Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2002 season. The game was played on January 26, 2003, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The Buccaneers defeated the Raiders by the score of 48–21, tied with Super Bowl XXXV for the seventh-largest Super Bowl margin of victory, winning their first-ever Super Bowl. This was the first professional sports championship ever won by a Tampa-based team.
To date, this is the last Super Bowl to be played in the month of January, as all subsequent games have been played in February. It is also the last to have been played in the week following the conference championship games (the others being Super Bowls XVII, XXV, XXVIII, XXXIV, and XXXVI) and the last to be played at Qualcomm Stadium, which previously hosted Super Bowl XXII (then called Jack Murphy Stadium) and Super Bowl XXXII before it was demolished in 2021. Since the NFL no longer has a team in San Diego after the Chargers relocated to Los Angeles in 2017, and the league has a policy not to award Super Bowls to metropolitan areas that do not have a team within them, Super Bowl XXXVII will be the last to be played in San Diego for the foreseeable future unless an NFL team returns to the area.
This was the first Super Bowl in which the league's number one-ranked offense (Raiders) faced the league's number one-ranked defense (Buccaneers). The game sometimes is referred to as the "Gruden Bowl", because the primary storyline surrounding the game revolved around Jon Gruden. Gruden was the Raiders' head coach from 1998 to 2001, and as a result of a trade then became the Buccaneers head coach in 2002. Tampa Bay, "Gruden's new team", made their first Super Bowl appearance in team history after posting a regular season record. The Raiders, "Gruden's old team", advanced to their fifth Super Bowl after an regular season. Super Bowl XXXVII is also referred to as the "Pirate Bowl" or "Battle of the Pirates", due to both teams' pirate-themed mascots and logos.
The Raiders came into the game as four-point favorites. However, offensive struggles from the Raiders, and a dominant defensive performance from the Buccaneers throughout much of the game would unravel the juggernaut Raiders offense. Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon threw a Super Bowl record five interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns. The Buccaneers also sacked Gannon five times, and scored 34 consecutive points to build a 34–3 lead late in the third quarter. Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson, who had two of those interceptions and returned them for 34 yards, was named Super Bowl MVP. Jackson became only the second safety and third defensive back named Super Bowl MVP.
Background Host selection process NFL owners originally voted to award Super Bowl XXXVII to San Francisco during their October 15, 1997 meeting in Washington, D.C. The 49ers had recently announced plans for a new stadium, and were awarded the Super Bowl contingent upon its completion. This was the second time the city had been awarded the Super Bowl on a conditional basis. In 1994, Super Bowl XXXIII was awarded to Candlestick Park, based on a comprehensive stadium renovation plan. However, when funding for those renovation plans fell through, the hosting duties were withdrawn. This time around, the San Francisco hosting committee had planned to pursue XXXVI, but due to logistical complications, switched their proposal to XXXVII. The owners awarded the game to San Francisco, and no other cities were considered. They skipped the awarding of XXXVI, and scheduled the bidding for that game for the spring of 1998.
The plans for the new stadium and mall at Candlestick Point never materialized. Rumors quickly began to spread that the league would pull the game from San Francisco if no progress was made on stadium funding/construction. Like they attempted to do three years earlier for XXXIII, the Raiders once again stepped in, offering to move the game over to Oakland. Oakland mayor Jerry Brown put his support behind the effort, but it was rejected by league officials. On March 17, 1999, the league passed a resolution officially withdrawing the game from San Francisco.
The NFL immediately reopened the bidding for the game. San Diego (Qualcomm Stadium), which had lost out on XXXVI, announced its interest. Miami (Pro Player Stadium) was the only other city in consideration after Oakland dropped their plan once and for all. San Diego went in as an early favorite. They had just received "rave reviews" for XXXII, and there was a desire to keep the game on the west coast. San Diego was awarded the game during the May 26, 1999, owners meeting at Atlanta, needing only one round of balloting. It was the last Super Bowl played in California until Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. It was also the final Super Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium before the Chargers relocated to Los Angeles in 2017, and before the facility was demolished in 2020, making it the last multi-purpose stadium to host the NFL's title game.
Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis was known to have the lowest salaries for coaches in the league, and head coach Jon Gruden was no exception. Instead of paying a high salary for Gruden, Davis opted to trade the rights for Gruden to the Buccaneers in exchange for four draft picks. The Buccaneers ended up giving two first-round picks, two second-round picks and $8 million to the Raiders to get Gruden.
As a result of Gruden's departure, Raiders offensive coordinator Bill Callahan was promoted to head coach. Despite the loss of Gruden in 2002, the Raiders still managed to earn a share of the AFC's best record at 11–5. The offense led the league in total passing yards (4,689) and ranked second in total yards gained (6,451).
Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon had an MVP season, completing 418 out of 618 passes for 4,689 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. His 418 completions and his 10 games with over 300 passing yards were both NFL records. He also ran 50 times for 156 yards and three touchdowns. Jerry Rice, who was already the NFL's all-time leader in nearly every receiving record after 17 seasons, had a Pro Bowl season for the 13th time in his career 1,211 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Gannon's other weapons in passing game were 15-year veteran receiver Tim Brown (930 yards and two touchdowns) and young receiver Jerry Porter (688 yards and nine touchdowns). Multi-talented running back Charlie Garner was the team's leading rusher with 962 yards and seven touchdowns, while also leading all NFL running backs in receiving with 91 receptions for 941 yards and another four touchdowns. Running back Tyrone Wheatley was also a contributor with 419 rushing yards, while fullback Zack Crockett provided both of them with solid blocking and scored eight touchdowns. Up front, their offensive line was led by two Pro Bowlers, guard Lincoln Kennedy and center Barret Robbins.
The Raiders' weakness was primarily on their defense, which ranked 25th in the league in passing yards allowed (3,787) and 12th in total yards (5,240). Veteran Pro Bowl safety Rod Woodson recorded a league-leading eight interceptions including two touchdowns. Up front, their line was anchored by defensive tackle Rod Coleman, who led the team with 11 sacks. Behind him, the team had a solid veteran linebacker, Bill Romanowski, who was playing in his fifth Super Bowl. Defensive back Tory James was also a big contributor with four interceptions.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gruden had trouble getting the offense in sync during his first year as the Buccaners' head coach. In 2002, the Buccaneers ranked 25th in the league in total yards gained (5,222). Quarterback Brad Johnson made the Pro Bowl, completing 281 out of 451 passes for 3,049 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Running back Michael Pittman led the team in rushing with 718 yards and one touchdown, and added 477 receiving yards. Pro Bowl fullback Mike Alstott had 548 rushing yards and five touchdowns, and also had 242 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson led the team with 1,088 receiving yards and five touchdowns, while wide receiver Keenan McCardell had 670 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
The Buccaneers' defense was still the strength of the team, leading the NFL in total defense (252.8 yards per game), pass defense (155.6 yards per game), points allowed (12.3 points per game), passing touchdowns allowed (10), interceptions (31), and opponent passer rating (48.4). Brooks, Lynch, Sapp, and defensive end Simeon Rice all had Pro Bowl years. Brooks led the team with 87 tackles and excelled at pass coverage, recording five interceptions and four total touchdowns (an NFL record for a linebacker). The defense as a whole had nine total touchdowns during the regular season and playoffs. Rice led the team with 15.5 sacks. Sapp recorded 7.5 sacks and two interceptions. Cornerback Brian Kelly was also a big asset, leading the team with eight interceptions.
Playoffs
The second-seeded Buccaneers defeated the fourth-seeded San Francisco 49ers, 31–6, and the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles, 27–10, to make the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. The Buccaneers defense was dominant in both games. Meanwhile, the top-seeded Raiders were victorious against the fourth-seeded New York Jets, 30–10, and the second-seeded Tennessee Titans, 41–24. The Raiders won against the Titans through Gannon's pass-oriented offense.
Super Bowl pregame news The Raiders entered the game favored to win in their first Super Bowl in 19 years. They were also the first franchise to appear in the Super Bowl in four decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 2000s). However, much of the media hype surrounded the Gruden trade prior to the season. This forced league commissioner Paul Tagliabue to issue a statement that he might ban all future trades for coaches involving draft choices because it might compromise the draft.
A distraction for the Raiders was that starting center Barret Robbins went missing for most of the day before the Super Bowl. Hours before the game, he was admitted to a San Diego hospital, then spent time in rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic. He was subsequently diagnosed with bipolar disorder; it turned out that his disappearance was due to a manic episode. Robbins later said he had gone across the border and spent his missing time partying in Tijuana, Mexico, so disoriented that he thought the Raiders had already won the game and he was celebrating the victory. Backup Adam Treu (a former Pro Bowl selection) replaced Robbins.
The Buccaneers, as the designated home team, wore red jerseys and pewter pants. The kit is normally used at home for the second half of the season; the Buccaneers wear white at home during the first half due to the late summer-early autumn heat. The Raiders donned white jerseys with silver pants, the same combination they wore in Super Bowls XI and XV (both victories).
Broadcasting
The game was broadcast in the United States by ABC, with Al Michaels handling the play-by-play duties and color commentator John Madden. Madden became the first person to announce Super Bowls on different networks in consecutive years, having called Super Bowl XXXVI on Fox and then moving to ABC after Pat Summerall retired. Melissa Stark and Lynn Swann served as sideline reporters. Chris Berman from Disney-owned corporate sibling ESPN hosted all the events. Berman was joined by fellow ESPN analyst Steve Young, Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick, and New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan.