What will be different about Super Bowl LV for Chiefs?

The Kansas City Chiefs will get a shot to play in their second consecutive Super Bowl in Super Bowl LV. But this time around things will be a little bit different.

Last year, Super Bowl LIV took place just months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the nation. It’s made the world into a very different place and that includes NFL football. The NFL’s plans for Super Bowl LV and the days leading up to it will also look a lot different.

Here’s a quick look at some of the things that will be different for the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV:

Practicing at home

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Ahead of Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs were following a very meticulous schedule. Still, they arrived a week ahead of time and spent the week in Miami practicing at the Dolphins' training facility in Davie, before playing in the Super Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. This time around, things are going to be different. The Chiefs will actually spend the entire two weeks prior to Super Bowl LV at home in Kansas City. They'll practice at their team facilities and everyone will get to sleep in their own bed up until the night prior to the game. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Chiefs actually plan to fly into Tampa the day before the Super Bowl. https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1353483148647149570 In part, this is because the typical Super Bowl week spectacle has either been canceled due to the COVID-19 or shifted to a virtual format. Opening night, for instance, will all take place virtually. So, really, there's no reason for Kansas City to arrive any earlier than they would for a typical away game during the NFL's regular season. It's worth noting, the Chiefs went undefeated on the road this season.

Limited fans in the stands

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The NFL announced that approximately 22,000 fans will be allowed at Raymond James Stadium for Super Bowl LV. That includes 7,500 vaccinated health care workers set to be honored for their contributions in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It will also include roughly 17,000 paying fans and the tickets allocated for both the Buccaneers and Chiefs. The capacity at Hard Rock Stadium for Super Bowl LIV was over 65,000 and the fan attendance was nearly 62,000 when the Chiefs took on the 49ers last year. Ticket prices for Super Bowl LV are markedly higher than LIV because of the limited number of tickets available too. That will certainly make things difficult when it comes to the average fan trying to attend the game. According to Jesse Lawrence of Ticket IQ, these are some of the highest-priced Super Bowl tickets since 2010, when they began tracking ticket price data. Basically, don't expect a crazy crowd for the Super Bowl. It'll be slightly bigger than what the Chiefs have had at Arrowhead Stadium this season and that's only if they sell out.

Bucs homefield advantage

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The Buccaneers will become the first NFL team to ever play a Super Bowl in their home stadium, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll feel like home for them during the game. They'll get to stay in their locker rooms as the NFC is this year's designated home team, that'll feel like home. The Bucs have one of the coolest features in any NFL stadium, a pirate ship with cannons. Typically, they fire those cannons when their team scores a touchdown, but that might not be the case in Super Bowl LV. League officials are still weighing options because they want the pirate ship to be part of the game, but they can't have it only being used for the Buccaneers. The NFL might have them fire the cannons for both Tampa Bay and Kansas City when a touchdown is scored. If that's the case, the Bucs better stock up on cannonballs. Just a season ago, the Chiefs ran out of fireworks because they scored so many touchdowns in the divisional round against the Houston Texans.

Chiefs are the away team

AP Photo/Jason Behnken

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it actually isn't. Last year the AFC was the designated home team in Super Bowl LIV, allowing the Chiefs the opportunity to choose to wear their home jerseys. They also got the home locker room in Hard Rock Stadium because of that. This year, the NFC is the designated home team. That means that the Buccaneers get the first choice when it comes to what jersey to wear. We'll most likely be seeing Tampa Bay wearing the same red primary uniform that they wore against the Chiefs back in Week 12, while Kansas City would wear their typical white-on-red away jersey. That is, of course, unless the Bucs decide they'd rather wear their white away uniform instead.