Georgia football: What might happen if the 2020 season is canceled

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – MARCH 22: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (Editors note: This image was computer-generated in-game). Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 Hooters Chevrolet, and huge Georgia football fan Graythen/Getty Images) /

The rise of eSports?

We have to have some kind of competition this fall right? We can’t not have a football season period, there has to be some way to have football this fall. The answer might lie in the virtual world and motorsports is well ahead of the curve.

NASCAR and iRacing, already united in the eSports world with the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, created the NASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series in response to the COVID-19 outbreak postponing races.

On March 22, Fox Sports 1 aired the first Pro Invitational race at the virtual Homestead Miami Speedway and drew in 903K viewers, smashing the previous record for a televised eSports event. The event was such a success that Fox is airing another race this Sunday. IndyCar and Formula 1 both followed suit with races streamed online.

Is this a glimpse of the sports we’ll get for the remainder of the year? That’s possible but requires a lot more coordination. NASCAR was blessed to already have a close partnership with iRacing and Fox Sports 1 suddenly had a vacant spot in its schedule. Professional motorsports drivers already use simulators and paint schemes are easily imported.

These are some of the hurdles football, college football in particular, will have a harder time jumping. The only virtual football in town is EA Sports’ Madden franchise. The NFL doesn’t even have affiliated players for the Madden Championship Series, and an NFL eSports series will come way before a college football series.

For this event to have some semblance of legitimacy, there needs to be team affiliations. For college football specifically, EA would have to at least create uniforms for all of the teams. Importing stadiums for most power 5 schools is just not going happen in time for the game’s release this summer.

Will TV networks even air the competitions? They all have months to come up with replacements. iRacing is a simulator, the action resembles real-life racing pretty closely. Madden is a video game and not a very polished one at that. Still, if the football demand is large enough, eFootball might be the only way to fill it.

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