"The Charbor Chronicles": Super Bowl XXXVII Memories

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Super Bowl XXXVI – Tampa Bay Buccanneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21. Played on January 26, 2003, at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. MVP Dexter Jackson. Favorite Raiders by 4. National anthem Dixie Chicks. Halftime show Shania Twain, No Doubt and Sting. Attendance 67,603. Network ABC. Announcers Al Michaels and John Madden. Nielsen ratings 40.7. est. 88.6 million viewers. Market share 61. Cost of 30-second commercial US $2.1 million. Rich Gannon 24/44 272 2 5, Jerry Rice 5 77 1, Brad Johnson 18/34 215 2 1, Michael Pittman 29 124, Dexter Jackson 2 INT

This was the last Super Bowl until the upcoming one that was played at least partially in the daylight. Personally, I think the NFL underestimates the aesthetic appeal of two teams playing in the warm sunshine during the middle of winter. These are visually the best Super Bowls and I, for one, am glad that they will be playing in California.

Tampa Bay enjoyed their most successful season ever, finishing at 12-4 and winning the NFC South, earning a playoff bye. They dominated San Francisco 31-6, then shocked the Eagles at Philadelphia. Prior to that, the Eagles had always been the team that Tampa Bay just could not get past, but the Bucs dominated them, too, 27-10. Head Coach Jon Gruden had been the Raiders coach just one season prior to this, so he knew the talent and was familiar with what the Raiders could and would do, and it showed. Oakland was favored to win, but Tampa Bay began to dominate in the first half after landing some well placed blows, eventually building a largely insurmountable 34-3 lead in the third quarter. Still, the Raiders battled back, and came within 34-21 late in the final quarter, when it all fell apart for them, and the Bucs scored two quick touchdowns to ice the blowout win.

A few weeks after this Super Bowl was played, I was working at Prudential, which wound up being my favorite part-time job. We took several trips to Canada, and I saw Pearl Jam this year a ridiculous number of times, with a couple of those being quite close up (fourth row and to the side in Toronto, and eight row in the middle in Montreal). That was when tickets were not so absurdly expensive as they are now. The war was raging, and I went down to Washington twice and New York once to protest a couple of times with friends and family.

http://www.infoplease.com/year/2003.html

Here are some of the major events that took place in 2003, the year this Super Bowl was played. The world's population was 6.31 billion people. Two days after this big game, President George W. Bush announced his intention to invade Iraq even without approval from the United Nations. He received a wild ovation when he argued that the United States did not need a "permission slip" from the United Nations in order to do so. The United States invaded Iraq about six or seven weeks after this Super Bowl was played, in what would come to be considered by many the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history, as the war became a quagmire. The justification for the invasion hinged on finding the arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMD's) that Saddam had supposedly stored, but no WMD's were ever found.

In other news, North Korea withdraws from treaty on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. Ariel Sharon elected Israeli prime minister. Nine-week general strike in Venezuela calling for President Chavez's resignation ends in defeat. U.S. Secretary of State Powell presents Iraq war rationale to UN, citing its WMD as imminent threat to world security. U.S. and Britain launch war against Iraq. Baghdad falls to U.S. troops. First Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, sworn in. U.S.-backed "road map" for peace proposed for Middle East. Terrorists strike in Saudi Arabia, killing 34 at Western compound; Al-Qaeda suspected. Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi again placed under house arrest by military regime. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) discovers Iran's concealed nuclear activities and calls for intensified inspections. Palestinian militant groups announce ceasefire toward Israel. Liberia's autocratic president Charles Taylor forced to leave civil-war ravaged country. Libya accepts blame for 1988 bombing of flight over Lockerbie, Scotland; agrees to pay $2.7 billion to the families of the 270 victims. Suicide bombing destroys UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing 24, including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem kills 20 Israelis, including 6 children. After Israel retaliates for suicide bombing by killing top member of Hamas, militant Palestinian groups formally withdraw from cease-fire in effect since June 29. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas resigns; "road map" to peace effectively collapses. Suicide bombers attack two synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 25. Another terrorist attack in Istanbul kills 26 (Nov. 20). Al-Qaeda suspected in both. See suspected al-Qaeda terrorist attacks. Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze resigns after weeks of protests. Paul Martin succeeds Jean Chretien as Canadian prime minister. Chrietien had been in power for 12 years. Saddam Hussein is captured by American troops. Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi announces he will give up weapons program.

http://boards.sportslogos.net/topic/98529-super-bowl-field-database-sb-xlvi-texture-added-122215/page-9