Remember the term “six feet, 15 minutes” — it could decide the season.

The biggest issue about catching COVID-19 is how much up-close time you might spend around someone who already has it. The official CDC wording is “someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 (consecutive) minutes starting from two days before illness onset.”

That has to be right, or the entire football season is in jeopardy from the first drive of the first game. Let’s dive in a little deeper.

Let’s assume that both teams starting a football game have been tested and all players, coaches and support personnel are negative. It is unlikely that anyone on the field, along the sidelines or in the sanitized locker room will catch it from each other.

But on game day, the seven officials, the first-down chain gangs, the TV crews and media will all come fairly close to the players and coaches. All these ancillary personnel are supposedly not allowed in the stadium until they are verified negative, as well.

But say someone is carrying the virus and doesn’t know it. He or she cannot infect a football player or coach unless they are within six feet for at least 15 minutes starting from two days before illness onset.

If that’s true, and all players and coaches, etc., stay negative, football is probably safe enough to play. Theoretically, you can be close to, or maybe even kissing, a COVID case as long as you don’t stay that way for 15 consecutive minutes (spoiler, don’t try it at home).

Most of the infections we’ve been hearing about are of the mosh-pit party, assembly-line factory or unaware of barfly friend or roommate variety. However, because testing and contact tracing never caught up with the curve in this country, there may be ways we still don’t know. Like football players swapping sweat, spit and snot.

That is why sports are in such a debate right now. How did outbreaks occur in Major League Baseball if the players all tested negative and were not within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes? If, however, you can catch it from more than six feet in less than 15 minutes, high-contact football may find out soon enough.

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