A funny thing happened on the third play of the Green Bay Packers' 2020 season. Using a hard count, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers drew the Minnesota Vikings' defense offsides to convert a third down. The same thing occurred a few minutes later.
Rodgers has one of the most effective hard counts in NFL history, but this feat was unusual. It didn't take place in its usual setting at Lambeau Field, where the home crowd would know to quiet down and maximize its effect. Instead, it transpired at a nearly empty U.S. Bank Stadium. Vikings fans who otherwise would have drowned out Rodgers' cadence or forced a silent count were barred from attendance by Minnesota's COVID-19 protocols. The Packers romped to a 43-34 victory, ushering in an NFL season that was largely devoid of home-field advantage.
All 32 teams are on track to resume full fan capacity in 2021, despite the raging Delta variant, and ticket sales have roared back, based on league data obtained by ESPN. But the oddities of 2020, including a sharp increase in neutral zone infractions for home teams, should not be discarded purely as flukes. Indeed, they are best viewed as an accelerated indicator of a larger trend that actually began before the pandemic.