OP-ED: The Optics of the Super Bowl
It’s fair to say the pandemic changed the course of our lives. Throughout the past year, the vast majority of major events and gatherings––graduations, weddings, funerals, even the presidential inaugurations––were either canceled entirely or awkwardly rerouted. As we approach the anniversary of last year’s March quarantines, it stings to face the painful reality that we’ve seen little progress or change, that our healthcare workers are still fighting this invisible force, that loved ones are still perishing at terrifing rates, and that COVID-19 is still spreading like wildfire. And yet, despite an ongoing crisis of this magnitude, last week 25,000 people crowded into the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to watch grown men in shoulder pads attack each other for three hours. Meanwhile, millions of other fans likely attended watch parties in large, unrecommended sizes. This event underscored a truth that the past year has made undeniable: there’s nothing more American than sacrificing the safety of others for the sake of leisure.
Throughout the NFL season, the organization has worked hard to navigate a COVID-19 season by limiting stadium capacity and using intense contact tracing devices. While data for the end of the season is still pending, the NFL reported only 329 cases of COVID-19 from August to November 2020 within the organization, with a positivity rate of 0.1 percent. This statistic was impressive considering the size of the NFL’s enterprise. Of course, the organization spent staggering amounts of money on COVID precautions; for instance, NBC Sports reported over the summer that the league planned to spend upwards of $75 million on COVID tests alone.
Perhaps Americans should celebrate the fact that our nation’s football players didn’t have to miss a season, and we all got to pretend life was normal every Sunday. But that would overlook the brash decision to allow 25,000 people to attend the Super Bowl, regardless of the social distancing measures put in place. Simply put, this decision and the countless watch parties it likely led to are a giant smear on the US’s coronavirus response, as if there weren’t already enough, and hurtful to all those who have had to upend their lives for public health. All of Broadway has been closed and will remain so until May 2021, putting nearly 100,000 artists and actors out of work. The date of the Tokyo Olympics was pushed back to July 2021, something that’s never happened before, forcing thousands of world-class athletes to postpone their dreams and brace for another year of grueling training and competition. Events that take decades to plan were canceled because of the imminent threat this virus poses. So, why is football an exception? Why, when every other major event in the world was canceled, did the NFL proceed with the Super Bowl as if COVID-19 was merely an inconvenience, like a cruel snowstorm?
Some may argue that the Super Bowl was not a superspreader event and only appeared to be one on TV, since more than half the stadium was filled with lifesize cutouts of fans, and a third of those that were present had been vaccinated. However, it’s highly unlikely that all 25,000 people present at the event were all negative for COVID-19 (fans did not have to present negative test results or quarantine prior). If schools with 1,000 students are shutting down weekly due to outbreaks and the risk of transmission, an event with at least 25 times as many people will certainly lead to some degree of COVID-19 spread, as experts cautioned in the New York Times.. Even if, by some miracle, not a single case emerges from the events in Tampa, we must remember that 100 million people watch the Super Bowl every year, and this tradition nearly always takes place in groups. So, not only did this event risk spread in person but it prompted Americans nationwide to gather in group settings the CDC condemns. The Super Bowl will be a superspreader because of the influx in cases it will cause nationwide, not just among those who sat in Raymond James Stadium last weekend.
The Super Bowl also served as a simple insult to healthcare workers. In spring 2020, Americans gasped at the viral photos of nurses with cheeks bruised from wearing N95 masks all day. We watched residents of New York City cheer for essential workers from the shelter of their apartments every day at 7 pm. Now that the shock of the pandemic has dissipated, along with the camaraderie the first wave generated, many Americans have begun to look the other way while healthcare workers continue to fight this disease harder than ever. Of course, there were sporadic moments of acknowledgment for healthcare workers, including an awkward video from President Biden. But a statement about the struggle of healthcare workers booming across the speakers of a football stadium filled with thousands of fans seemed far too ironic.. Even if no one actually contracted the coronavirus from the Super Bowl, the event screamed of ignorance.
Time will tell whether the Super Bowl will actually cause an explosion of cases, but regardless of its impact, the event contradicted the year of tragedy we’ve experienced and the modifications we’ve made to our lives. As much as we may long for symbols of normalcy, like the Super Bowl, we can’t disregard the consequences of such enormous events. This pandemic has raged on for almost an entire year. We must begin to question why events like the Super Bowl are still happening in the first place. We simply cannot afford otherwise.
By Annie Levy