The Super Bowl LV ended with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plundering a victory, leaving the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans stranded on an island of loss. Many Americans celebrated by going to Super Bowl LV in person, despite the risk of spreading COVID-19. But senior Shannon Kay enjoyed time with her family and close friends while following CDC guidelines. 

“[COVID-19] did affect the way I celebrated the Super Bowl because usually my family and I hang out with over 20 of our close family friends, but… we were only able to see a couple of those 20,” Kay said. “We also all had to take tests before seeing one another because none of us wanted to catch or give [COVID-19]. We also had to be careful of cross-contamination.”

Senior Evan Rathkus used the Super Bowl as a way to spend time with friends and loved ones, rather than engage in watching the game.

“I didn’t have a personal preference on who I wanted to win the Super Bowl, but most of my family friend’s wanted the [Buccaneers] to win,” Ratkus said. “I think it’s funny that everyone gets so heated over it. [It] just makes me laugh sometimes.”

The halftime show featured musical personality “The Weeknd,” who performed his 2020 hit song “Blinding Lights.” 

“I thought the Halftime Show was actually pretty good despite having the Weekend having to restrict a lot of things due to [COVID-19],” Kay said. “I kind of got the movie ‘US’ vibes from the outfits and masks of the dancers though.”

 However, Ratkus was not impressed with the performance.

“The halftime show was OK. I know normally they have more than one artist performing but not this year,” Ratkus said. “The energy was sort of low.”

Despite COVID-19 putting restrictions on how people could celebrate, Kay said she is hopeful about things being back to normal by the next Super Bowl. 

“Hopefully next year, my family and I will get to see almost all of our close family friends,” Kay said. “I might hang out with my friends instead though since I will be off at college.”