadium without any fans might make the environment feel more like it’s a scrimmage or practice, not an actual game.
“I was just looking back on some old clips, watching some old highlights and everybody going nuts,” Cole Spencer said. “It’s going to be tough trying to recreate that.”
That will be tough, if not impossible — unless maybe crowd noise is pumped into stadiums like it has been at some professional sporting events. And while no fans may be in attendance, most parents will agree that the games actually being played is the most important thing.
“To me, it seems like something can be worked out,” Hondru said. “I’m just so relieved they’re playing.”