Sunday was a massive day for Tampa Bay sports; Super Bowl LV took place in Tampa, Florida, and we got the inside scoop.
This would be the first Super Bowl played during a pandemic and the first winning team to play their home stadium. Raymond James Stadium would not only have 25,000 fans, but 30,000 cardboard cutouts of people used to fill in the empty space.
The University of South Florida's own Kaylee Dalena gave details of what working at the Super Bowl was like during these odd times. Dalena is a junior at USF Tampa, majoring in Mass Communications.
Dalena volunteers for a non-profit organization called Cheer Boosters, where participants in the program work the alcohol stands at football games to raise money for cheer competitions.
"We had to take a very detailed COVID questionnaire, which was way more detailed than it had been in the past, and then they [Raymond James Staff], of course, temperature checked us when we went in," said Dalena.
Dalena talked about how the face masks were also required and strictly enforced; she wore a face mask and face shield while serving and worked behind plexiglass while at the concession stand.
"You could only access our stand from one direction, so it was harder to get to than the others, so we were not that busy. So, we all got to take turns watching the game," said Dalena.
Dalena got a prime spot to work for the big game and halftime show, and was not aware of the fortune of her location until it was time for the performance. "For the half time show, they actually closed our stand and took us to a viewing area, so we got to see the whole halftime show."
Dalena mentioned her time at the Superbowl was made when she got to see The Weeknd, who performed the halftime show.
"They closed down our section five minutes before the halftime show and there was a big elevator in front of our concession. The Weeknd just walked right out of it and we literally saw him in front of us. It was crazy," said Dalena.
Dalena works at The Tampa Bay Buccaneers games regularly, but this was a once in a lifetime experience for her.