On Feb. 7, 2021, Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. The Buccaneers won 31-6 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Tom Brady, one of the most famous quarterbacks in NFL history has been in the Super Bowl 10 times, 9 with the New England Patriots and one with the Buccaneers. Brady has won six Super Bowls, and after his win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was named the “Greatest quarterback of all time.” Before their win in Super Bowl LV, the Buccaneers haven’t won a Super Bowl in nearly 20 years.
“File:20160917 Tom Brady at Michigan Stadium.jpg” by Brad Muckenthaler is licensed under CC BY 4.0
While the coronavirus pandemic limited how many people were allowed at the Super Bowl this year, the Super Bowl still faced backlash about how many people attended. There was a total of 25,000 people who attend in person and 30,000 cardboard cutouts of people to make it look like more fans were there. While this is a large set back on the usual 100,000 fans, and all people were required to wear a mask for the duration of the game, many people are still arguing that it was unnecessary and unsafe that there were that many people in the stadium at one time. People are also saying that many graduations and other monumental moments in their lives were canceled due to the pandemic but the NFL is allowed to have 25,000 people at the Super bowl.
Since the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s big win, the city of Tampa has been partying a lot in the past few weeks. On Feb. 10, 2021, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrated their recent Super Bowl win with a boat parade. There were many viewing areas that were set up along the riverside that fans could watch as the boats went by. While masks were required in the viewing areas, many are arguing that the parade was an irresponsible move to make and that it should have never been held. Many argue that the pandemic is still a very real thing ravishing our country and that the Super Bowl its self threatened another outbreak. Many argue that since Tampa Bay hasn’t won the Super Bowl in 20 years that they deserve to celebrate.
“Tampa Bay Buccaneers Flag” by darknesschildsin is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
“In all honesty, I think the Buccaneers deserve to party a little, it’s been forever since they won,” George Reid, a senior, at Temple University said. Reid went on to add, “I play football here at Temple and I’ve always had a love for the game, so I think as long as everyone followed the coronavirus protocol theirs nothing wrong with them celebrating.”
“I was so happy when the Buccaneers won, I actually attended the Super Bowl this year, and while it was a little strange with all of the coronavirus restrictions I enjoyed it very much,” Barry Abrahams, local business owner, said. Abrahams went on to say, “I grew up in Tampa so the Buccaneers have always been my favorite team and I felt really blessed to have been able to attend this year’s super bowl.”
While many have no problem with the celebration that has been going on in Tampa, others feel like it has been a danger to society.
“In my opinion, I felt like the Super Bowl this year was totally uncalled for, there was no need for that many people to be there with the coronavirus still at large.” Emma Nagle, a senior, at Abington high school stated. “I’m a senior in high school now and my entire senior year has been canceled due to the coronavirus, I just don’t see how it’s fair that there can be 25,000 people at the super bowl but my high school graduation has to be canceled.”
