Both faithful readers know that for the past few years I have been on a campaign to do away with Super Bowl parties — I suggested Pro-Bowl parties instead. As a reminder, my proposal for change stated that Super Bowl parties are all about the party — no one goes to a Super Bowl party to watch the Super Bowl. Rather than repeat my superb logic here, you can check the February entries of this blog for the past couple of years for the details.
This year, I am again petitioning for no Super Bowl parties. In fact, I think people should send out invitations with wording something like…. “You are covidly un-invited to a Super Bowl LV party at my house….” of course, besides my solid logic, there’s another reason not to have a party this year — it’s called COVID. Not quite normal — that’s were things are these days, including the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl LV will be played in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Florida. The stadium has a seating capacity of 65,000. This year, the NFL will mix 30,000 cutouts in with about 20,000 (real people) fans.
So that means that more people will be watching on TV — even more so than usual. Every Super Bowl Sunday crowds of people gather around TVs and lay out a spread of junk food. However, gathering indoors for four or five hours with people outside your own “bubble” doesn’t exactly meet the CDC recommendations for social distancing. But I’m not sure Super Bowl partying via Zoom is really going to catch on.
But it’s still the Super Bowl and there’s bound to be some “firsts” or amazing facts that make it special…
• If the Chiefs win, they will become just the eighth team in NFL history to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
• The Buccaneers have only gone to one Super Bowl before — that was in Super Bowl XXXVII. They defeated the Oakland Raiders 48-21.
• Tom Brady is making his 10th Super Bowl appearance. The first nine were with the Patriots. He already has six Super Bowl rings — if the Buccaneers win, he will become the first player to ever win seven NFL championships.
• If the Chiefs win, Patrick Mahomet will become the youngest QB in NFL history to win multiple Super Bowls.
• Tampa Bay is the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in their own stadium.
• Tom Brady will be making his third Super Bowl start since turning 40 — he’s 43. No other QB has ever made it to the Super Bowl in his 40s.
• If Tampa Bay wins, Brady will become the only QB other than Payton Manning to win a Super Bowl for multiple franchises.
• The NFL will allow 22,000 fans at the stadium for the game — including 7,500 health care workers vaccinated for COVID-19. All of them will receive free tickets from the league.
So last year I mentioned here that in 2021 I was planning on staying home and watching Super Bowl LV between the Redskins Washington Football Team and the Browns. Ok, I lied about the WFT and Browns, but last year at this time, who would have believed that both of them would make the playoffs? I will be staying home this year and the party’s at our house, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be invited.
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