Tim Benz: Gov. Wolf's comments about sports fans were arrogant and inaccurate

While exploring the prospect of major sports events returning to Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf put his foot in his mouth.

Even while wearing a facemask. Yup, for this guy, that’s possible.

Apparently, Wolf isn’t satisfied telling Pittsburgh’s quarterback whether he can get his haircut. He’s also telling Pittsburgh fans whether we are going to “feel safe” watching him play.

Not if it’s safe to attend a game. He’s telling us how “everybody” is going to feel about it.

Apparently, Wolf is omniscient.

Keep in mind, Wolf isn’t talking about our worries over Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow. Or him gunslinging into double coverage. Pittsburghers are always going to have concerns there.

Rather, Wolf is informing you how “everybody” is going to feel about watching his team play in person because of coronavirus.

Tell ya’ what. Let’s come back to that after we hear what the governor had to say about a potential return of sports in his state.

“Ultimately, I think what it’s going to take for everybody to feel safe going to a Penn State game or a basketball game is they have some confidence that they’re not going to get sick by being in close contact with somebody else,” he said during a call with reporters Wednesday.

According to TribLive’s Megan Guza, Wolf is trying to correspond with professional sports leagues in an effort to “get back to sports seasons.”

Wolf claims he has spoken with the NFL, NHL, MLB and NASCAR. He said his office will issue guidance for leagues soon.

“I think what it’s going to take to get people back to big events … is going to be, ultimately, a vaccine,” Wolf said. “Some assurance they’re not going to get sick.

“I think that’s what it’s going to take to really get our economy back to normal, and I really think that can’t happen fully, 100%, until we have a vaccine that is foolproof.”

I take away three things from those statements:

1. Don’t be alarmed, Pittsburgh. Wolf only specifically mentioned “Penn State” and “basketball” in that quote. I assume that means NBA since the college season is already scrapped. Further proof of my theory that he doesn’t even really know anything west of State College exists anymore. So, maybe we can do what we want regardless out here.

2. Guza wrote that Wolf believes a NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway can happen in June — without fans — if Monroe County is in the state’s “yellow phase” of recovery.

Then the Pirates should be allowed to play at PNC Park and Pittsburgh could be an NHL host region for a playoff pod, right?

Right?

3. Oh, and about that whole “without fans” thing. Until football rolls around in September, isn’t everyone operating under the assumption that fans won’t be present at most of these events in the short term anyway? So, who cares about how “safe” Wolf thinks “everybody” should feel?

That’s where Wolf’s comments yesterday enraged me.

Who is Tom Wolf to tell anybody — let alone “everybody” — when it’s OK for them to “feel safe”?

Wolf can govern. He can make rules and guidelines about safety. We have to follow. That’s his job as governor and our role as citizens.

But where does he get off telling me how I “feel” about it? We can make up our own minds individually on that one, Governor. No one needs you predicting our emotions.

Also, the governor may want to do a better job of gauging his populace. TribLive embedded a poll question in Guza’s story. It asked, “Would you feel safe going to a pro sports event in Pennsylvania right now?”

At the time I’m writing this story, 4,250 people have responded and 75% said “yes.” So maybe our beloved governor doesn’t exactly have his finger on the pulse of his constituents as much as he thinks.

Part of the reason I was sent into such a tizzy over Wolf’s remarks is that I’m really fed up with the constantly changing narratives surrounding our eventual escape from the covid-19 shut-in.

When Western Pennsylvania residents were sent into shelter-in-place back in early March, the vast majority of us did so peacefully and cooperatively. For the most part, even if we didn’t like it, we did so for the greater good.

We were told that was necessary to “flatten the curve” and prevent our hospitals from being overtaxed. We were told to listen to the doctors. We were instructed to follow the guidelines.

Well, it’s almost Memorial Day now. Our region’s curve is largely flattened. The hospitals around here aren’t overrun. Many of the doctors who work in them are telling us it’s time to start getting back to normal. And the governor’s own guidelines have graduated us into his own “yellow phase” of exiting restrictive orders.

Now Wolf is telling us “everybody” won’t “feel safe” without a “100% foolproof vaccine”?

Well, that could be years away, if such a thing is even possible. His so-called “green phase” comes with no restrictions. So I imagine that’s when sporting events will be allowed to have fans again. But I guess, in Wolf’s mind, yellow and green are a lot further apart on the color wheel than I thought.

Why then is he telling us we shouldn’t “feel safe” even when there are eventually no restrictions? Quite the divergent messages, sir.

Unlike our governor, I’m not telling you what to think or how to feel. If you need a “100% foolproof vaccine” before you go to a Steelers game again, by all means, stay home until that happens.

Good luck. That might be impossible. But it’s your choice. And if that’s how you feel, so be it. Less traffic going into the parking lots for the rest of us.

I happen to feel differently. Despite the governor’s insistence to the contrary, I don’t need a vaccine to feel comfortable going to a sporting event.

Maybe I don’t know myself as well as he does. That’s my hunch, though. Based on some quick math from that poll, approximately 3,187 of my closest friends agree.

So please, Governor, go back to telling Roethlisberger what to do about his hair. And stop telling “everybody” else how we should feel.