The Apocalypse

I'm not a prophet. I don't claim to be one.

But, I have read enough stories and theories about them to know how it starts. And I also see connections and logical progressions.

The Apocalypse always starts with one utterly stupid event (say, for instance, a man eating a bat on a drunken bet, and it wasn't cooked properly) this leads to a previously unknown virus to plague a local area.

The local area is slow to react, so the area becomes quarantined far too late to do any good, but local officials still claim that, "everything is under control."

The area that is infected grows larger and larger, the quarantine (and by now additional steps they thought of -too late to do any good by the way-) doesn't work. Higher officials still tell us, "it's all under control."

Travel and trade bans then become implemented before long to help ensure the people that everything is "okay."

These steps are progressive until the entire world is under trade and travel bans. People aren't allowed to meet in groups of more than 1000. Then more than 500. Then more than 50. Then more than 6.

Those numbers will change daily after awhile, depending on which areas are hardest hit, but eventually everyone will be under the same restrictions.

This usually takes a few months.

In the meantime, schools voluntarily close. Then they are forced to close. Big entertainment events begin to cancel voluntarily. Then they are demanded to cancel.

Then businesses begin operating under reduced hours. They they close for awhile voluntarily.

Then they are forced to close. You know, to protect everyone from the outbreak.

They are told it's only temporary, but the spreading of the disease is only slowed down. It isn't stopped. So businesses and schools are forced to be shut down much longer than originally anticipated.

In America (you know the RICH country) 50% of the people have less than $1000 in their savings account. They live paycheck to paycheck. And just like that many American lose the homes they were buying and the apartments they were living in. The government steps in for awhile and demands that banks and loan institutions give people more time to make payments. The banks, who depend on most people paying regularly are then caught up in the struggle.  Some start to close. People panic. The government tells people their money is safe because of the FDIC, but soon it becomes apparent that the government really can't afford to make good on all of those payouts. They never had enough money to make good on that insurance.

Just like that inflation hits and America has no jobs and no money.

But what about the stock market? Even worse. Because major international businesses were forced  to curtail their output during the business and travel bans, their stock went down. Slowly at first, and though it rebounded slightly several times, eventually the panic hit, and large successful companies were suddenly worth 25% less, than 50%. And the stock stopped rebounding. With their businesses closed, their sales were so greatly reduced that large groups of employees were let go. And their stock continued to go down.

A world-wide economic disaster happened within a few short months. Tens of millions of jobs were lost. Pension and retirement funds were wiped out. And 100's of millions lost their homes.

The good news? The WHO and the the CDC tell the world that they can relax now. The virus has died out and they are now safe. They estimate that as many as half a million people didn't die because of their brave and nobel efforts. Most people claim that those numbers are exaggerated, and say the real number was tens of thousands.

BUT the problems were only beginning. With governments bankrupted and corporations going out of business and with not enough people with the ability to BUY anything anymore, the economy only got worse. Much worse.

Within 18 months to two years, 100's of millions of people die from hunger and the elements. And if that wasn't bad enough, 100's of millions more die because more new plagues are released and people start to try eating anything they can get their hands on, including infected people.

It is now impossible for any country, group or corporation to do anything. The good ones are long gone as are medical supplies and capable medical workers.

The world as we know it is long gone. There is no hope for a rebirth.

Tell me which of these logical progressive steps I got wrong. 4 years from now.

It all started with an undercooked bat.

Cancelled

The world has gone mad.

Yes, the latest virus sweeping the world is dangerous.

But the reaction to it is even worse.

It's a flu virus, primarily attacking the old and infirm. It will kill many. But let's not forget in 2016 (or was it 2017) the yearly flu virus killed 80,000 people in the U.S. alone. It averages 55-60,000 deaths every single year.

Worldwide that yearly flu kills upwards of 1.5 million people. Sad, to be sure, but it's a part of life.

When the Corona virus is done, the numbers will be similar.

Sporting events and large gatherings are now discouraged, banned or cancelled. Not because it will prevent the virus from spreading, but because it could possibly slow it down. The same number of people will die from it, it will just happen over an extended period of months.

Travel has halted. And the world-wide economy is crumbling.

This is idiocy in its highest form. It will take years, perhaps decades, for the world to recover. Not from from the virus itself, but from the over-reaction to it. The job loss will be devastating.

In fact, the world may never fully recover.

Churchill  said it best. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. But we've given into fear and it is destroying us.

And we will live with the consequences of giving into that fear for many years to come. And we'll react even more poorly when the next major crisis occurs.

Don't blame Trump. Don't blame the Democrats. Blame those promoting the fear. And blame yourself for being taken in.

XFL: Week Five

I'm still watching and still enjoying.

The season is half over, and I've watched some, if not most, of all the games. I went to bed early last night, so I missed the end of the best scoring game of the season. If other folks stayed up and actually watched, they would have seen one of the very best games of football this year. Anywhere.

The ratings are gradually going down, but most games still beat most other sports in competing time slots. March Madness will probably takes its toll over the neat few weeks.

Me? I'd rather watch football than the 61st team in the country play college basketball.

Even the bad XFL teams are getting better. You can't say that about most sports.

XFL: Week Three

The more I watch, the more I like.

I watched most of the first three games this weekend, but the last one is a good example of WHY I like it as sport.

A college basketball game was going long yesterday when the kick-off for the last game was getting underway. There were 6.3 seconds left in the college basketball game.

While that 6.3 seconds lasted 9 1/2 minutes of real time (you know the THING I HATE MOST ABOUT BASKETBALL) the XFL had a kick-off return, 4 great running plays, including the first touchdown of the game, a commercial break and were getting ready for the SECOND kick-off of the game.

That, for me is the XFL in a nutshell, all of that action in 6.3 seconds of doing nothing college basketball time. NO contest. The XFL wins by a mile.

What else did I see this weekend on the XFL. The first kick-off return for a touchdown AND the league's number ONE team (DC) getting clubbed down like baby seals by 0-2 LA. AND another 3-point conversion.

Great plays. Great teams. Great upsets. And WAY better quarterback play this week. The Guardians are still awful, I'll give you that. And the Vipers need to learn how to score more with all that offense.

I don't know hardly any of the players yet, and I really don't mind. The speed and transparency of the games are mesmerizing.

I hope people continue to watch. Going into this weekend's games every XFL game has beaten every other sport it was going against in the ratings.

That's pretty impressive for a start-up. I don't know what ratings will be "good enough" to keep the league alive, but it's off to a good start.

XFL: Week Two

I didn't get to see as much of the action this week, but I did get to see at least half of each game.

And I'm still enjoying it. The first game on Saturday was an absolute blow-out, BUT at least the team that got beat was the New York team, and it seems everybody like to see any New York beat, even if it's a new league.

The other games were much closer and had more scoring, especially in the second halves.

I do miss the accurate passing, and better receiving skills of the NFL and top college teams,
but I just love the phrenetic pace of the league. If you didn't like one play, don't worry, there'll be another one in about 20 seconds.

And seeing the booth official examine controversial plays while talking to refs on the field is still very cool.

The ratings last week were very good. Attendance was higher than expected as well. This week's overall attendance was up over last week's too.

BUT it had stiffer competition for TV viewers. Nascar had a race ultimately called because of rain, and the NBA had its All Star game activities.

We won't get all the ratings for a couple days yet, though Saturday's should be announced sometime today.

I was asked to comment on baseball's proposed new play-off system last week. I think I'll wait until the regular season is closer for that...

XFL: For the Love of the Game

I admit I was kind of interested in watching some football this weekend.

The NFL season is over.

I can't stand hockey and basketball anymore, and baseball is still a couple of months away.

So I watched my first XFL game Saturday. And then, surprisingly, I found myself watching most of the other three games as well.

Wow. I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't the quality of play or the new rules that I found most interesting, it was the live mics on the refs, players, and coaches. When the refs huddled to discuss something, you HEARD it. When the official in the booth is reviewing a questionable call, you hear him and see him do it, and you can hear him talking to the other officials to make sure everything is understood before announcing the final decision.

It was absolutely amazing and it kept me watching.

The coaches calling the plays were mic'd in real time so we knew what play was coming. The announcers told us what the play would be and what to expect. This opened up the games in ways I never thought possible. It was fun. It was exciting. It was involving. It was an incredible, immersive experience.

The two Saturday games were higher scoring with more real action. The games Sunday were harder to watch because of good defenses and less skilled playmaking.

But both were still fun to watch because of the unbelievable inside coverage. Will the XFL be a hit with viewers?  I have no idea. But, I have seen the future of sports, and it is incredible.

I hope people watch. If you like sports in general, and football specifically, I think you too will be pleasantly surprised.

It sure is better than watching endless threes and dunks in basketball, and no scoring hockey.

sigh

They looked slow and tired.

They played like it.

Maybe in the spring, when the Twins have got some games under their belts, I'll start blogging again.

The Timberwolves sure aren't giving me any reason to continue...