Super Bowl XXXVII

The twenty- sixth of January 2003 was a day to be remembered in American football history. It was none other than the Super Bowl XXXVII where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football Conference (NFC) won over the Oakland Raiders of the American Football Conference (AFC). All throughout the existence of the championship tournament, this match gained the third lowest attendance with a crowd of only sixty- seven thousand six hundred three. Even with the statistics, Super Bowl 37 was entirely interesting because it was the venue where the former team and current team of coach Joe Gruden met.

Super Bowl XXXVII may have the third lowest attendance in the history of the championship tournament but it was also entirely interesting because both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders had connections with Joe Gruden as their coach. The difference though was that the Buccaneers of the National Football Conference (NFC) were the current while the Raiders of the American Football Conference (AFC) were the former.

Oakland Raiders

Years before Super Bowl XXXVII, when the Oakland Raiders moved back to California in 1995, it did not have an exceptional performance on field. In 1997, the team had a record of four wins and twelve losses. However, the future became brighter for the franchise when Joe Gruden took over as coach with an improve track of eight wins and eight losses. This happened to the Raiders in two consecutive years specifically in 1998 and 1999. The club all the more progressed when Richard Gannon, a quarterback, joined. With the new athlete’s great contribution, the group jumped to the fifth spot in the American Football Conference (AFC).

Three years before Super Bowl XXXVII, the Oakland Raiders won the final match in the Western Division (WD) of the American Football Conference (AFC). The team had a record of twelve wins and four losses. With that, the franchise was recognized as the “best rushing offense” in the AFC. When the Raiders entered the final match of the American Football Conference, they were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens with a score of sixteen is to three. In 2001, the club signed in Trace Armstrong and Jerry Rice whereby once again, it took home the crown in the WD. However, the franchise was eliminated in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In the Super Bowl 37 game, Joe Gruden was already with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was transferred to the team because his rights were traded as a substitute for draft picks. The situation is actually similar to what happened with the New England Patriots when its owner, Robert Kraft, was decided to employ Bill Belichick for his franchise. Moving on, the Buccaneers then obtained the coach for eight million dollars instead of the opportunity to have new athletes. Even with the changes, the club was still eager to strengthen its offense system because of its goal to make it to the championship tournament.

For a lot of years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were recognized as underdogs especially with its record of only making it thrice in the playoffs in a span of twenty regular seasons. However, when the team employed Tom Dungy as coach in 1996, things definitely changed. He strengthened the defense system eyeing on athletes such as John Lynch, Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks. By 1997, the franchise was already in the third spot of the National Football Conference (NFC). Still, the Buccaneers had one of the worst offense in the NFC which was a major factor why it experienced several succeeding losses.

At the end of the Super Bowl XXXVII, the efforts of Oakland Raiders were not enough against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.