By Andrea Castiblanco
Sports Editor
On Sunday, February 7, the 55th annual championship game of the NFL, popularly known as the Super Bowl, was held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fought on their home field and welcomed the 2019 NFL champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, to the game.
Defending LIV champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, were favored to win the game as they finished the regular season with a league-best 14-2 record and were deemed the team with the best offense in the NFL for the 2020 season. Players Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill, led the Chiefs into the game, while on the other side of the field awaited the fourth-ranked Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Due to COVID-19 protocols, the Raymond James Stadium had a limited audience of 25,000 people, 7,500 of which were vaccinated health workers. The NFL’s head of Live Event Production, Jonathan Barker, created a plan to sell tickets complying with COVID-19 rules in which tickets were sold in groups of two to six people. This group of people would now be referred to as a “pod,” which could not exceed more than ten people.
For the 2020 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcomed two new players to their team: former New England Patriots Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Brady, who became the Super Bowl’s oldest player at 43 years old, led the team with the aid of Gronkowski.
In the first quarter, the Chiefs managed to score a field goal, making the game 3-0. In the first quarter, with just 0:30 seconds left to play, the Buccaneers scored a touchdown to put them ahead, the score 7-3.
“The game was pretty even at this point and I still had my money on the Chiefs,” MAST senior Andres Ramirez said.
During the second quarter, with six minutes left, the Buccaneers scored yet another touchdown, making the score 14-3. The Chiefs, desperate to make a point before halftime, attempted a 34-yard field goal. They made it, and the score became 14-6. Before the second quarter is up, the Buccaneers score yet another touchdown, making the score 21-6. By halftime, the Chiefs committed a record eight penalties in 95 yards and were trailing by more than double to the Bucs.
The halftime show was headlined by the Weeknd, in which he performed some of his hit songs, such as: “Blinding Lights,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “Earned It.” It was reported by his manager, known as Sal, that the Weeknd spent $7 million of his own money on the performance, which included backup dancers’ costumes and bandages and sets.
“I love the Weeknd and I believe that many people underappreciated his performance because they didn’t know that he has been building this character and this story for the past year,” MAST senior Giovanna Key said.
Heading into the third quarter, the Chiefs scored a field goal, making the score 21-9. With eight minutes left in the quarter, the Buccaneers’ Leonard Fournette scored a touchdown, advancing the score to 28-9. The Buccaneers then made a 52-yard field goal, making the score 31-9. The third quarter ultimately ended with a score of 31-9 as Tampa Bay continued to dominate the game.
The fourth quarter continues with no change in score from either team. With two minutes left in the game, the Chiefs break the fifteen-yard barrier. To their dismay, however, the play ends with the Buccaneers’ Devin White making an interception, ending the game.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers then, officially, took home the Super Bowl LV, claiming their second championship title ever.