Are the Tampa Bay Lightning trying to give all their fans COVID?

The Tampa Bay Lightning had their Stanley Cup parade on Wednesday, and they celebrated with fans in the worst way possible.

This year’s Stanley Cup was always going to be the most difficult, considering the season was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. Not only did all 24 playoff-eligible teams have to combat their months-long rest and get back into game shape, but they had to leave their families and go to their respective bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton. After two months, the Tampa Bay Lightning emerged as the Stanley Cup Champions, defeating the Dallas Stars in six games.

After celebrating the night away on Monday, the team returned to the Sunshine State on Tuesday, preparing for their boat parade the day after. The Lightning traveled down the Hillsborough River in front of their diehard fans before reporting to Raymond James Stadium for an event with an attendance capped at 16,000 fans. However, we received a stark reminder that the coronavirus is still here and will only spread farther due to a massive lack of awareness.

In the following video, forward Alex Killorn and another Lightning player were seen letting fans drink out of the Stanley Cup…in the middle of a pandemic!

This Stanley Cup celebration was a terrible idea by Tampa Bay

This was a terrible case of judgment, considering over 200,000 individuals have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. Having multiple fans’ lips touch the rim of the cup for the purpose of consuming alcohol is just a horrendous idea.

The state of Florida has seen the number of new cases per day drop significantly from its peak of 15,000 back in July. Even so, Florida is far from out of the woods. Back on Monday, the state reported 738 new cases, but it spiked to 3,266 just one day later. To make matters worse, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the removal of all COVID-19 restrictions last week, allowing individuals to pack restaurants and places of business while eliminating fines for individuals who refuse to wear face masks in public. Of course, that was met with deserved backlash.

Tampa Bay spent two months in hotel rooms to not only win the Stanley Cup but to ensure the NHL could conclude its season. After nine weeks, the league had zero positive COVID-19 tests, which is something they should be commended for.

In normal years, it’s totally acceptable to drink some bubbly out of the Stanley Cup if you win it. But this isn’t a regular year. We likely won’t return to some semblance of normalcy until the middle of 2021 and more lives are going to be lost. Engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior like this is only going to increase the numbers and make things much worse.