The Super Bowl is usually one of the premier events on the calendar for many Americans.

It is always a spectacle when it comes to the commercials and the halftime shows as tens of thousands of people packing into a stadium.

The commercials and halftime shows were of course present for this year’s big game, but perplexingly, so was the stadium full of people.

Now Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay was not filled to capacity. In fact, the 25,000 people in attendance made up the smallest in-person audience ever for a Super Bowl.

Nevertheless, we at The Daily Eastern News think it was 25,000 people too many.

Perhaps you may have heard, but we are in the middle of a global pandemic that has killed over 463,000 Americans, enough to fill up Raymond James Stadium a little more than seven times.

Among the fans in attendance were 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers, but the best way to honor their service would be not have a crowd at all instead of giving them tickets to a possible super spreader event.

Another issue with the Super Bowl is certainly the countless parties that happened across the country.

It is very difficult to have limited these gatherings, but those who did host or attend Super Bowl parties should be ashamed of themselves.

We all want to celebrate something, but taking a year off from watching a football game with your friends and family will not kill you.

But COVID-19 still can.