Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning the Super Bowl game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Photo: VCG

Chinese fans of American football hailed the magnificent performance of Tom Brady on Monday in China, after he won his record seventh Super Bowl by leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 31-9 rout against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. 

However, these joyous congratulations were also tinged with a layer of fear as fans also worried that the Sunday craze may become a new superspreader event for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic plaguing the US.

The topic for the Super Bowl earned more than 810 million views on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Monday, even though American football is far from popular in China. 

Many saluted the age-defying Brady, who at 43 became the oldest man to play in the Super Bowl, an act that earned him the nickname of laohan, or "Old Man," among Chinese fans. 

With this seventh championship ring, he has more Super Bowl titles than any other player - or team - in the history of the National Football League (NFL). 

"Brady is a quite inspiring man for all. He is the undisputed GOAT," a netizen user posted on Brady's ­official Sina Weibo account on Monday, referring to the star as "the greatest of all time."

Though Brady's achievement on the field was widely watched around the world, the sport's ­minnow-like popularity in ­China can be seen through Brady's Sina ­Weibo ­account: It identifies him as "a ­quarterback with the New ­England Patriots" - where he spent two ­decades - rather than a ­quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which he joined in 2020.

Others onlookers questioned whether Super Bowl Sunday would cause a surge in coronavirus ­cases in the US, the worst-hit area in the world with more than 27 ­million cases and 460,000 deaths, ­according to Johns Hopkins University. 

"Why is the US still allowing fans to enter the stadium to watch the game?" another Sina Weibo user asked, noting that "gathering with such a high daily infection rate is risking everyone's lives."

The Super Bowl game at ­Raymond James Stadium in ­Tampa, Florida on Sunday was held in front of a reduced capacity crowd of 25,000 fans, which included ­approximately 7,500 vaccinated health care workers who were ­invited by the NFL for their work battling COVID-19.

Seats in the stadium were also taken by paper cutouts of celebrities, sports figures and fans, including China's MMA star Zhang Weili, singer Ma Siwei and football player He Peizhang. Seats for these cutouts were priced at $100 each.

In a pre-recorded video before the Super Bowl, US President Joe Biden called for fans to wear masks and socially distance before proposing a moment of silence for the Americans who have lost their lives during the pandemic. 

However, Chinese fans also noted that game-watching parties across the US and celebrations after the game could also pose health risks. 

"Though the Super Bowl can bring joy and excitement to those who love US football now that the pandemic has disrupted nearly everything in the US, such a large-scale event is still risky as you cannot rule out fan gatherings," another netizen posted. 

Even US top medical expect Dr Anthony Fauci warned that gathering for Super Bowl parties would put people in danger if places are not properly ventilated. 

"It's the perfect setup to have a mini superspreader event in your house," he said on MSNBC on Friday. "Don't do that for now. There will be other Super Bowls."