The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are making the most of their hometown advantage in the run-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl, settling into a routine after a chaotic National Football League (NFL) season where virtually nothing felt like business as usual.
After numerous delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but no outright cancellations, the NFL is barreling toward its season finale with the Bucs taking on the Kansas City Chiefs at home – the first time in the Super Bowl’s 55-year history that a team has competed in the championship in their own stadium.
The team triumphed in three straight road games in the post-season before settling in for Super Bowl preparations at home, where a reduced-capacity of 22,000 fans will be allowed in on gameday due to COVID-19 health and safety restrictions.
Th closest any NFL team has come to playing the big game at home was 36 years ago, when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins 38-16 at Super Bowl XIX inside Stanford University’s Stanford Stadium in California.
(Production: David Grip)