The 2020 NFL season is going to look different in yet another area due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported cheerleaders and mascots will not be allowed on the field during the 2020 season, according to updated NFL-NFLPA protocols sent to clubs. Network sideline reporters and TV pregame reporters will also be prohibited from field access in 2020, per the protocols.
As teams individually work on plans for safe stadium settings for a percentage of spectators in 2020, yet another part of the usual NFL scene will be changed because of the nation's current state of affairs. Instead of seeing live shots from the backs of end zones on sunny Sunday mornings or sideline reporters delivering the latest information from just behind a team's bench, those folks will be appearing from concourse levels and in empty seating sections. Groups in charge of boosting fans' spirits will be absent as well, meaning we won't see shots of a jovial (or distraught) Jaxson de Ville, KC Wolf or Sir Purr, among others.
It will be a game viewed and delivered from the stands, which we can all agree is still better than no game at all.