Tampa Bay Lightning Flout COVID-19, Let Fans Drink From Stanley Cup (Video)
Fresh off their Stanley Cup title and freshly out of a three-month bubble, the Tampa Bay Lightning and their fans threw all social distancing cautions to the wind on Wednesday when they let fans drink from the iconic trophy.
The Lightning, which defeated the Dallas Stars to win its second Stanley Cup Championship, attempted to hold a championship parade with COVID-19 in mind, celebrating Wednesday with a boat parade and a rally at Raymond James Stadium that limited seating capacity to 15,000, around 24% full.
It did not go as planned, and likely horrified medical experts and anyone hoping to not catch the extremely contagious disease that’s already infected more than 7 million Americans. Just look at the video below, where fans are taking turns drinking out of the Stanley Cup, with help from the Lightning players.
Not only players get to drink from the Cup pic.twitter.com/NYcOk5wLoV
— Diana C. Nearhos (@dianacnearhos) September 30, 2020
*Also Read:* Why ABC's NBA Finals Face Uphill Battle in TV Ratings - Despite LeBron James and the Lakers
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently removed all COVID-19 restrictions — though individual businesses are still allowed to implement their own measures. It looks particularly bad for the Lightning, who just spent months in a Canadian bubble environment so the NHL could even finish its 2019-2020 season, which was delayed by four months because of the pandemic (the league had zero positives cases during the bubble’s entirety).
Florida reported nearly 3,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and has almost 700,000 confirmed cases during the pandemic.
*Related stories from TheWrap:*
JJ Abrams to Produce Dr. Seuss' 'Oh, The Places You'll Go!' Animated Feature at Warner Bros.
Blake Griffin Just Got a Prank Show From TruTV
'Walking Dead': How COVID-19 Delays Changed AMC's Plans for Final 2 Seasons