Super Bowl XXXVII

Super Bowl XXXVII
1234 Total
OAK 30612 21
TB 3171414 48
DateJanuary 26, 2003 (2003-01-26)
StadiumQualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
MVPDexter Jackson, safety
FavoriteRaiders by 4[1][2]
RefereeBill Carollo
Attendance67,603[3]
Hall of Famers
Raiders: Al Davis (owner/administrator), Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, Charles Woodson, Rod Woodson
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Warren Sapp
Ceremonies
National anthemDixie Chicks
Coin toss1972 Miami Dolphins: Don Shula, Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, Larry Little, Jim Langer, Nick Buoniconti, Paul Warfield
Halftime showShania Twain, No Doubt, and Sting
TV in the United States
NetworkABC
AnnouncersAl Michaels, John Madden, Melissa Stark and Lynn Swann
Nielsen ratings40.7
(est. 88.6 million viewers)[4]
Market share61
Cost of 30-second commercial$2.1 million
Radio in the United States
NetworkWestwood One
AnnouncersMarv Albert, Boomer Esiason, John Dockery and Warren Moon

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 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.[5][6] The game was played on January 26, 2003, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.

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 and 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 12–4 regular season record. Oakland, "Gruden's old team", advanced to their fifth Super Bowl after an 11–5 regular season. Super Bowl XXXVII is also referred to as the "Pirate Bowl", due to both teams' pirate-themed mascots and logos.[7]

The Raiders came into the game as four-point favorites. However, offensive struggles from the Raiders, and a dominant defensive performance from Tampa throughout much of the game would unravel the juggernaut Raider offense. Oakland 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. Tampa Bay 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.

  1. ^ DiNitto, Marcus (January 25, 2015). "Super Bowl Betting History – Underdogs on Recent Roll". Sporting News. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Super Bowl History". Vegas Insider. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  3. ^ "Super Bowl XXXVII Box Score: Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21". NFL.com. National Football League. January 27, 2003. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "Historical Super Bowl Nielsen TV Ratings, 1967–2009 – Ratings". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  5. ^ "mcubed.net : NFL : Super bowl scores sorted by margin of victory". mcubed.net. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  6. ^ Olney, Buster (January 27, 2003). "Buccaneers Dominate Raiders to Win Super Bowl". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  7. ^ Martzke, Rudy (January 27, 2003). "Gruden Bowl keeps fans glued to TVs". USA Today. USATODAY.com.