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WILKES-BARRE — Under normal circumstances, Super Bowl Sunday comes with a super-sized crowd at bars and pubs here and across the country.

At a place like Franklin’s Bar and Grill on Public Square, there’d be a massive throng of football fans hanging on every throw and every call.

This year, the circumstances have been anything but normal, but that didn’t stop some local football fans from having a good time cheering on the Chiefs and the Buccaneers in this year’s Super Bowl.

“At least they’re open,” said John Mahan as he sat and watched. “It’s weird, but I’ll take what I could get.”

Mahan, of Wilkes-Barre, was seated alone at one of the small tables Franklin’s has set up along the bar.

Getting up from the table, whether to use the restroom or to get another drink, means that customers would have to put their masks on. A sign at the front of the bar reminded customers of Franklin’s “No Mask — No Service” policy.

Only about 15 people were at Franklin’s as the game, pitting Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, kicked off around 6:30 p.m.

The loud cheers and jeers that usually come with a Super Bowl crowd were replaced with some more muted reactions throughout the first quarter, which ended with the Bucs ahead 7-3.

While the smaller crowd may have been fine with some, multiple bar-goers pointed out the stark difference in atmosphere on Sunday compared to years past.

“There’s something lost in the air without the huge crowd,” said Corey Pelton, a New York native currently residing in the area as an employee at the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant in Berwick. “People going nuts over touchdowns, people with money on the games … this isn’t anything like that.”

Pelton is a Buffalo Bills fan, so he wasn’t too wrapped up in the actual outcome of the game, though he picked the Chiefs to win before kickoff. But like a lot of fans who head out to the bar on Super Bowl Sunday, it’s more about the good times than the final score.

“I just love that feeling when everyone’s getting excited,” Pelton said. “But hey, this is better than nothing.”

Mahan also sided with Kansas City before the opening kickoff — but while Pelton’s reasoning for the pick was because of their team speed and because he enjoyed watching Mahomes, Mahan had a much simpler reason for picking the Chiefs, a reason that likely resonated with a lot of folks at Franklin’s.

“I don’t want to see Tom Brady win anymore,” Mahan said. “I’m sick of him.”

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