If you are a Denver sports fan, February 7 was probably not a good day for you, as the Denver Broncos division rival, Kansas City Chiefs, faced off against the Tom Brady led Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55. Tom Brady would ultimately come out on top as he led the Buccaneers to a 31-9 upset over the Chiefs, winning his seventh Super Bowl in his career. But like everything else this year, The Super Bowl looked very different compared to years past because of  COVID-19. 

Super Bowl 55, which was held in Tampa Bay Florida, was the first Super Bowl in which a team that was playing in the Super Bowl, the Buccaneers, would be able to play in their home stadium. However, Raymond James Stadium and its capacity of over 68,000, was only allowed to hold about a third of that on Sunday the 7th, as only 25,000 fans were able to enter the stadium that day. With even more cardboard cutouts, there were a total of 30,000 cutouts spread throughout the stadium. However, just because COVID affected how people watched the game from the stadium, does not mean it did not affect how people watched the game from home. 

Nick Hoskins, a sophomore at A-West, was one of the millions of people worldwide to tune in last Sunday to watch the game. 

“I did watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. I only had my immediate family watch with me. No other friends or family members,” Hoskins says. 

This was a very common theme for families nationwide. Many stick with watching the game with just their immediate family. As the CDC highly suggested having a small number of people over to watch the game. 

It was not just the fans that had to deal with the struggle of experiencing a Super Bowl during a global pandemic either. Both the players and the staff on each team had to follow the strict guidelines the NFL has put in place in order to keep them safe while on the field.

While on the sidelines, the players, coaches, and team staff had to wear masks at all times. The NFL also made it mandatory for each player to get tested daily, with an exception for gameday. 

“I think players and coaches wearing masks on the sideline is a good rule because it limits the spread of COVID-19 and when the camera is on them during the game it can encourage others to play their role in slowing down the spread,” Hoskins explains.

Despite all the setbacks, Super Bowl 55 will still surely go down as the most-watched T.V program of 2021. Even though it had the worst viewer rating for a Super Bowl in the last 15 years. 

Although it looked drastically different this year than in years past, Super Bowl 55 will go down in the history books as one of the weirdest Super Bowls ever.