The Bucs First Championship: A Dozen Days in January
Monday January 20, 2003
The Bucs First Championship: A Dozen Days in January
Monday January 20, 2003
After getting very little sleep, the Buccaneers gathered at One Buc Place for
the trip to Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego. A couple of thousand fans were
there to give the NFC champions a good send off. Due to the Martin Luther King
Holiday, the streets were lined with people. One side of the road was chanting
"Tampa," the side responded "Bay." Of course, the chant of "Super Bowl" was
heard repeatedly. There was a small plane overhead carrying a banner
proclaiming "Congratulations Bucs."
The fans greeted the players as they arrived for the trip to the west coast. Warren Sapp was wearing a Ron Jaworski jersey. Keenan McCardell admitted to the assembled media that, "It still hasn't sunk in yet."
As the team busses began to roll the crowd roared. Malcolm Glazer could be seen through the tinted windows giving the thumbs up to the fans. Rhonde Barber was recording the scene with a video camera and other players had cameras working. Some television reporters got caught up in the moment and sounded more like cheerleaders than journalists. As the busses slowly made their way from the stadium, this was the last time most fans would see the team before the big game. People had signs, waved flags and hollered themselves hoarse.
A police escort lead the team busses to Tampa International Airport. At intersections, people got out of their cars to cheer the team. There were packs of people all along the route cheering. Cars pulled to the side of the road and passengers got out to wave at the busses. Plenty of Bucs flags were waving proudly that afternoon.
That evening, the Bucs arrived in San Diego. The trend of wearing retro jerseys continued with Keenan McCardell wearing an old Padres uniform.
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