Fewer Americans Plan to Host, Attend Super Bowl Parties

COVID-19 kept countless families and friends apart over the winter holidays. Now, many Americans are planning for a socially distanced Super Bowl.

In a Morning Consult poll conducted a month out from Super Bowl LV, which is scheduled to take place Feb. 7 in Tampa, Fla., only 16 percent of U.S. adults said they are likely to host or attend a gathering to watch the NFL’s title game.

Among those who indicated they are likely to watch the game, 24 percent said they will likely do so with a group of people they don’t live with — down from 39 percent in an identical survey last month — with 9 percent saying they are “very likely” to do so. By comparison, 74 percent of likely viewers said they are unlikely to host or attend a gathering, including 49 percent who said it is “not likely at all.”

The share of likely viewers who plan to get together for this year’s Super Bowl is down more than 20 percent from a survey conducted at roughly the same time in 2019 for Super Bowl LIV, which found that about 31 percent of those who expected to watch the game planned to congregate with friends and family for Super Bowl LIV.

Restrictions on social gatherings remain in place across the country, but they vary drastically by state. In the Los Angeles Rams’ home state of California, for example, Gov. Gavin Newsom prohibited get-togethers with anyone outside of one’s household. In Missouri, home of the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, there are no limits on outings.