Super Bowl XXXVII: Oakland Raiders @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Who will win?

[John Corn]

The Unstoppable object( Raiders Offense) v/s The Unmovable Object (Bucs Defense). This has all the makings of one of the Great Games of all time. :righton:

[Mark Lamutt]

Agreed! I'm cheering for the Bucs to win, but I don't think even their best defense in the league status will be a match for Oakland's best offense in the league. But, I think Tampa is the only team of all of the teams in the NFC playoffs that has a shot at beating Oakland.

[Steve Mehs]

I think the Raiders are going to win. But the Bucs will have to cause some Oakland turnovers and capitalize on them if they want to have a shot.

[James_F]

I think the Raiders have too much to play for. They have to beat their own coach as well as time since the aren't getting any younger. I think the Raiders will win by 14.

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by Mark Lamutt
Agreed! I'm cheering for the Bucs to win, but I don't think even their best defense in the league status will be a match for Oakland's best offense in the league. But, I think Tampa is the only team of all of the teams in the NFC playoffs that has a shot at beating Oakland.

I agree, I too will be cheering for the Bucs and I too feel that they have the best shot at beating the Raiders then anyone, however I also do not feel that even their #1 defense will be able to stop the Raiders #1 offense, but I hope I am wrong. Go Bucs!

[Rick_EE]

I think the Bucs have a legit shot. It will all come down to pressure on Gannon. When Tenn. was putting pressure on, Oak could not move the ball effectively. TB can do it with their front four, leaving more guys to cover the recievers. A turnover in this game will be huge for either team.

[DCSholtis]

That offensive line for the Raiders will FINALLY shut Sapp up.....Raiders by 21...Tampa Bay wont even get to sniff a lead...

[Chris Blount]

I will be rooting for the Raiders. Whatever happens though, I bet it will be a great game and can't wait to see the first Superbowl in true Hi-Definition!

[Martyva]

Cliff Branch signed an autograph, at CES, for my grandson. 1'm a Bronco fan, but for old time sake, go Raiders1

[John Corn]

I'm going with Tampa Bay. :)

[James_F]

Originally posted by John Corn
I'm going with Tampa Bay. :)

Typical, you are such an East Coast homer John! ;)

[John Corn]

:lol:....I never thought of it that way, but your probably right.

I'm a CAVS fan, but I have to admit to watching alot of the Kings games.

[James_F]

Originally posted by John Corn
I'm a CAVS fan

I am so sorry to hear that. :crying:

[Timco]

Tampa will close down the Raider offense. Tampa will jam the receivers and make Gannon throw deep (where his accuracy begins to decline rapidly). Tampa can easily stop Garner and there by destroy Oakland. Course, I hate the Raiders and their thug fans, so I might be biased.....

[MarkB49]

Raiders by 7.

[George_F]

I'm going with the Bucs.

[Unthinkable]

http://www2.bostonherald.com/sport/sports_columnists/gcal01222003.htm

Too bad there has to be a winner: Super Bowl teams full of losers

by Gerry Callahan
Wednesday, January 22, 2003

These are confusing times for decent, peace-loving football fans everywhere. Here it is, the highest holy week on the sports calendar, the final days before the one glorious game that makes every other sporting event on the planet look like a walk-through, and good people are struggling with an ethical dilemma that gnaws at their conscience like a soul-eating bacteria.

The matchup is a delectable one, to be sure - best offense against best defense, Sapp vs. Romo, former Raiders coach Chucky Gruden vs. Raiders owner Kim Jong Davis - but the question lingers like an open sore in your mouth: How is one supposed to enjoy the Super Bowl when one can't decide which team one despises more virulently?

Let's cut to it: Not only are these the two best teams in the NFL, they are as well the most loathsome collections of villains and louts in their respective conferences. Sadly, there are no gallant spoilers left in the field, and so we can do nothing now but hope the Lombardi Trophy has been infected with the Norwalk Virus.

The good news is that, at about 10 p.m. Sunday, the players, coaches and management from one of these teams will be sobbing like Olympic figure skaters who just fell out of a triple axel.

The bad news is, the other team will be happier than Sean Penn at Saddam Hussein's inaugural ball.

Thus, the hard, cold reality: Either Warren Sapp or Sebastian Janikowski will be washing down his Class B substances with expensive champagne in the winning locker room Sunday night. It's enough to make you root for a good old-fashioned California earthquake.

It is Iran vs. Iraq, Yankees vs. Mets, the Cripps vs. the Bloods, Bill vs. Hillary, Don King vs. Bob Arum, Tom Arnold vs. Roseanne, Robert Kennedy Jr. vs. Mickey Sherman, Bill Parcells vs. Jerry Jones, Whitey Bulger vs. Jerry Anguilo, Billy Bulger vs. Alan Dershowitz, Mike Tyson vs. Robin Givens, Stern vs. Imus, Pete Rose vs. Bud Selig, the tobacco companies vs. the lawyers, Tonya vs. Nancy, Dan Rather vs. Tom Brokaw, Hootie vs. Martha.

It is the Raiders vs. the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, the classic showdown between the insufferable object vs. the detestable force. Unless you're a member of the Glazer family or one of those sorry citizens of Raider Nation who hides his sexual inadequacies beneath a Darth Vader costume, you just can't get excited about either team.

Poor Paul Tagliabue.

He's going to be handing the trophy to one of two very creepy people: Al Davis, who looks like he should be starring in ``CSI: Oakland'' as a cadaver, or Malcolm Glazer, who looks like he just Scotch-taped a fake beard to his face so the local vice cops wouldn't recognize him.

