I'm gonna go out on a bit of a limb here and assume that I speak for the majority of us all when I say I'm sick and freakin' tired of COVID-19 and all the junk it's brought along with it.

Life as we once knew it just mere months ago isn't even close to the same. We have to stand physically distanced at the grocery store, we have to wear masks everywhere we go, we can't visit sick relatives in the hospital.. the list just goes on and on. This pandemic has crushed businesses, lost lives and changed the way we educate our children. And, if my gut is correct, this is just the beginning of the changes that we will all be living with for quite some time.

One of the first changes that everyone dealt with when this all began, even before the mask mandate, was a change to gathering capacity. Not just here in Maine, but all across the country. The CDC pleaded with people not to have any gatherings of more than X number of people for fear of rapid transmission of the virus. Well, what does that mean for sports stadiums? Great question.

As of a few months ago we weren't even sure that we were going have any sports this year anyway. However, at least for now, it looks like we'll get SOME baseball, football and basketball in this year, though things will be looking a lot different. Take for example home games for the Patriots at Gillette Stadium this year. The organization, in conjunction with guidance from the CDC, has decided to limit capacity to around 13%.

According to CBS Boston, the stadium, which typically holds an incredible 66,000 people, will only be admitting 13,000 fans into this year's home games. And, that's if the CDC doesn't change the guidelines prior to the start of the season. If that were to happen, Gillette Stadium officials would be forced to rework the numbers and change their game-day fan capacity policy.

Other new requirements under this season's protocol will be physical distancing of at least 6 feet, tickets will be arranged in blocks of 10 seats or less, mass will be required and the first 8 rows of stadium seats will not be used. Additionally, the majority of the 13,000 let in to home games will be season ticket holders.

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