Media hype. Blown out of proportion. Big 12 fans question coronavirus cancellations
If they were afraid of catching coronavirus, they wouldn’t have come.
As Big 12 basketball fans streamed into the Sprint Center on Wednesday evening for the first round of men’s play, they were all of one opinion:
Although the coronavirus outbreak may be sweeping the globe, they said, they believe it is being over-hyped in the United States right now, particularly in Kansas and Missouri, where only two cases have so far been confirmed.
While they understand the decisions Wednesday, based on safety, to ban crowds from remaining Big 12 tournament games as well as the the upcoming NCAA March Madness, they’re gravely disappointed, and fear that the lack of enthusiastic fans will hamper team play.
“I feel like they should let the fans go if they want to go because they know what they’re getting into,” said Wyatt Davis, 22, of Fairway, heading into the game between Iowa State and Oklahoma State. “It’s always good for the players to see the fans there, see them cheering on them. I think it would be weird if someone would pop up a three (pointer) and they’d sink it and then there’s not a loud roar. And you’re just kind of standing there.”
“I’m quite surprised they did it, to be honest,” said Iowa State fan Brandon Gregersen, 32, who came down to Kansas City from Anita, Iowa, with his 7-year-old son, Brody. He expressed zero concern about the threat of coronavirus.
”I’m not scared,” he said. “I was excited to bring my son down here tonight. Honestly, I kind of think everyone is overreacting a little bit. It’s a virus. The flu’s a virus. There’s many viruses out there. A lot of people get those types of things. As long as you’re smart, wash your hands, do all of the things that they’re telling you, I think we’ll all be just fine.”
The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus a pandemic, affecting more than 110,000 people in over 100 countries. More than 4,000 people have died from the disease, known as COVID-19.
Ronda Branson was headed into the Sprint Center with her daughter, Molly, 14. Her other daughter, Mallory Smith, 24, she said, is dating an Iowa State player.
“I think it’s very unfortunate that it has to come to this,” she said of the fan ban, what some are now calling March Sadness. She carried a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer in her purse, but expressed no trepidation about being in a large crowd.
“I’m not sure if it’s all media hype or exactly what it is,” she said. “From some of the things I’ve seen, flu is the major thing — influenza. I think if you take care of yourself, I don’t really think there’s a whole lot to worry about. And I’m just thankful that the Big 12, we still can go in and watch tonight.”
Cory Cottam, 42, a Kansas State University fan from Wamego, Kansas, drove in with his sons, Chase, 15, and Brodie, 12. K-State was set to play Texas Christian University at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
“Frankly, we all feel like it’s a little blown out of proportion,” he said of the threat of coronavirus. His larger concern early in the evening was whether fans would be banned from later Big 12 tournament games. The Big 12 would soon decide exactly that, barring the public from games Thursday through Saturday. It did the same for the women’s tournament, Thursday through Sunday at Municipal Auditorium.
“I would be lying if I were to say we weren’t worried,” he said before the decision. “I get they got to do what’s best for the people. … I feel like if you’re healthy and take care of yourself, it’s your choice, in my opinion.”
Olivia Winn, 17, of Lee’s Summit and her sisters, Claire, 19, and Emma, 21, all felt the same. Good hygiene would likely protect most people, they said. Although they also understood the reasoning behind the cancellations.
“I understand where they’re coming from,” Claire said. “Everybody’s worried about it. So I feel like if they didn’t cancel it, it might be controversial for them.”
Olivia said, “I think it’s good to protect people who can’t really protect themselves as much, so that’s a good thing. But I think it’s a little bit extreme. I think everybody’s trying to cover their bases right now.”
Across from the arena, K-State dancer Kia Warren descended from a Big 12 bus with members of the band. She and her friends were all concerned about the possibility of fans being banned from the Big 12 tournament.
But as for coronavirus:
“I feel very uneducated,” Warren said. “There are a lot of conflicting opinions in the media right now, and it’s hard to pick which one is the correct one to believe. Me, I’m just not worried because it doesn’t seem real yet.”
They headed toward the arena, where they would soon find out that that after Wednesday night, there would be no more fans to cheer in front of.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 7:31 PM.