We could pull for a stadium collapse, but we wouldn't want to hurt the Dixie Chicks. We can't skip the game entirely because that would be like the Pope skipping Mass on Easter, and we can't sit there and attempt to enjoy the game without any rooting interest. That would be like watching `Oz' and wishing they could all just get along.

Someone has to go down hard, which means someone has to win and everyone has to decide: Silver and black or gold and maroonish, reddish or whatever the hell the colors are that Tampa wears? From here, it will be difficult to root for a team that wears pewter, a team that comes from sunny Florida, a team that is led by Warren (One Tackle) Sapp, but I can't get past this one key Super Bowl fact:

The Raiders are in it this year.

I'd root for France over the Raiders. The Saudi royal family is easier to like than the Raiders. They may have a small sampling of class individuals - Tim Brown and Jerry Rice and Uncle Bill Callahan - but for the most part, the Raider Nation is made up losers and slugs who wear their depravity like a badge of honor.

OK, so One-Tackle Sapp will be one jubilant egomaniac if the Bucs prevail. It's not a pleasant thought, I admit, but you never know. Maybe he'll trip over his stomach in the waning minutes and pull something. Maybe he'll continue the trend he has set in the first two rounds of the playoffs and be a nonfactor.

Now consider the alternative: a victory party, Raiders style, with a guest list the includes Jack Tatum and George Atkinson and John Madden and Ben Dreith and Al Davis and Bill Romanowski and John Walker Lindh and Michael Jackson and Gary Condit and Scott Peterson. You name it. Every cretin and deviant west of the Rockies will be there.

Janikowski can provide the GHB and Darrell Russell can bring his video camera. They can all get loaded and scream into the cameras about how nice it is to win the Super Bowl, but you know, this should have been back-to-back for the silver and black! Let's not forget that they stole it from us last year in the snow! Tuck you! Tuck them! Tuck everyone! We're the Raider Nation and we're Super Bowl champions!

I can hear them now, and all I can say is, Go Bucs. Go Chucky. Get after it, my man Sapp.

Otherwise, every pear-shaped loser in the state of California will climb out of Mommy's basement and into the streets Sunday night. They will join forces with their fellow phonies and try to live up to their phony image, and they will do what so many Zima-chugging morons do these days when their team wins a title: burn cars, loot businesses, vandalize property, start riots, hit cops, get arrested, and maybe, just maybe, get Rodney Kinged right there in front of the cameras.

Now there's something to root for. God bless the Super Bowl. There's just nothing like it.

[Karl Foster]

Bucs, Bucs Bucs!!!!!

[HTguy]

RAIDERS!

Or I'll eat my shorts...not!

[HTguy]

BTW, the upstart Bucs deserve to lose for copying the Raiders' theme down to the crossed sabers! The real bad boys will prevail.

[invaliduser88]

HD MOVIE TRAILERS ARE THE WINNER TO ME!

[Steve Mehs]

Yeah Baby! 34-3 so far! If my Titans couldn't beat da Raiders last week I'm glad the Bucs are beating them down. It's a little too early yet, but I hope the Tampa Bay D can keep Oakland from scoring a touchdown.

[xcableguy]

GO BUCS

[Steve Mehs]

Rich Gannon you da man! lol 5 picks 3 go into the endzone. Tampa Bay by 27! Now it's time to call the local oldies station and request a certian song in the honor of the Raiders, 'nah nah nah hey hey hey goodbye' :D

[Steve Mehs]

http://images.nfl.com/photos/img6152084.jpg

[HTguy]

:eek:
:blush:

Well, I'm stunned. It really looked like Tampa came to win & Oakland only showed up...exactly the opposite of what I expected.

I knew Tampa would give them problems with that great defense & Gruden knowing the playbook. But I expected more determination from the Raiders.

I have to tip my hat (as Chucky says) to Tampa because they really beat them. Over the past few years there wasn't a single Oakland loss I could credit to the opposing team - it was always a case of the Raiders beating themselves. Today they lost to the better team & I can actually take some comfort in that.

:shrug:

[DCSholtis]

HTGuy Im stunned...shocked...pissed whatever....WTF was that I was watching tonight certainly didnt look like the Raiders....The damn Barrett Robbins incident couldnt have taken the wind outta their sails BEFORE the damn game....could it?!!!:mad2: Well I saw after the game Rice and Brown BOTH announced they are coming back next year....I wonder though how many can Al keep or how he will go about renegotiating some contracts.....the off season in Raider Nation is gonna be a long...tough one....Cant wait till draft day though.....see who they pick and which Raiderette gets to go this year and represent....:bang

[raiDER HATER]

this was great! not only did the raiDERS get their collective asses kicked once,but they got it kicked twice in the same game! i mean in the first half they got their ass kicked and then in the second half they kinda got back in it and made the game respectable and the raiDER nation thought that there was a chance,but they got their ass kicked again! LOL! i love it!!! the only low point in the game for me was when fairy rice scored.

[James_F]

I still don't think there is any way the Raiders could lose. :D

Someone should strip the MVP away from Rich for that crappy performance he put up...

[Chris Freeland]

It was soooooooo nice to get my prediction wrong :D.

[cnsf]

I thought the Oakland riot was a "nice" touch. Can't keep a good fan down...win OR lose.....even with tear gas and riot police.

[John Corn]

Bucs defense has been ranked in the top 10 for 6 years in a row and I have to rank there defense in the top 5 defenses in recent history.

[Unthinkable]

Looks like Callahan was right on in predicting the riots.

[Eyedox]

I think that the Tampa Bay Bucks will win the Superbowl. :D