Are fans so important that it halts college sports?

A new survey conducted by ESPN found that 65% of sports fans were in favor of sports returning even without fans in attendance. How do Utah fans feel about that?

When September comes around, there's a chance that the college football season will be starting. But there's always the possibility that the season will be suspended, if not canceled altogether depending on the COVID-19 pandemic.

But if there is going to be a college football season, how would fans feel if they weren't directly a part of that? According to a new survey conducted by ESPN, it found that 65% of sports fans were in favor of sports returning even without fans in attendance.

That begs to question how the Utes faithful would feel about this? Would they rather delay the start of the season a month (and with it the cancelation of probably 2-4 games, including rival BYU) but they got to attend every game. Or are they fine starting the season on time if it means that they can't attend any games this season?

It's an interesting question that has many layers to it. 

First off, attendance by fans is not only a massive money-maker for the colleges, it provides the people will the ultimate look into the programs and gives them the ultimate gameday experience. 

But is their attendance absolutely mandatory for a successful college football season? I mean, are the fans so vital that college football can't possibly succeed without them?

In the end though, it's best believed if it takes empty arenas to replace the empty feeling of no sports, then the decision should be a no-brainer. Fans should be willing to accept the fact that they'll have to drink beer and cheer for their favorite teams from the comfort of their own couch instead of in a raucous stadium with 45,000 of their closest friends.