A different kind of Super Bowl week kicks off Sunday

One of the great traditions of Super Bowl week is seeing the lengths aspiring personalities will go to draw some small shred of the attention from the event upon themselves.

Whether it’s the so-called football Football Scientist showing up in a lab coat or the Czech TV reporter showing up as Mozart, the characters of media day have become an annual sideshow in the wildest week on the NFL calendar.

But this year, because of COVID-19, instead of trying to stand out on the jam-packed floor of a stadium or arena, those seeking the spotlight on the now-dubbed “Opening Night” media event will have to hope for a Zoom link.

A virtual media day is one of many reasons this version of the Super Bowl will look a whole lot different than the weeklong spectacle it has become in recent years.

It was actually supposed to start early for fans in Las Vegas this year with Sunday’s Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium. The actual game was canceled in favor of a televised celebration of the players who were selected. A competition using their game highlights played out throughout the week on social media.

Music has also become a big part of the Super Bowl and this year will be no exception, though it may look different.

The famed halftime show could lose some of its luster with only 22,000 fans expected to be in attendance at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. But headliner The Weeknd has big plans to make sure his performance is memorable for a crowd that will be wearing masks, as well as the more than 100 million people expected to be tuned in on television.

A producer on the show said this week the R&B sensation will utilize all the empty space in the stadium for his performance, which is expected to feature several A-list cameos.

The pregame show will also feature some A-list talent. In addition to the usual performances of the national anthem and “America The Beautiful,” Miley Cyrus will headline the first TikTok Tailgate.

The event will be an on-site show for the 7,500 vaccinated health care heroes who will be part of the crowd in the stadium once the game starts.

Imagine trying to explain TikTok, or Miley Cyrus for that matter, to the Green Bay Packers’ Vince Lombardi at Super Bowl I.

The legendary coach would probably gristle at the COVID-19 protocols that are in place for the game, as well. The Kansas City Chiefs won’t even arrive in Tampa until the day before the game, a huge departure from typical years when teams arrive a week early and go through a full week of festivities.

All of that will be done virtually, even for a Buccaneers team that will already be in town because they are the first team to play the game in their host stadium.

Even that venue won’t look the same to the Bucs. The league took over control of Raymond James Stadium, in the shadow of the team facility where they are preparing for the game, several weeks ago.

Most of the team’s signage has already come down in favor of more neutral NFL banners.

It will certainly give the overhead shots a different aesthetic, if CBS even chooses to show that angle considering the stands will only be half-full.

Even the game broadcast will be different.

Companies like Chipotle, DoorDash and Huggies will enter the competitive Super Bowl commercial field for the first time taking the place of legacy brands like Pepsi and Anheuser-Busch, which have announced plans to sit this one out.

While Pepsi will still advertise Mountain-Dew and Frito-Lay, no Pepsi commercial will air. Similarly, there will be no new Budweiser commercial, even though Anheuser-Busch will promote Bud Light and Michelob Ultra.

Some of the heavy hitters have expressed a struggle to strike the proper tone in advertising during the pandemic. Anheuser-Busch will use the money it would have spent on a Budweiser ad to make a donation to vaccine awareness.

According to MarketWatch, this will be the first Super Bowl in 37 years without an in-game Budweiser commercial and the first time in 20 years that neither Coke nor Pepsi bought an in-game Super Bowl ad for their marquee brands.

Not everything is different, though.

Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady is once again in the game as he is just about every year, even if it’s with a new team. Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes is back for the second straight time for what figures to be a whole lot of appearances.

And CBS stalwart Jim Nantz will call the game with breakout star partner Tony Romo, which should bring a sense of normalcy to the game.

It won’t be a standard week for them, however.

According to reports, Nantz and Romo will not be able to see each other in Tampa until the moment they arrive in the booth to call the game due to health and safety protocols.

The hope is this will be the only Super Bowl played under such conditions. The hope is things will be back to normal and even better next season.

It is guaranteed to have at least one new element, however. The 2022 edition will take place at brand new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.