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Thunder fans voice concerns over fan attendance for games

Fans fill the sold-out Chesapeake Energy arena during the Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff game against the Utah Jazz on April 25, 2018. (Provided/Ticketmaster.)

Despite the NBA’s allowance of fans, the Oklahoma City Thunder have decided to not allow fans into games to start the season due to COVID-19 cases worsening in Oklahoma.

The Thunder initially announced they would allow a limited number of fans into their games, but the recent increases in COVID-19 cases has caused the team to change their decision 23 days before the season begins. Oklahoma’s current seven-day average of COVID-19 cases is 2,354.

“We will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation over the coming weeks to determine when fans will be able to attend our games,” said the team in an official statement.

The NBA will have a 72-game regular season, 10 less games than their usual amount. As of now, the NBA expects five to 10 teams to have fans in attendance when the season starts on Dec. 22.

Even with this news, some Thunder fans are still concerned that the eventual addition of fans in games could cause future outbreaks.

“They should be closed down this year because going in and out of stadiums, it will be packed full of people,” said Tomas Dunson, a Thunder fan.

Chesapeake Energy Arena houses up to 18,203 fans, the eleventh highest capacity rate in the league. It is uncertain what the stadium’s capacity rate will be if they allow fans into games.

“The problem is not even necessarily once the games get started, but it’s getting people in and out” said Brad Ross, a Thunder fan. “Because you can have all the people spread out in the stands all you want, but they’re all going to have to use the entrances.”

The NBA announced strict protocols teams must follow if they allow fans into their games. The most notable ones include fans wearing masks, socially distanced seats and possibly checking COVID-19 test results if the capacity rate is over 50%.

Thunder fan Hunter Harjo said he thinks these protocols will be difficult to enforce.

“Of all the places, Oklahoma and most Southern NBA teams are going to have light COVID restrictions,” said Harjo. “I just can’t see fans following the rules and wearing their masks all game long.”

The NBA’s decision to allow fans into their games despite the COVID-19 pandemic worsening in the nation has led some fans to believe that the league is prioritizing profit over safety.

“This is a big money move for the league,” said Antonio Bustos. “Ticket revenue is a big money maker for sports, so the NBA will do everything they can to have fans this year.”

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How Alpha Grill transitioned from a food truck to a restaurant during a pandemic

Alpha Grill owner Frank Willis taking a photo with one of his best sellers, the smoked catfish gumbo, Oct. 27, 2020. Credit: Alpha Grill Facebook Page.

Alpha Grill is a family-owned barbeque joint located in Tulsa that made the successful transition from a food truck to a restaurant during a pandemic.

Owner Frank Willis said his passion of cooking gave him the confidence to start his business with his wife Quinta Willis and son Deivon Willis.

“I was working jobs and getting laid off,” Frank Willis said. “We didn’t have no good barbeque here so I decided to start Alpha Grill.”

All three specialize in their own roles. Frank Willis is the owner and chef, Quinta Willis handles customers and Deivon Willis smokes one of their more popular items, the ribs.

“My specialty is the ribs,” Deivon Willis said. “It’s not too tender and not too tough.”

As their website states, Alpha Grill is “BBQ with a twist” as they mix traditional barbeque with Mexican, Caribbean and Cajun ingredients.

Frank Willis said he started this business as a dream to be creative with his cooking.

“I try to take barbeque and see how far I can bend it without breaking anything,” Frank Willis said. “It’s more of a Southern style with a twist and the twist is just being very creative and innovative.”

Alpha Grill opened as a food truck in 2016 but eventually transitioned into a restaurant.

“That wasn’t in the vision and then all of a sudden it just started getting bigger and we started outgrowing the trailer and got a restaurant,” Frank Willis said.

The Willis family opened their restaurant on March 31, 14 days after Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum issued an executive order where restaurants would be limited to serve just take-out orders due to COVID-19.

Quinta Willis said she thinks Alpha Grill has actually benefited from the restrictions.

“We were able to sell a lot of our bigger meals because a lot of people were stuck in the house,” Quinta Willis said.

The Willis family are believers in giving back to others and they do so by feeding the homeless at the end of each day.

“I always make sure they have something to eat,” Quinta Willis said. “We want to help and take care of the community we’re in.”

Frank Willis said he prides himself for his excellent service by making Alpha Grill feel like a home away from home.

