Super Bowl LV: Kansas City Chiefs v Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Live! | sport

Raymond James Stadium will be at one-third of its capacity today, with one-third of tickets given to health workers to recognize their tireless and vital work during the pandemic.

Unlike the stadium, bars in Tampa will be crowded today, despite the pandemic. They will be allowed to operate at 100% of their capacity, provided that customers are seated and masked. You can read more about the city’s preparations for the game here:

The Buccaneers have a field advantage today and the most successful quarterback of all time, but they face a terribly dangerous offense, led by the most talented NFL player of all time. How do they earn? Our writers give their opinion:

Shorten the game. The Bucs have proven that they can switch between a number of styles this season. They can win with their exceptional defense. They can count on Tom Brady to hang on to a shootout. Against the Chiefs, while not as entertaining, they’ll have to rely on run-game to spread the discs against a weak Chiefs front in order to contain the score. Take Brady to the last disc with a chance of winning the game, that should be the plan. Oliver connolly

Sic Jason Pierre-Paul, William Gholston and Ndamukong Suh on the Chiefs’ save tackles. Mix the first one down a bit. (Transfers to Leonard Fournette & Co are so predictable.) And take every opportunity to connect with downstream receivers, a point Bruce Arians has insisted on all season. If Antonio Brown is looking for a moment to shine, this is it. Andrew Lawrence

Brady doesn’t want to enter a pitching contest with Mahomes at this point in his career. Its advantage will lie in its experience. He doesn’t want to be a pure game manager here, he’s going to have to tune in on a few long balls to win, but if he focuses on the good game rather than trying the big game, his team has a solid chance. Hunter’s felt

Tampa must capitalize on its strengths and blitz early and often. They have the pedigree – nine sacks and two wins over Rodgers this season – and can slow Mahomes down by attacking an offensive line missing its two starting tackles. You run the risk of dying from a thousand cuts in the form of Tyreek and Travis, but Todd Bowles has to be brave to limit Kansas City’s score. Graham searles

You can read more game predictions here:

Unsung quarterback, 576 years old Tom brady starts for the Buccaneers today, so we asked fellow Hall of Fame Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to write about playing in his 40s (OK, Brady is 43). Here are the fantastic results:

“I was 42 when I retired from the Lakers. After 20 seasons, I had a lot of NBA records and very little hair. Some of these records have since been broken, others have yet to be broken at a time to be determined. I learned a few lessons about being a middle aged athlete in a league where the average age is 26, which is also the age of the average NFL player. Some of those lessons were about playing, some about being a gamer – two very different things.

“Playing at a professional level against well-trained athletes 20 years younger is a challenge. The short looks much longer, the legs seem heavier, the hoop looks smaller. This is where you come face to face with what philosophers call the body-mind problem: the relationship between mind-consciousness and the stubborn sack of meat that is your body.

You can read Kareem’s full review here:

Joe biden was interviewed by CBS about the Super Bowl. The president is asked if he thinks we can watch next year’s game in front of a full stadium.

“It’s my hope and my expectations … that we can watch the Super Bowl with a full stadium [in 2022]. He also advises people not to go to Super Bowl viewing parties this year: “If you watch, be careful,” he says.

He is also asked if he would prefer to be cast by Mahomes or Brady (Biden was a catcher at the time). He opts for Mahomes who, he notes, has a certain “potential,” to put it mildly. Then Biden remembers he’s a politician and says they’re “both great quarterbacks.” A change from his predecessor who would probably have called himself the greatest player of all time.

The buildup of this game has been eclipsed by a horrible car crash involving Chiefs linebacker coach Britt Reid who left a child in serious condition. And the latest news is not good:

Britt Reid is the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, so who knows how he must be feeling right now (and that’s before stepping into the parents of the injured child).

Britt Reid is also in hospital with unspecified injuries and, according to a police report, said he had two or three drinks on the night of the crash.

Miss the day when players could smoke on the sidelines? (LEGAL NOTE: The Guardian does not approve of smoking – even those low in tar.) Next, take a stroll through our gallery of Super Bowls past (also featuring the giants dressed as Shirley Temple, which is as terrifying as it sounds):

Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce appeared on CBS and spoke about its offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy.

“I think it’s disrespectful that he hasn’t found a head coaching job yet,” said Kelce. “But I will enjoy his presence here every year and we’ll continue to play the Super Bowl as long as we have him.

Bieniemy was one of the masterminds behind one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history. And yet, despite the shortage of one-color coaches in a league where the majority of players are black, Bieniemy has not been able to find a head coaching position as a LOT of guys who look like Sean McVay are responsible for teams.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is asked about the lack of black NFL coaches. He says he takes the problem “very seriously” and admits the league “hasn’t done as well as we wanted”. It’s easy to blame Goodell and the league office – and the commissioner is to blame! – but the point is, the white billionaires who own NFL teams are the ones who choose not to employ black coaches.

Andrew Lawrence has more on the coaching situation in the NFL below:

Hello and welcome to the cover of [checks Roman numerals] Super Bowl 55, between defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the first team to play at their own stadium in Super Bowl history). Usually the Guardian would be in the stadium, but with this year’s pandemic the NFL could only promise us a desk in the media center in the stadium parking lot, so we’ll be watching TV as well. Regardless, let’s face it, the NFL is better on TV than it is live anyway.

The most obvious question is: who will win? Four of our writers had their say, and their thoughts are below:

Chiefs 31-24 buccaneers. Brady and Bowles’ combination is about as good as you might hope for trying to knock the Chiefs off their perch. No one is able to stop the Chiefs, but all the Bucs need is a defense that slows down the Mahomes-Andy Reid machine, even for a possession or two. Tampa has the talent and the people to make such a plan. I have the Bucs giving Brady a chance on the final possession, but just coming up short. The Chiefs’ offensive power, even with all the goodness of the Bowles, is just too overwhelming. And even when the plays are interrupted, no one is better off script than Mahomes. The Chiefs face off and Mahomes wins a second successive MVP. Oliver connolly

Chefs 30-29 buccaneers. As exposed as Mahomes imagines himself to the limit, one could easily see the Bucs defense forgetting the QB’s wheels until it was too late. Whether it’s picking up a piece of footage or buying time to shoot darts at Cheetah & Co, Mahomes will eventually take their hearts out. Andrew Lawrence

Chiefs 34-17 buccaneers. Look for teams to keep him close for a while, but in the fourth quarter the Chiefs will have the edge and salt him with one of those Mahomes bursts where he lands two touchdowns in the blink of an eye. Hunter’s felt

Chiefs 30-33 Buccaneers. I said it mid-season and I’ll say it again, Tom Brady and the Bucs will win the Super Bowl. Choosing against Brady is a crazy task, especially now that he’s an underdog. Six titles and your non-favorite team is a testament to how good the Chiefs are, but Brady will have the final say in the game with a last minute drive and maybe which QB really is the best. Same time next year, Tom. Graham Searles

You can read the forecast in full below: