KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chiefs on Monday unveiled their wishful and wistful scheme to host fans at a reduced capacity of 22% of normal for their first three home games at Arrowhead Stadium.
For all its curiosities, one element practically blared out in neon even among the most substantial issues.
Even among the inherent contradictions in summoning together nearly 17,000 people amid a pandemic days after Kansas City extended its state of emergency to Jan. 16.
Even within the question of just how safety recommendations might be enforced when part of our crisis is compounded by those twisting the basic act of hygiene and consideration of masking up as if it's a right being violated.
Even considering such matters as the tenuous consent of Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Kansas City health director Dr. Rex Archer, otherwise preaching the limiting of crowds and keeping people at distance from each other because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Archer acknowledged the plan wasn't 100% foolproof despite precautions to avoid further spread of the virus and said "folks that are high risk" should "probably not" be attending. On Tuesday, Lucas elaborated on his approach: The dedicated Chiefs fans said he didn't know if he planned to go to a game this year.
That incompatible stance stands out when a major part of the ongoing struggle is because of mixed messages from our leaders.
For all that, though, what resonated most to me, in itself and for what it represents, was this caveat:
"Masks will be required at all times for fans attending games at Arrowhead Stadium, with the exception of when fans are actively eating or drinking."
Now, of course if there are going to be fans at games there needs to be an allowance for consumption. But here's the thing:
Before the pandemic, and as it surely is at virtually every other NFL venue, people tend to drink a lot at Arrowhead tailgates. And drink plenty more in the stadium. And those who imbibe then behave with a certain abandon.
Now, they'll basically be incentivized to drink more to keep the masks off, aren't they?
Just being between sips all the time sure makes for an easy way to justify keeping masks off sitting near friends ... and to fend off any interloper trying to enforce the rule.
And the more they drink, the less likely they are to honor restrictions and lose inhibitions about them.
That illuminates the broader point.
Add this all up, and curbing the spread at Arrowhead will depend on numerous tricky variables that will rely on every person involved being faithful to the cause.
All while many other NFL organizations take a more guarded approach _ teams such as Chicago, Green Bay and New England are at least starting their home seasons in empty stadiums.
"We believe we can do this in a safe way," Chiefs president Mark Donovan told The Star Editorial Board Tuesday. "But it only works if our fans are disciplined and follow the rules."
Nothing personal, but it's a lot to ask of any fans to bear the brunt of the responsibility here.
Perhaps especially for those who waited 50 years to celebrate their second Super Bowl triumph, which is set to be commemorated with the unveiling of a championship banner before the Sept. 10 NFL opener against visiting Houston.
It's a true shame, sure, but framed in a world off its axis. And wretched as the circumstances are, this all smacks of too much too soon with too much unknown ... to what truly meaningful end?
Pockets lined a little more and some fans appeased by a fine effort that still seems somewhere between a roll of the dice and a Hail Mary that it won't further contribute to the state of chaos.
To be sure, we all have different thresholds for how to deal with the infinite complications and profound sadness brought on by the pandemic. And that applies plenty in how we look at sports.
For instance: While it's easy to see the precariousness of it all, I understand and generally gingerly support the case to try to play the games. Even beyond the bubbles, as Major League Baseball and the NFL and now the MLS and some major college conferences and high schools are setting out to do.
Somehow, those sophisticated and elaborate endeavors (albeit less so in colleges and less yet for high school sports) have come to seem largely reasonable to me ... even as I understand they come with ethical questions and that I could come to regret feeling this way.
I also get that no one has more at stake here than the Chiefs and the city. And that a lot of expert energy has been invested in this (including through the University of Kansas Health System, the Kansas City Health Department and the mayor's office).
And, yes, that it is crucial factor that this will be outdoors, as are similar (but distinct) efforts by Sporting KC and local colleges Kansas State and Missouri (KU plans to officialize its own plan soon).
But the idea of that many people converging at Arrowhead still comes off as reckless and gratuitous, no matter how much the Chiefs and the city try to do to make it safe in a place where COVID-19 is nearly certain to be present.
Just like I hope I'm right on these attempts to play games, I hope I'm wrong on attempts to put people in the seats since the Chiefs aren't likely to back off on this experiment.
But there is no immunity from this impunity. It's an enterprise that adds considerable risk for fans ... and perhaps for the team by one link in the chain to the next to the next to the next.
Maybe you've seen those masks that say, "HELP KEEP PATRICK MAHOMES SAFE: WEAR A MASK."
Or you could stay home, if it means that much to you, even if that might seem like yet another paradoxical proposal in a time lousy with them.
