Third football game played in U.S. since COVID began takes place Saturday ... in Kansas
As of Friday, only two officially regulated football games had been played in the U.S. since the short-lived XFL’s final contest on March 8. But that number is about to jump to three.
It’s believed that the 2020 Kansas Shrine Bowl, set for Saturday night at 7 in Topeka, will be the third football game played in America since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, making this year’s event historic beyond its cause.
The Nebraska Shrine Bowl, played last Saturday, is believed to have been the first football game held since the outset of the outbreak. High school all-stars from Illinois and Indiana competed in a game Monday.
In the face of spiking COVID-19 case numbers in Kansas, some 72 players, 14 coaches, five team managers, four athletic trainers, four camp directors and one Shrine Bowl executive director, B.J. Harris, are forging ahead with this weekend’s charity-driven game in the state’s capital.
“I think the biggest thing I’m going to take away from this is that you can trust these kids, and you can trust these coaches,” Harris said. “These 72 kids are the right kids to be playing in this game at the right moment in time.”
Shrine Bowl organizers say they have sought to ensure that players and coaches stayed safe during this week’s leadup to the Saturday night game. The usual itinerary associated with Shrine Bowl week was pared back to minimize the risk of contamination for those involved. And so far, those preventative measures seem to have worked.
But despite the Shrine Bowl’s unwavering commitment to raising money for the network of 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children, the event has come under criticism for continuing as scheduled.
“I think the kids’ maturity needs to be well-praised,” Shrine Bowl West Team coach Tommy Beason said. “They have not had a situation yet that they haven’t just bounced right through. They’re being adults about everything they’re being asked to do. No complaints.
“I think there has been so much taken away from so many people that this is one of the first shining lights that some of these guys have had.”
In early May, Shrine Bowl officials announced that the game would not be played at Washburn University’s Yager Stadium — the campus was closed for the summer because of the pandemic. After scrambling to find a new venue, organizers settled on the Hummer Sports Complex in Topeka.
Logistics were reconfigured. Sleeping quarters were required for the players and coaches. The teams needed new practice venues. Shrine Bowl organizers were also dealing with a tightened budget. And the event and its new venue needed to agree upon how to manage attendance to the game.
The road to 7 p.m. Saturday in Topeka has been grueling, Harris said.
“If we can get there and kick off on Saturday night, I may have to find a corner in the back to weep,” he said. “This has just been so stressful, and we have put so much into it to make it happen.”
The commitment from all involved has been remarkable, Harris said. On the first day of practice, all 72 players showed up, something that hasn’t happened in years, he said. Players interviewed said dropping out of the event because of the pandemic never crossed their minds.
“I don’t really care what anyone else says,” said Phoenix Smith, a West squad member and recent Bishop Carroll grad. “I’m just more happy that we can still put on the game. It’s disappointing we don’t get to do a lot of the other stuff involved with the Shrine Bowl, but as long as we still get to play and raise money for kids, I’m still just as excited.
“To me, this game is going to be even more exciting because we had to go through all of the trials and tribulations just to get it all set up.”
Those details finally ironed out, this 47th annual Kansas Shrine Bowl is poised to become the most memorable yet.
On Wednesday, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced that all schools will remain closed until after Labor Day, and all sports associated with those schools would be postponed. That decision is pending state Board of Education approval, but if approved, the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) will be forced to delay its planned Aug. 17 start date for fall seasons in all sports.
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But Harris said the Shrine Bowl isn’t happening to earn recognition or to show the way back to organized sports. He said it’s about raising money for children currently confined to hospitals across the country.
“Why make something about kids so negative?” Beason said. “You can argue about going to Walmart or Home Depot. I don’t care. But when you start talking about kids and school, it gets really personal. As an adult, I want to do everything I can for the kids. If we can do one more thing to make it happen, why not do it?”
Nebraska Shrine Bowl organizers had asked themselves the same question. Harris said he spoke with the Nebraska event’s director, Dave MacDonald, every day last week; when their game was over, Harris said, MacDonald had a simple message for those tasked with staging and playing in Saturday night’s game here in Topeka:
“It’s your turn now,” MacDonald said.