For Tom Brady, another trip to the Super Bowl — but this time, in a Tampa Bay uniform.
And for his new team, the Buccaneers, a first-of-its-kind home game, but without the usual home-field advantage.
To put a bow on this make-it-up-as-we-go NFL season — a campaign upended but never fully undone by the coronavirus pandemic — it comes as no surprise that there is no such thing as a straightforward storyline.
Because of restrictions in place due to COVID-19, Tampa Bay's home stadium will only be about a quarter full when the Buccaneers host the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7 in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs opened as a 3.5-point favorite.
The 43-year-old Brady will expand on his record by playing in his 10th Super Bowl, hoping to expand on another record by winning a seventh title, but the first one in his new home of Tampa Bay.
And 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs will be trying for back-to-back titles, something no quarterback has done since — who else? — Brady, back in his 2003-04 heyday with the New England Patriots.
The showdown will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where Brady's Bucs will be the first team in the 55-year history of the Super Bowl to play on home turf.
“Whoever would've thought a home Super Bowl for us? But we did it,” said Brady, who led the wild-card Buccaneers to a 31-26 win over Green Bay on Sunday to make it three straight road playoff wins on the way back home for the Super Bowl.
But home-field advantage won't mean as much as it normally might. This will be the first Super Bowl not played in front of a capacity crowd since the first one — Kansas City vs. Green Bay at the LA Coliseum — in 1967.
In a nod to how the pandemic has changed everything, the crowd for America's No. 1 sports spectacle will be limited to 22,000 in the 75,000-seat stadium, with vaccinated health-care workers getting 7,500 of those precious tickets.
And even the visiting team — the Chiefs — won't be staying in a hotel all week, the way both conference champions usually do for the Super Bowl. ESPN reported that Kansas City doesn't plan to arrive in Tampa until the day before the game.
Continue reading here.
Place your bets at any of these fine online Sportsbooks.
And for his new team, the Buccaneers, a first-of-its-kind home game, but without the usual home-field advantage.
To put a bow on this make-it-up-as-we-go NFL season — a campaign upended but never fully undone by the coronavirus pandemic — it comes as no surprise that there is no such thing as a straightforward storyline.
Because of restrictions in place due to COVID-19, Tampa Bay's home stadium will only be about a quarter full when the Buccaneers host the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7 in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs opened as a 3.5-point favorite.
The 43-year-old Brady will expand on his record by playing in his 10th Super Bowl, hoping to expand on another record by winning a seventh title, but the first one in his new home of Tampa Bay.
And 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs will be trying for back-to-back titles, something no quarterback has done since — who else? — Brady, back in his 2003-04 heyday with the New England Patriots.
The showdown will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where Brady's Bucs will be the first team in the 55-year history of the Super Bowl to play on home turf.
“Whoever would've thought a home Super Bowl for us? But we did it,” said Brady, who led the wild-card Buccaneers to a 31-26 win over Green Bay on Sunday to make it three straight road playoff wins on the way back home for the Super Bowl.
But home-field advantage won't mean as much as it normally might. This will be the first Super Bowl not played in front of a capacity crowd since the first one — Kansas City vs. Green Bay at the LA Coliseum — in 1967.
In a nod to how the pandemic has changed everything, the crowd for America's No. 1 sports spectacle will be limited to 22,000 in the 75,000-seat stadium, with vaccinated health-care workers getting 7,500 of those precious tickets.
And even the visiting team — the Chiefs — won't be staying in a hotel all week, the way both conference champions usually do for the Super Bowl. ESPN reported that Kansas City doesn't plan to arrive in Tampa until the day before the game.
Continue reading here.
Place your bets at any of these fine online Sportsbooks.
