Morning Skate: Mandate

Thursday is here, folks — the first day of training camp is in the books, and a new day is upon us.

Yesterday, TD Garden announced what many suspected was coming down the line at some point: fans will need proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test in order to attend Bruins games this season.

(It’s worth noting that the same rules apply to the Celtics, concerts, and the like, though some concerts have different criteria — the Harry Styles concert is requiring people under 12 to present negative test results too.)

All told, this isn’t remotely surprising. The B’s are following in the footsteps of a number of other NHL teams who have already announced similar policies.

The “you need to wear a mask” thing is still in effect too, though we all saw how well enforced that was back in the playoffs.

The typical Internet responses of “well goodbye to your loyal fans!” were common this afternoon, but I think most people’s response was “yeah, sounds about right.”

It’ll be interesting to see how things change over the course of the season, as presumably we’ll either be in a better or worse COVID situation come next spring.

If nothing else, it sure beats the empty arena games from the start of last season!

I’m most curious about this from a logistical perspective — getting into the Garden at game time can be a slog at the best of times. You can’t help but assume this will add to the congestion.

Get there early, I guess.

Today’s discussion topic

Speaking of Harry Styles concerts, what’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?

I went to a free concert at Central Park years ago that featured, among others, Foo Fighters, the Black Keys, and Neil Young, but Foo Fighters at TD Garden back in 2011 was probably the best.

Played for something close to three hours that night. Good times.