Super Bowl Sunday is here.

Super Bowl LV will feature the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Only three things in life are certain anymore: death, taxes and Tom Brady playing in this thing every year.

This year’s pandemic version of the big game will be quite different for everyone. Players, coaches, fans, family gatherings and local restaurants will all operate under unusual circumstances.

This season saw a couple of COVID-19 outbreaks among a handful of the NFL organizations. There were doubts whether the 2021 season should have begun, let alone if it would finish.

But the league made it and the big stage is finally set.

Local fans

Times News sports reporter T.J. Engle is a lifelong Chiefs fan. How does one who grew up in Bowmanstown follow Kansas City?

Engle said he was in junior high school and he didn’t want to be an Eagles, Cowboys or Steelers fan like most in the area.

“I have been a Kansas City Chiefs fan since 1989,” said Engle, who claims he didn’t hop on the bandwagon. “A true fan for 32 years now. It just so happened at that time I grew to like watching one Derrick Thomas, one of the all-time greatest Chiefs.

“Thomas and the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ Christian Okoye caught my interest with their play on the gridiron, and both definitely went on to leave their mark in Chiefs’ history. I have stayed true to the Chiefs ever since.”

It’s no surprise that Tom Brady is playing in the Super Bowl again.

Palmerton resident Alec Zeoli grew up in Lehighton but is originally from Maine. This essentially grandfathered him into being a Patriots fan. Are there any hard feelings after Brady left New England, who missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade?

“It’s like watching your ex with her new man, but her going up against the person you hate the most,” said Zeoli, whose strange analogy about the two teams playing makes sense in a weird way. “You want to see your ex succeed, but could care less about her new guy.”

Judging by some Facebook comments, there are still some locals boycotting the NFL and won’t be watching. Sounds boring - have fun watching reruns of “Seinfeld,” “How I Met Your Mother,” or listening to the local scanner for the 500th time. C’mon, at least come for the commercials!

The food

There’s likely to be fewer family gatherings in addition to minimal patrons hanging out at bars, clubs or casinos to watch the game. Expect takeout and delivery, weather pending, to be busy on Sunday.

In fact, according to a Verizon Communications survey, “more than half who were surveyed plan to order food from local small businesses (52%) or restaurant chains (50%). That’s up 60 percent from last year when about a third of respondents ordered (32% and 30%). Gen Z’ers and Millennials are far more likely to order takeout or delivery than their older counterparts.”

Steaks & Stuff, located at Pereira’s Gas & Deli 2, on Lizard Creek Road in Lehighton, has been picking up preorders all week.

“Wings and cheesesteaks are my biggest sellers, I have cheesesteaks that nobody in the area really makes so that helps a lot,” said chef/manager Lance Stein.

Steaks & Stuff had its grand opening on Jan. 19 and sold over 200 pounds of chicken wings during opening week.

Stein has specials set for Sunday and he’s creating many different sauces. He will enter the weekend with about 1,000 wings preordered for Sunday.

Adjacent to the Thomas J. McCall Memorial Bridge in Lehighton, Sapore Restaurant is ready for the busy weekend.

“We prepare more and order more,” said Narda Montrom, of Sapore. “We always have the two large pizza special every day. People have been preordering wings so far as well.

“The bar is closed, but the bar area has limited seating. We are at 50 percent capacity, since we are registered to follow the guidelines for the pandemic.”

Beverages

What’s a Super Bowl without beer?

Liz Herring, manager of Mason’s Cold Beer in Jim Thorpe, said the recent storm has affected some preparation this week, but they’ll be ready to rock ’n’ roll this weekend.

“We’re waiting on some of our deliveries and they’ve ramped up,” Herring said. “They’re also delayed because of the snow. With the Super Bowl, combined with the expected snow, we’re expected a crazy weekend. Even with temperatures dipping, our slushy sales haven’t.

“We’re open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. so I would tell people to get here early. We’re not even sure when the storm is going to hit, so get in and be safe.”

Are you smarter than a groundhog?

Did you know Schuylkill County has two locally famous groundhogs named Grover and his wife, Sweet Arrow Sue?

Don’t be embarrassed if you didn’t. Anyway, Grover makes a Super Bowl prediction every year at Sweet Arrow Lake Park in Pine Grove. He picked Tampa Bay to win, while also predicting an early spring this year.

Miscellaneous details

• Kickoff is set for Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, at 6:30 p.m.

• Last season, the Chiefs rallied to defeat the 49ers in the Super Bowl, 31-20.

• Sportsbooks are generally favoring Kansas City by three to four points and the over-under point total is currently 56.

• Sunday will mark Tom Brady’s 10th Super Bowl appearance. He has six championships under his belt.

• KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the reigning Super Bowl MVP. Mahomes and Brady have played against each other on four occasions across their careers, each winning twice. In those matchups, Brady has thrown for 300-plus yards three times, while Mahomes has thrown for no less than 283 yards in any of those games.

• According to USA Today, a 30-second Super Bowl commercial spot could cost up to $5.6 million.

• Hip-hop artist and singer The Weeknd will be performing at halftime.

• According to the NFL Network, there will be 25,000 fans at the game and 30,000 cardboard cutouts.

• The cheapest admission ticket on StubHub on Wednesday was $4,900.

Score predictions

T.J. Engle, TN sports reporter: Chiefs, 34-33

Alec Zeoli, former Brady fan: Buccaneers, 38-34

Lance Stein, Steaks & Stuff: Chiefs, 42-37

Narda Montrom, Sapore: Chiefs

Grover, groundhog: Buccaneers by six

Emmett McCall, TN sports editor: Chiefs, 35-27

Justin Carlucci, TN reporter: Chiefs, 31-24