Ian Book, Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are still scheduled to play Navy in Ireland in this season, even after cancellation rumors due to the Coronavirus possibly affecting the season.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were scheduled to start their season on August 29th, 2020 in Dublin, Ireland against Navy, but due to the Coronavirus, the game has been in doubt by many. There has been rumors of the game being canceled all the way to it still being a possibility.
As of right now, the game against Navy in Dublin is still happening. The issue becomes how Ireland handles things, as they’ve extended their ban on gatherings of more than 5,000 people to September. The game will take place just days before the ban would expire.
A few days doesn’t make a huge difference, right? Let’s hope not because postponing the game doesn’t help either team, as they’re booked for other games all year. Instead of postponing the game, they’d end up just playing in the United States.
The NFL has already pulled out of their games in Mexico and London that were scheduled for the 2020 NFL season. Look, I’m not complaining. The NFL games in Mexico and London are annoying for the players and fans.
A college football game in Ireland though is different in my eyes. It seems like an experience that the kids will only get to experience once. It’s an experience that will last a lifetime for the teammates on both teams.
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said on Tuesday “At this point, it’s still on the schedule.” This is good news, for many reasons. First off, this is a game I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced.
If the game happens, this will be their third time meeting in Ireland, with the first two going in favor of the Fighting Irish.
It was expected that over 35,000 fans will travel from the US and Europe to “take part” in the experience of this game. That could be the only thing that ends up holding Ireland back and possibly canceling the game in Ireland completely. I mean, 35,000 is way over the 5,000 people limit.
My bet is that the game will be canceled and moved to the United States. I am making a prediction that Ireland will host the two teams in 2021, instead of the expected August of 2020 matchup.
We will know more as time passes. I expect to have a full answer sooner, rather than later.