by Will Hopkins

In another first, the host team will be playing in their own stadium for the Super Bowl, as the stadium for the Super Bowl is picked years in advance of the game, and never has the host team reached the big game. There should be a home crowd advantage for the Bucs, although not as much as there would be outside of a pandemic.  

As with everything these days, COVID-19 will have an impact on the Super Bowl. Chiefs Center Daniel Kilgore saw this firsthand, when his haircut was halted exactly mid-way through, when his barber was informed that he tested positive for the virus. Luckily both of them were wearing masks, but that does not change how crazy he looks with half a head of hair. For the game specifically, safety precautions have allowed for just 25,000 people in attendance at Raymond James Stadium, which can normally hold over 65,000 people. For Sunday, 7,500 seats will go to vaccinated health care workers from across the nation, cutting into the already low number of tickets available. Even under full capacity, Super Bowl tickets are hard to come by due to price and availability. 

The big game in February is always corporate-type event, so each team will be allocated just 17.5% of the tickets that can be bought. Even with these even numbers, it would be hard to believe that Bucs fans wouldn’t find a way to get their hands on more tickets than Chiefs fans via the resale market or a number of other measures. These fans will be willing to pay more to see their hometown team without the need to pay for airfare or a hotel room. There are plenty of major football storylines, per usual, for what is shaping up to be an outstanding game, but this year, more than ever, it will be exciting to see the spectacle of a Super Bowl played in the most unique of circumstances.