The Super Bowl that has never been like it before

Event manager John Barker said ahead of the game: “We are very confident in what we are doing here. We maintain social distance, monitor crowd movement, everyone who comes to the stadium will receive a 95KN mask, antiseptic wipes and hand sanitizer gel, and we will give it to him. ‘Safety card’. “That’s not all – the 14,500 fans who purchased tickets (the rest of the seats were allocated to health care workers in recognition of their work, and other factors linked to the league) will have to be vaccinated or present with a negative test.

Of course the Bakniers and Chips were happy for a more festive and less dystopian atmosphere around them, what’s more in the name of equality the league banned Tampa Bay from performing the cannon firing ceremony from the pirate ship in the stadium after touchdowns, but both teams really have other headaches: leave injuries and training They struggled hard to get to the day of the game without contagion, with the most nightmarish scenario including an outburst that would not have allowed the Super Bowl to take place at all. Any player who is found positive will not be able to play.

Beyond the meticulous bubbles in which Tampa Bay and Kansas City operate, which as of Wednesday have not recorded even contracted for three weeks, the NFL have tried to help wherever possible. All players, team members and teammates went through the week before the game two daily corona tests to make sure the virus did not nest in anyone and was missed in a previous test. Beyond that, on the day of the game all players will undergo two DNA tests in order to locate an abnormality that the corona tests missed. This is a direct continuation of a move the league is very proud of – although throughout the season there have been contagions, team outbursts and postponement of games that required schedule changes, the regular season was completed without any cancellation. Only one team, Cleveland Browns, had to play without players (and coach Kevin Stepansky) Teams that violated guidelines suffered heavy fines and lost draft picks, and the league invested $ 100 million in a lineup that issued close to a million tests.

But beyond the sterile environment of the stadium, and the capsules of the teams themselves, there are other circles that the league cannot control, and that’s what’s scaring the whole of the US. Wide: The Americans tend to celebrate big on the day of the game, with friends gathering in large numbers in a small place, and bars and restaurants filling with fans. The guidelines.

This is also what went through the mind of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who issued an order requiring the wearing of masks in the open air in the entertainment areas of the city (previously instructed to do so indoors). She even recruited volunteers to walk among the fans who came to town, hand out masks to them and explain to them how to observe the precautionary rules. The owner of a sports bar in the area admitted that after Tampa Bay went up to the Super Bowl his business was flooded with crowds of people, but this time he will hire security personnel to help maintain order and fulfill instructions. Castor promised that she herself would wear a mask “from sunrise to sunset.”

And yet, even though businesses are allowed to operate before the guidelines, Tampa will not be able to earn like other hosts, a serious blow to the city. It is estimated that the Super Bowl makes between $ 100 million and $ 300 million a year for local businesses in the host city, but this time everything is different: fewer people have come to the city, fewer people are allowed to congregate in pubs and restaurants, less money will flow into pockets. And it will be felt from a crowded beach in America, because because of the reduction in private parties and the general gloomy atmosphere, it is estimated that there will be a decrease in the constant power expenditure on food and beverages. In one of the surveys conducted, 72 percent of respondents said they would watch the game alone or with their family members at home. Last year the number stood at just 53 percent.

At least the ratings are not expected to hurt significantly, good news for advertisers: not only is it a national holiday that always attracts a large crowd, but on days when it is difficult to get out of the house, it is a big game that can attract many viewers looking for distraction. However, it has already been made clear that this year’s commercials, which always get insane coverage and analysis, will be a little calmer this year to honor the reality under the plague.

Whoever still wants to provide a “cinematic” viewing experience, he says, is the singer De Weekend who was honored to perform in half. The thinking, apparently, is more about the crowd at home than about the cardboard-filled stadium, and he admitted that he invested $ 7 million out of pocket in the production to make it perfect and fit his vision.

When summed up all together, the picture is a bit bleak. Fear of an outbreak that will professionally affect the game, an atmosphere that has been damaged both around the Super Bowl and what is expected on the field itself, an economic downturn in areas that usually flourish during this period and many concerns about today’s impact on the epidemic spread in the US. But you would not be surprised to hear that even within all this there is one great conductor named Tom Brady. Yes, even before the game started at all.

The Tampa Bay quarterback has countless career highs, but before his tenth Super Bowl attempt to take a seventh championship, he smashed another one on the shelves: the final figures have yet to be revealed, but after a season dominating the league’s merchandise sales – even ahead of rising star Patrick Mehoms Opposite him in the Super Bowl – The NFL e-commerce company reported that in the past two weeks Brady products have been sold in record quantities for a player in history, and some of the products have run out of stock (including a $ 120 Tampa Bay shirt). His shirts account for 50 percent of all sales related to bakers (a rare figure in the league, stars usually account for 20 percent of sales), their purchases have risen 900 percent (!) Since moving to Florida, and the amazing thing is that one of the places where the greatest demand is recorded Brady’s shirt actually had Boston – the city he left after 20 years with New England. They still love him.

It would be weird, but once the game starts the US will forget for a few hours about its troubles. And never has a Super Bowl been more necessary for a national mood change.