Super Bowl in a Pandemic Will Be Different, But Familiar

The 55th Super Bowl is Sunday.

It is the championship game of the National Football League.

While the American football game will look mostly the same for sports fans watching on television, many things will be different this year with the coronavirus health crisis¹.

The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

When the season started in September, people were not sure the Super Bowl would happen.

Some games were delayed when players and coaches tested positive for the virus. One team, the Cleveland Browns, played an important game without their coach. Another team, the Denver Broncos, had to play without their most important players – the quarterbacks.

But eventually, all the games were played.

A mostly empty stadium

The Super Bowl will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida where the Buccaneers play their home games. It is the first time a team will play the Super Bowl in their own stadium.

Normally, the game has about 65,000 fans in attendance². This year, only 25,000 are permitted to attend the game.

The event will be an important test to see how well public health officials can manage a large event with people coming from all around the country.

Allen Sills is the NFL's chief medical officer. He said the league will have tough policies to prevent fans from interacting³ with each other.

Some will be healthcare workers who already received a vaccine⁴ for the coronavirus. But all will be required to wear masks, sit in small groups, and observe social distancing.

On the field, the players do not have to wear masks. But when they are not in the game, they are supposed to keep their faces covered.

In most years, players talk to reporters, hold training sessions and attend parties before the game. All of these events are either canceled or being held by video call.

Even with the rules, a professor of public health from the nearby University of South Florida wondered if the Super Bowl would become an event that spreads the virus.

Jay Wolfson told the Reuters News Agency the game is "a natural breeding ground for community spread."

Famous quarterbacks

The game will have two great quarterbacks – one who is at the beginning of his career and one who is near the end.

Patrick Mahomes is 25 years old. He has been the quarterback for Kansas City for three seasons. He helped the Chiefs win the Super Bowl last year.

The quarterback from Tampa Bay is Tom Brady. He is 43. He played most of his career with the New England Patriots⁵ from the state of Massachusetts.

During his time with the Patriots, Brady won six Super Bowls, more than any other quarterback in the game's history. This is his first season with Tampa Bay.

A number of firsts

Professional football is a sport played by men. But this year, one of the seven officials on the field who runs the game and makes sure players follow the rules will be a woman. She is Sarah Thomas. It is the first time a female official will be at the Super Bowl.

In addition, there will be two women helping⁶ to coach the Tampa Bay team. They are Maral Javadifar and Lori Locust⁷. Javadifar's mother grew up in Iran. Locust loved football as a girl growing up in Pennsylvania.

Both women said they are aware that they are among the first in their profession to be in the Super Bowl.

"But it's not anything that we kind of keep in the forefront of what we do on a daily basis," said Locust.

Last year, Katie Sowers of the San Francisco 49ers became the first woman to coach in the Super Bowl.

More than just a game, an event

The game should be exciting. But the Super Bowl is also known for being an "event." People watch the game to see the halftime performance and new television commercials.

The Canadian singer known as The Weeknd will perform for the 12-minute long halftime show. He said recently the show is designed to be fun for people watching on television, since there will not be as many people watching in person.

The Super Bowl commercials are important for many companies that want to reach people. They cost about $5 million for just 30 seconds. This year, big companies like Budweiser and Pepsi are reducing their advertising⁸ during the game.

Sometimes the Super Bowl ads try to be funny.

But one analyst⁹ warned that it is risky¹⁰ to make a funny commercial during an international health crisis.

Music star Dolly Parton will also be in one of the commercials. The country singer and songwriter was in the news last year after making a $1 million donation to fund research for a coronavirus vaccine.

The Super Bowl starts at 23:30 UTC on Sunday.

I'm Caty Weaver¹¹ and I'm Dan Friedell

Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English based on reporting from the Associated Press and Reuters. Hai Do was the editor.

Will you pay attention to the Super Bowl this year? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

Words in This Story

coach- n. a person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer

positive - n. showing the presence of a particular germ, condition, or substance

stadium - n. a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events, concerts, etc.

mask - n. a covering for your face or for part of your face

breeding ground- n. a place or situation that helps or allows something to grow, develop, etc.

forefront- n. the most important part or position — usually singular

commercial- n. an advertisement on radio or television

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

3 interacting   

adj.相互影响的；相互作用的

参考例句：

• The interacting surfaces were lubricated with a mineral oil. 相互作用表面是用矿物油润滑的。
• Proteins which have two separate but interacting sites are called allosteric proteins. 这种具有两个不同而又相互作用位置的蛋白质叫做变构蛋白质。

4 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

5 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

11 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。