This one is for all the marbles – and the Vince Lombardi trophy. Super Bowl LV is a historic matchup in so many ways that we've all talked about ad nauseum this week. By now you know that the Buccaneers are the first team to ever play a Super Bowl in their home stadium but it now begs the question: does it matter?
And it's not like circumstances are normal right now. We're in the middle of a global pandemic and the Super Bowl, as well as the lead-up, looks nothing like we've previously known it. The stadium is locked down. There is a shell of a radio row. Every interview is done virtually and the visiting team Kansas City Chiefs, aren't spending the whole week in Tampa preparing for it like they did in Miami last year. They'll travel mostly as if it's a normal game.
And with much of the fanfare taken away – is it?
I mean, of course it's not. It's still the Super Bowl and there's something to be said about being the last two teams standing. But now we're looking if homefield advantage is a thing. Sure, one end zone inside Raymond James Stadium is painted to say CHIEFS but the pirate ship is still docked in the stadium. It's still a familiar place for this Bucs team. They'll get to sleep in their own beds and practice in their own facility and use their own locker room as the home team just like any other game day. Will that comfort translate on game day to give the Bucs an advantage?
Well, from the looks of it, the experts don't seem to think so.
- NFL.com, Consensus – Chiefs (split)
- ESPN.com, Consensus – Chiefs (split)
- ProFootballTalk, Mike Florio - Buccaneers
- SB Nation, Consensus – Chiefs (split)
- CBSSports.com, Consensus – Chiefs (split)
