Diplo. 50 cents. Steve Aoki. A pool. It would be an incredible party, if it weren’t for a pandemic indoors.
According to TMZ, however, that was the schedule for a pre-Super Bowl party on Saturday night, when 2,000 people gathered at the Godfrey Hotel in Tampa before the big game. It was just another flurry of pre-game festivities during the Super Bowl weekend, when revelers challenged the CDC’s guidelines against the mass meeting, even with more contagious variants than are sweeping the country.
While the organizers of the Godfrey event – Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports, along with a Miami nightclub – said that “social distance procedures will be strictly applied, masks will be required for all employees and guests,” according to TMZ, many of the participants were actually without a mask.
The Tampa Police Department told TMZ that “the scenes from WTR last night and from a few other clubs were incredibly disappointing”.
And Rick Kriseman, the mayor of neighboring St. Petersburg, posted 50 Cent on Twitter on Sunday.
“This is not how we should celebrate the Super Bowl. It is not safe or smart. It’s stupid, ”wrote Kriseman. “Let’s take a closer look at this and it could end up costing someone a lot more than 50 cents.”
Noteworthy puns aside, the rapper was not the only big name to perform in Tampa over the weekend. According to Page Six, Migos, Rick Ross and Tory Lanez performed at parties this weekend. Lanez, who was accused in October of shooting his fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, threw a big party on Thursday night, according to the Daily Mail.
Although the city was expected to receive an influx of fans over the weekend – due to the negligent guidance of the Florida coronavirus and the fact that hometown Buccaneers are playing in the Super Bowl – epidemiologist Jason Salemi told the Daily Beast earlier this week week he was not as concerned with the game as much as with the hustle and bustle that surrounds him.
“The people who go to the Super Bowl are not what I’m most concerned about,” Salemi, a professor at the University of South Florida, told The Daily Beast. “This is how those in our community and visitors to our beautiful city decide to celebrate this incredible event. I would absolutely advise against crowded places, close contact environments and closed spaces. “