display

Tampa (AP) - A year ago, a stadium that was not filled to the last seat was completely unthinkable at a Super Bowl.

Even less in a duel as gripping as that of NFL legend Tom Brady on the one hand and Patrick Mahomes on the other.

And now?

At the end of a difficult season, the NFL is delighted with a third full Raymond James Stadium and 22,000 people in the stands when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on defending champions Kansas City Chiefs in one week for the 55th Super Bowl in history.

Because the corona pandemic is still raging in the USA with full force and 22,000 spectators at the most important football game of the season are a remarkable sign - which German football club would not be celebrating so many fans in the stadium at the moment?

For the NFL, the viewers at the Super Bowl in Tampa are also a sign that, despite all the criticism, they have achieved a lot this season.

Yes, 69 players voluntarily gave up the season, according to the NFLPA union.

Yes, more than 260 players have been infected with the virus since August 1st.

And yes, the Denver Broncos even had to play without a real quarterback because none of the playmakers in the squad was operational.

But now, despite all the difficulties, having reached the goal, the NFL regards as a success.

display

"We saw no evidence of transmissions on the field during NFL games or training," reported NFL chief medical officer Dr.

Allen Sills recently.

This is an important observation.

The NFL feels that the anti-corona rules were good and responsible enough - the cases in which there were sources of infection within the teams and sometimes more than 20 affected people were based on rule violations.

For example, the four Broncos quarterbacks did not have their masks on at a meeting.

However, it was not tracked whether viewers were infected during the season.

The 22,000 people who will be there live on Monday night (0.30 a.m. ProSieben / DAZN), when a team is playing for the championship in their own stadium for the first time in the history of Super Bowl, are not the first spectators in an arena this season.

Both the Chiefs at their Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and the Buccaneers were among the teams that fans could allow at home games.

Thanks to the regulations in the states.

Some teams did not use the limit values ​​completely out of caution, but according to the AP news agency, more than a million people were live in the stadium this season.

According to the rules in force in Florida, the NFL could have let significantly more people into the stadium for the Super Bowl.

However, the league adheres to the recommendations of the national health authority and accepts that there will be fewer people than ever at a Super Bowl in the arena in 2021.

There is a lot of space between the small groups of fans; you can only pay for snacks and drinks without contact and without cash.

display

7,500 of the 22,000 spectators will be American healthcare professionals invited by the NFL to the game.

“These dedicated health care workers continue to risk their own lives to help others, and we owe them our continued gratitude,” said NFL boss Roger Goodell.

Every fan in the stadium should get a KN95 mask.

Tampa's Mayor Jane Castor has also made mask compulsory for the area around the stadium, downtown and other tourist hotspots.

The traditional tail gaiting with barbecuing and drinking in the parking lot in front of the stadium, as the Americans usually celebrate, will not take place at the season's highlight either.

Even that was inconceivable a year ago.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210201-99-252321 / 3

display

Super Bowl page on nfl.com

Overview of the games on the way to the Super Bowl

Homepage Kansas City Chiefs

Homepage Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Squad Kansas City Chiefs

Squad Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Player profile Tom Brady

display

Player profile Patrick Mahomes

Career Stats Tom Brady

Career stats Patrick Mahomes