Tampa leaders won’t let COVID-19 steal city’s spotlight during Super Bowl
TAMPA, Fla. - The road to Super Bowl LV in Tampa hasn't necessarily been a smooth one. COVID-19 has proved to be a hurdle every step of the way.
"Here in Tampa Bay we don't see barriers, we see possibilities," said Mayor Jane Castor Friday at Sparkman Wharf.
That style of glass-half-full mentality is what officials are touting nine days out from the big game.
"COVID has tried really hard to define this moment for us, we're not going to let it happen," said Will Weatherford, the Super Bowl host committee co-chair.
"So I think this effort has given us an opportunity to show the world how to bounce back. How you can get on the path of success," Derrick Brooks, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and co-chair of the Super Bowl host committee.
COVID safety, including masks and social distancing, is paramount for everything Super Bowl-related.
7,500 vaccinated health care workers will also be in the crowd as a thank you to them and a way to promote vaccinations worldwide.
"We need a shot in the arm literally and figuratively," Weatherford said.
The game is also a showcase of Tampa Bay. It has transformed since it last hosted the game in 2009.
"If you said to someone three years ago the Bucs would be in the Super Bowl and Tom Brady would be your quarterback they'd said 'You’re insane.' And yet here we are on the cusp of something unbelievable and we're so thrilled to share it with our entire community in the Tampa Bay area," said Bucs owner Bryan Glazer.
And if the Bucs pull it off, consider it one more barrier overcome.
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