I KNEW THE PSYCHIC ELEPHANT WOULDN'T LET ME DOWN!! In the week before Super Bowl 37 (excuse me, XXXVII), a news report came over the wire that a psychic elephant from Texas had predicted the Bucs' victory over the Oakland Raiders at the Super Bowl---and the elephant hadn't made a wrong Super Bowl prediction in 5 years.
Add number 6 to the pulchritudinous pachyderm's prodigious record!
A number of us worn-out, yet still hopeful, Bucs fans/supports met at mutual friend Denis Lebrun's house that fateful evening to witness--dared we hope?--the Tampa Bay Buccaneers victory over the odds-on favorite Oakland Raiders. What happened resulted in this first--and possibly last--sports-related column you're ever likely to see me write for this magazine. I'm not usually a sports guys. But this was no ordinary event. Please understand, I know other media have
covered this to death already, and no, I don't remember the names of all the players and what they did exactly, this is more like a dream remembrance, a personal anecdote of a personal occasion. And I was there and saw it all. (Well, in front of the TV.)
The stage was set at the opening, from the beautiful rendition of "America the Beautiful" sung by Celine Dion (ironically, a Canadian), to the "Star-Spangled Banner" done proud by The Dixie Chicks (incongruous somehow, but certainly effective).
The first quarter was predictably slow-moving, what with both teams being more-or-less evenly matched: the number 1 offense (Raiders) against the number 1 defense (Bucs), and really isn't that what a contest is all about? Both teams mangaged to get in only a field goal in the first quarter. Will Moriaty and I groaned we hoped it would get a little more exciting than a score of 3 - 3, even tho we figured the ball may not move much with two tough teams.
Suddenly, the gods smiled on us and the Bucs EXPLODED into action with one touchdown after another (some as the result of interceptions) as The Raiders seemed to lose track of their mission objective. Overconfidence? Maybe. But finally, FINALLY, our critics were bamboozled by the odds-turning play of events.
At one point, the score stood at an astounding 3 - 34 (or something close to that), in favor of the Bucs when, in the third quarter(?), the Raiders mamaged to get in two touchdowns. Bucs fans started getting nervous: could this actully turn around this late in the game? Bucs, after all, have been known to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. During this period, Matt Drinnenberg's prediction of Bucs 32 - Oakland 20 was eerily close: 34 - 21! If it had stayed that way...whoa.
Then, the Bucs in the last quarter scored again. And then again: with Coach Jon Gruden desperately trying to run out the clock (a favorite strategy, I hear), the Lombardi Trophy blessed the Bucs with one last gift: Derrek Brooks(?) intercepted Oakland's ball again---with only ten seconds remaining on the clock---to score the final touchdown! That took 6 seconds. A field goal took up another 2. That left Oakland with an embarrassing 2 seconds left to save the world. Absolute hoot, that.
Final score, 48 - 21. My god, Tampa exploded into celebration, car horns and fireworks ablaze and who the hell can blame us? After 26 losing years, we hit paydirt on the 27th. Thanks and congratulations to Jon Gruden and The Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a job well done.
A Stadium Party was held Monday night January 27th. About 60,000 fans showed up for what turned out to be a disappointing 10 - 15 minute appearance by the team. No matter, everyone was joyful (for more on the Stadium party, see Malcolm Hathorne's piece below).
A parade down "Main Street" USA (OK, Bayshore through downtown) was held Tuesday, attracting 100,000 Bay-area fans for what turned out to be a more satisfying event. I'm sure most of you have seen the TV news footage of Warren Sapp dancing, et. al., and Gruden's holding up the trophy and of Malcolm Glazer with his constant "thumbs up" sign. (Malcolm Hathorne wrote to say he's sending pictures, which is great, and presumably eye-witness coverage as well).
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| From left: Will Moriaty, Nolan Canova, Denis Lebrun, and Gregory Van Stavern at the backyard barbeque, Super Bowl Sunday at La Casa de Lebrun | Nolan, Will, Denis, and next-door neighbor "Bud" enjoy the post-game victory celebration from the sacred TV couch at Denis's |
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| The hosts with the most: Michelle and Denis Lebrun, moments before we departed Super Bowl night... | ...but not before we witness Greg's stepson Danny eat a grub worm (well, allegedly) as Will Moriaty looks on. Danny's an Oakland fan....he lost the bet. |
| From Malcolm Hathorne |
MONDAY NIGHT...
