Super Bowl 55 is almost here.

What should we expect?

K. Sarika, Staff Writer

The Super Bowl, the biggest game of the NFL season is almost here. It will be airing on February 7th at 6:30 p.m. EST and you will be able to watch it on the NFL app or watch it live on CBS. Super Bowl 55 will be taking place in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay. This is a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs who are returning again and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who will be playing in their home stadium with a slight advantage. We will have to see who will host the 55th annual Super Bowl Lombardi Trophy.

Fan Attendance: In this year’s Super Bowl the stadium will not be as packed as it always has been due to the COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing. Tampa Bay will only allow 22,000 fans at this year’s biggest game. Roger Goodell surprised 7,500 health care workers with a free entry to Super Bowl 55, so you will mostly see frontline health workers in the stands this year.

A Look at the Contenders: The Buccaneers will technically host the Chiefs this year giving them a slight advantage because Kansas City will only arrive in Tampa Bay two days before the Super Bowl, while the Buccaneers will be in Tampa Bay the entire time. The first matchup between these two teams was in week 12 of the 2020 season. The Chiefs took a narrow win against the Bucs with a 27-24 win. This time it might be different though because both teams have gotten much better. The Chiefs led the league with the best offense, while they were 16th in the league for defense which wasn’t great but they still finished with a 14-2 record. The Buccaneers were 7th in total offense and 6th in total defense which is very good, but they only managed to finish with an 11-5 record, still somehow making the Super Bowl. Two of the biggest players talked about in the NFL will be facing off in Super Bowl 55. The best player in NFL history Tom Brady, and his possible successor Patrick Mahomes will be looking for another ring. Brady, who has the most Super Bowl rings of any player, will try to add on to his big collection, while Mahomes will try to lead the Chiefs to repeat as champs, and earn his second ring. What are your predictions for this year’s once in a lifetime Super Bowl? (We’ve got you covered right here.)

2021 Halftime Show: This Year’s halftime show is going to be performed by the Canadian singer The Weeknd. He will be performing as a solo singer for this year’s halftime show, and will not allow any guests either, which will probably be good and safer for him as well. The Weeknd also told the media he would try to keep his show as PG-rated as possible for everyone around the world watching and wants to stay away from immature complaints.

Referees/Officials: This game will be in the history books, as the first woman referee is going to be part of this game. The head referee will be Carl Chaffers, followed by Sarah Thomas who will make history, James Coleman the field judge, and replay official Mike Wimmer. All officials experience for over 5 years, and this game should be even and fair on both sides with no terrible calls.