Customers like Giovanni Garcia said he can see how Alpha Grill has been successful over the years.

“The atmosphere is very friendly and welcoming,” Garcia said. “Local businesses like these always have the best people and the best food.”

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What the quarantine and self-isolation experience has been like for OU students

A spider found in an Traditions Square apartment, where OU students stay for their incubation periods. Credit: Connor Smith.  

Students at the University of Oklahoma have given mixed reviews about their quarantine or self-isolation experiences on campus.  

OU requires on-campus students who test positive or been exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine or self-isolate. This requirement will remain in place until students are cleared by Goddard Health Center or Student and Employee Health.

The Residence Care Plan explains the protocols that students who test positive or are exposed to COVID-19 will take.

The FAQ section states that OU Residence Life will check in with students daily and will connect them with resources and services they need.

But psychology freshman Diana Rodriguez said OU rarely contacted her during her stay at Traditions Square and would have to initiate contact first.

“OU never reached out to me unless I emailed first,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez thinks the lack of communication from the university could lead to students not taking their incubation period seriously.

“We totally had the freedom to leave and do whatever we chose,” Rodriguez said. “We really could have gone to campus and nobody would have known; I could have walked around South Oval.”  

The Residents Care Plan states OU Food Services will deliver meals to incubated students. But advertisement freshman Connor Smith said he rarely ate the food that was provided due to poor condition.

“I ordered my food on DoorDash, which definitely costed three hundred dollars,” Smith said. “That hurt a lot but I have to eat.”

Smith thinks students should be allowed to choose what they eat.

“Give us options for what we want to eat because some people have dietary restrictions,” Smith said.

However, students like Luke Hamilton, economics freshman, did not experience discomfort with the food delivery process during his incubation period.

“The meals were delivered twice a day along with water when requested,” Hamilton said. “They gave us a week’s worth of breakfast in Pop-Tarts and oatmeal.”

Incubated students also noticed an insect issue at Traditions Square.

Rodriguez said the infestations has to do with the fact that their trash would not be picked up for days and would stay outside, attracting insects.

Smith said he dealt with spiders and ants.

“First night I was there, I found a big spider in the bathroom. The next day it rained so all the ants crawled in, the whole week I had ants around me,” Smith said. “The apartments looked nice until I saw all the bug issues.”

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Uncertainty surrounding this semester could hurt students’ housing situations

Outside of the Adams Center dorms Jan. 17, 2019. Credit:Thanhhien Nguyen/ Daily.

  For students who live on or off campus, the semester going online could put them in a situation where they are left paying rent for a place they no longer need.

An online transition mid-semester would create many issues for students such as keeping up with their classes, living during a pandemic and addressing their housing situation.

In her first semester at OU, psychology junior Amber Wilkins signed her lease at Cross Housing in July thinking that the semester going online is inevitable.

“Honestly, every day that we don’t get the email that we are going online tomorrow is a surprise to me,” Wilkins said.

If OU goes online, Wilkins said she plans on staying in Norman instead of going back home to Tulsa.

“I already have a lease here, there’s no way I would go back home,” she said.

But Wilkins is sympathetic for those who would go home and be left with a housing bill for a place they no longer need to stay at.

“For on-campus housing, if you’re going to shut it down and not let us be there then that’s theft,” said Wilkens, “taking money from people who you are not providing a service is theft.”

Maranda Buller is a junior civil engineering student who signed a yearlong lease in August. Buller said she plans on staying in Norman regardless of what happens with the semester.

“I’m still planning on staying in Norman if we go online, but only because I’m still paying rent,” Buller said.

Buller said that she will not get out of her lease because she is worried OU will not be online next semester.

This uncertainty is not only affecting off-campus students, on-campus students like political science and economics freshman Luke Hamilton, who lives in Couch Center, is also worried about what the university will do if classes go online.

“If we go fully online, I think they should give the option for freshmen to leave with a refund for the rest of the semester,” Hamilton said, “for some, what’s the point of being on campus if your classes are all online?”

When OU went online last March, the university partially refunded on-campus students if they chose to return home.

In an official statement released on April 22, Dr. ShaRhonda Maclin said, “For students who elect to officially move-out of their on-campus housing assignment, the University will provide a prorated refund for housing and meals for the time period of April 1-May 9.”