49ers' George Kittle: Seattle, New Orleans without fans makes 'my job a lot easier'
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has found a positive outlook to the prospect of NFL games going on without fans in the stadium due to the COVID-19 crisis. But mostly he’s looking forward to starting the season after the Super Bowl loss in February.
Kittle on the pro of games without fans
“Home games will definitely be weird but if I can go into Seattle or New Orleans without fans there, that will make my job at lot easier,” Kittle told Pro Football Talk on Friday during its night show. “I wouldn’t have to listen to anything. No more silent counts, nothing like that. That would make my life really easy. Hey, I’ll play on the road. That’s fine. No worries with that.”
NFL executives are still going full steam ahead for starting the season on time and in full. There have been no contingency plans in place and no talk from the league of holding games sans fans.
NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, has warned against reopening team sports until there is more widely available testing. As for fans, it might take a vaccine to get them back in stadiums, he said.
Kittle on life since Super Bowl
The 49ers played in both Seattle, their NFC West rival, and New Orleans last season. It was a 48-46 final at the Superdome on Dec. 14 and a 26-21 victory despite the 12th Man on Dec. 29. That result, controversial as it was, changed the postseason positioning on the final day.
The 49ers rode the No. 1 seed to the Super Bowl where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. He told Yahoo Sports going to the sports’ biggest game was a dream of his, but it’s also a dream to win a ring. So he’s looking forward to the start of the season.
“It is what it is. All can do is put my next foot forward, keep training, keep playing and try to get back there,” he told Yahoo Sports.
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