I went to the stadium Monday night and witnessed the arrival of the Super
Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a moving experience,
generally. There were about 50,000 people inside the stadium and I hear
there were thousands more outside who never made it inside. They just
screamed and celebrated. It was loud. Then the Bucs finally showed up as
they cruised in from the airport in the busses. And the place went wild
when Malcolm Glazer led the entourage to the podium. He carried the
Vince Lombardi Trophy aloft to the thunderous shrieks and howls of
Buccaneer Fandom. It was quite a sight, especially after all of these
years... The speehes were short and not perhaps as well correographed as
you might hope, but it didn't matter much. The fans got what they
wanted; a glimpse of the trophy and their hometown heroes. The speeches
were over in about 15 minutes and that was probably as it should have
been. People exited the stadium en masse, hooting and hollering and
being joyful. It was cool. After the long walk back to my car, I made
the mistake of deciding to wait a little bit to "let the cars thin out"
before trying to head out of the massive parking lot, but I soon
realized that a humongous bottleneck of rubber and steel was ensuing.
But it really didn't matter. I just turned off the ignition and sat in
the cool darkness listening to "Papa Joe Chevalier" and other national
sports hosts as they glowed tribute to the Super Bowl Champs. They took
calls from listeners, Live, and many called in from Tampa, people also
exiting the stadium. But best of all were the tributes from other
nationally based fans and pundits who heaped praise on the well
deserving Champions of the NFL.
TUESDAY
I also went to the Super Bowl Champions' Parade in Downtown
Tampa Tuesday, and it was really neat. I got some great
pictures which I will send soon. (Excellent! Looking forward to seeing them!--Nolan)
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From Steve Beasley
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I watched the Super Bowl LIVE! on ESPN (Aussie version) Monday the 27th
here, in NZ.
What a game it was......from the opening coin toss to the trophy
presentation to the post-game commentary. I couldn't have been happier,
except that I am probably the only Buc fan on this side o' the world (Auckland, New Zealand). All
this great sh*t happening AFTER I leave Tampa!
Although I will say, if it took my leaving Tampa to help the Bucs acheive
superstar status.....I'm happy to help.
The last 2 interceptions caught me 100% by surprise, as I'm sure they did
the entire world. That Pittman is something else! He also, could have been a
contender for MVP of the game. Everyone at work and Sose's family are
constantly commenting on the game! It feels GOOD!
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Will Moriaty has contributed a new Schlockarama addition and I have some exciting web video news, but it'll have to wait---out of time for today. Check back.
Also, definitely have some opinions on George Dubya's State of the Union speech. Suffice it for now to say I strongly disagree with his proposed ban on human cloning, I'm not
so sure his revised Medicare/prescription package is workable or desirable, and his tax revisions at-a-glance seem to continue to help mostly the rich. The sobering and serious
Middle-East talk, particularly itemized treaty violaions from Suddam Hussein, were his most effective proposal for war yet---February 5th is when the sh*t hits the fan! |
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This week's issue
La Floridiana by William Moriaty
Hungering for Memories.
The Friday Extra supplement of the January 17, 2003 edition of the Tampa Tribune
had a great article by Kurt Loft titled "Hungry for Nostalgia?" The article was about
restaurants in the Bay area that have come and gone over the years. I thought I would take
this opportunity to do my own reminiscing about some of these wonderful eateries, as well
as some not mentioned in the article...
.................Click here for more.
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This Week's Movie Review:
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Review by Mike Smith.
Apparently, television isn't as glamorous as it looks. There is a lot of slow time in your life. If you're like producer Chuck Barris, you get hired as a contract killer to make the day move along faster.....
.................Click here for more.
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This week's issue
Deadguy's Dementia by Michael Scott
UNKNOWN STATUS
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This week's issue
The Digital Divide by Terence Nuzum
EXPECTED NEXT WEEK
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This week's issue
Matt's Rail by Matt Drinnenberg
THE BUCS ARE SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!!!!Can this really be happening?
Is this a dream? Or some far-fetched fantasy I'm experiencing in a dream state brought
on by some psychosis? Will I remember any of what I'm seeing?.....
.................Click here for more.
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This week's issue
Mike's Rant by Michael A. Smith
CHILD'S PLAY 4 - CHUCKIE'S GAME........FAMOUS FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS I HAVE LOVED
........SUPER HEROES IN THE MOVIES........WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS
........I'M NOT AN ACTOR - I'M A MOVIE STAR!........SO WHO PLAYED SAG?
........PASSING ON.........
.................Click here for more.
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We welcome your feedback.