Mizzou football to welcome full house into Faurot Field on Saturday with some COVID-19 restrictions
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been corrected to say masks are recommended.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The seats at Faurot Field will be allowed to be filled Saturday against Central Michigan for the first time since the 2019 season, but COVID-19 safety measures are still being encouraged.
After a season full of no tailgates and no more than 25% capacity in the stadium, Coach Eli Drinkwitz and crew are ready to have a full house on Saturday.
"Our team has been working really hard and hopefully our fans see that and want to reward them by watching a good product on the field and if they don't, we have to continue to work so that it's can't miss football," Drinkwitz said.
This year, if you are outdoors and not fully vaccinated or have a weakened immune system, face coverings are strongly recommended when in close contact, less than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes, with people you do not live with or interact closely with regularly.
Indoors, face masks are recommended at all times, regardless of vaccination status.
Coach Drinkwitz also said confidently that their program is over the 85% mark of members vaccinated. He added that 98% of staff is fully vaccinated.
Brian Garner has been a dedicated Mizzou fan for over a decade. He said he would be at games with his mask handy, plus when he travels to away games that may require vaccination, he will have his vaccine card on hand.
Garner attended all home games last year during the pandemic, as he has done since around 2005. He described the parking lots before the game as eerie and the empty stadium as not complete.
"I'm just hoping the place is packed. Filling the house with and having 65,000 to 70,000 people in there just acting crazy is the best thing about it," Garner said.
Garner said crowd noise was played in the stadium last season, but it just wasn't the same. He also said the loss of the tailgating was huge for the game as all of the energy is taken from the parking lot into the stadium.
Garner is from St. Louis. He said on game days at Mizzou; he sometimes spends 21 hours away from home at Faurot Field. "Some people say I'm crazy, and I say 'yes I am, my wife has had me tested,' but there's no place I'd rather be than Faurot. I absolutely love it."
