TORONTO -- Around 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers have been extended free tickets to go to the Super Bowl this year, in a move that is aimed at thanking healthcare heroes, and one lucky recipient says she and her coworkers are 鈥渟o pumped.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to put into words,鈥� Rebecca Izquierdo, a nurse practitioner who will be attending the game, told 麻豆传媒 Channel. 鈥淢y team and I, we鈥檙e so excited to go to the Super Bowl.鈥�
The Super Bowl is set to take place in Tampa Bay, Fla on Feb. 7, and will feature a showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Izquierdo works in Sarasota, Fla., and said when she and her coworkers heard about the free tickets earlier this month when it was first announced, it 鈥渂ecame a joke鈥� around the hospital: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to the Super Bowl!鈥�
But after her sister, who once interned with the Super Bowl host committee, suggested they email someone from the NFL and directly pitch themselves, Izquierdo started writing a letter.
Accompanying it was a video showcasing the team and their work over the past year since COVID-19 struck.
鈥淲e had taken pictures all through the pandemic," she said. "The bedside nurses gathered everything and we put this cute video together.
鈥淣ext thing you know, we鈥檙e on a Zoom call with Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner.鈥�
The 7,500 healthcare workers, all of which must have received both of their vaccine doses ahead of the game, will be following safety procedures such as wearing masks and social distancing at the game itself.
Goodell said that this initiative is meant to 鈥渞ecognize these true American heroes.
鈥淭hese dedicated health care workers continue to put their own lives at risk to serve others, and we owe them our ongoing gratitude,鈥� he said, adding that the presence of healthcare workers would help promote vaccination on a national platform.
Around 14,500 other fans will be in attendance at Raymond James Stadium for the event, the statement revealed, but it was not specified if they have to be vaccinated or not. According to the NFL, their Super Bowl plans have been reviewed by the CDC and the Florida Department of Health.
It鈥檚 been a difficult year working during a pandemic, Izquierdo said.
鈥淎s healthcare workers, our job is to come to work everyday and show our patients compassion, and give them the best patient experience,鈥� she said.
That job became so much harder once COVID-19 entered the equation.
鈥淣ow as healthcare workers, we have to be concerned about risking the health and safety of ourselves, that of our loved ones.鈥�
She added that with hospitals shut down to visitors, the hospital staff are the only people interacting with those who are very ill.
鈥淭hey have no family at their bedside,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n a lot of cases, we became the family of these patients.鈥�
It鈥檚 a lot of pressure. So for Izquierdo, getting to go to the Super Bowl will be a well-earned break.
Come Super Bowl Sunday, she鈥檒l be rooting for her team, the Buccaneers, 鈥渙f course鈥�.
鈥淚 mean, this is a fairy tale, us getting the tickets, now the Bucs won their conference,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want to see a fairy tale ending.鈥�
