December 11, 1977: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Win On Their 27th Try

December 11, 1977: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers win a regular-season football game. This had never happened before.

The Bucs were an NFL expansion team, beginning play in the 1976 season. They and the Seattle Seahawks entered the League that season, the 1st new teams in the NFL since its 1970 merger with the American Football League. Like most expansion teams in sports, both teams were expected to struggle.

But John McKay, who had coached the University of Southern California to 9 Conference Championships and 4 National Championships, was named head coach by team owner Hugh Culverhouse. Lee Roy Selmon, star defensive end from the University of Oklahoma, the top defensive player in the country the season before, was their 1st draft pick. They'd also drafted Lee Roy's brother, Oklahoma linebacker Dewey Selmon.

And their 1st starting quarterback was going to be Steve Spurrier, Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Florida in 1966. Spurrier had been a bust in the pros, but some observers thought that playing in Florida again would revitalize his career. So most football fans didn't expect them to struggle as much as they did. They did win the 3rd of their 4 exhibition games, 17-3 over the Atlanta Falcons.

Officially, the longest losing streak in NFL history was, and still is, 29 games, set by the Chicago Cardinals from October 25, 1942 to October 14, 1945. However, in the 1944 season, due to the manpower drain of World War II, they merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were listed in League standings as "Card-Pitt," but were nicknamed the "Carpets," because teams walked all over them. The teams were separated for 1945.

So, for a single team, the longest losing streak in NFL history before 1976 was 17, by the Dayton Triangles, over the 1927, '28 and '29 seasons. The Triangles folded after the '29 season, so, in a manner of speaking, their losing streak continues to this day. The Washington Redskins matched that 17-game losing streak in 1960 and '61.

The Buccaneers debuted on September 12, 1976, against the Houston Oilers at the Astrodome. It was a wipeout: The Oilers, a team on the rise, beat them 20-0. The next game was their home debut: In front of 39,558 people at Tampa Stadium -- leaving it half-empty -- they lost to the San Diego Chargers, 23-0.

They came close to winning their next game, falling 14-9 at home to the Buffalo Bills. Three weeks later, with their fellow expansion team, the Seahawks, also still winless, coming to Tampa, predictions that neither team could win were voiced. There would be no tie: The Seahawks won, 13-10. They finished the season 2-12. The next week, at home, the Buccaneers held the 2-time recent Super Bowl-winning Miami Dolphins to a 23-20 win.

But as the losses piled up, McKay took the same tack as Casey Stengel did when managing another expansion team, the 1962 New York Mets: He became a quote machine, entertaining the media:

* "We've determined that we can't win at home and we can't win on the road. What we need is a neutral site."

* Well, we didn't block well, but we made up for it by not tackling well, either."

* "We can't stop a pass or a run. Otherwise, we're in great shape."

* When asked, "What do think of your team's execution?" he said, "I'm in favor of it."

On December 12, the Buccaneers lost to the New England Patriots, 31-14 at Tampa Stadium. They had finished 0-14. It was the 1st winless season in the NFL since the 1960 Dallas Cowboys went 0-11-1. It was the first all-loss season in the NFL since 1944, when both the "Card-Pitt" team and the Brooklyn Tigers went 0-10. Without the manpower drain of World War II, the previous all-loss NFL season was by the Cincinnati Reds, who lost their 1st 8 games of the 1934 season, and then folded.

For the 1977 season, McKay made Tampa native and former Chicago Bear Gary Huff his starting quarterback, and drafted one of his last USC players, running back Ricky Bell. But they still kept losing. There was progress, as 5 of their 1st 7 games were lost by 10 points or less. Their 2nd game was nearly a shocker, as they held the defending NFC Champion Minnesota Vikings to a 9-3 win.

Still, they had trouble scoring. Of those 1st 26 games, they scored fewer than 10 points in 17 of them; they failed to score a touchdown in 14 of them; and they were shut out in 11 of them. On December 4, they lost 10-0 at home to the Bears, falling to 0-12 on the season, and 0-26 all-time.

It got so bad that they were worked into pop culture. On an episode of the sitcom What's Happening!! that aired on ABC on November 10, Dwayne (Haywood Nelson) keeps winning in football predictions. Rerun (Fred Berry) wants to win the approval of his brother-in-law, Ike, a compulsive gambler, so he asks Dwayne to pick the Monday Night Football game.

Dwayne's pick is "Tampa Bay 10, Oakland 7." This pick doesn't make any sense: The Raiders are the defending World Champions, and the Buccaneers haven't won a game yet. (In real life, the Bucs did not play the Raiders that season.) But Dwayne says his system is foolproof.

So Rerun gives Ike the pick. Ike calls his bookie, and bets $500 -- about $2,460 in 2022 money. Rerun yells at him: "I told you to bet big, not crazy!" Now, Rerun knows that if Dwayne's pick isn't foolproof, he's in trouble. Sure enough, the Raiders win, 47-0. Ike tells Rerun he's going to work at his store until that $500 is paid off.

Rerun and Raj (Ernest Thomas) demand to know how Dwayne's "foolproof system" works. Dwayne gives them the convoluted way he picks the score. As for which team wins? Helmets: He picks the team that he thinks has the better-looking helmets. I have to admit: The orange and white Tampa Bay helmets, with a pirate known as "Bucco Bruce" on the side, did look better than the silver and black Oakland helmets, which also had a pirate logo.

And on NBC, in his "Carnac the Magnificent" sketch for The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson said this:

Answer: The Titanic and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Question: Name two disasters that were accompanied by band music.

At the time, if you asked an NFL fan what team would give the Bucs their first regular-season win ever, the likeliest answer would have been the New Orleans Saints, a team that had been perennially snakebit since their 1967 debut, and had never had a winning season. (They wouldn't have one until 1987, wouldn't make the Playoffs until that season, wouldn't win a Playoff game until 2000, and wouldn't reach a Super Bowl until the 2009 season, winning Super Bowl XLIV.)

So it wasn't a total surprise that, on December 11, 1977, at the Superdome in New Orleans, the Buccaneers beat the Saints, 33-14, finally winning in their 27th regular-season game. Dave Green kicked a field goal in each of the 1st 2 quarters. Huff threw a touchdown pass to Morris Owens to make it 13-0 Tampa Bay at the half.

In the 3rd quarter, Mike Washington intercepted a pass from Archie Manning -- Peyton and Eli's father -- and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. In the 4th quarter, Richard Wood intercepted Manning, and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown. It was 26-0 Tampa Bay. Had that turned out to be the final score, it would have been poetic justice: A reverse of 0-26.

Manning ran for a touchdown to put New Orleans on the board, but on the Saints' next drive, he got sacked deep in his own territory, fumbling, and Greg Johnson recovered the ball in the end zone for another Buccaneer touchdown. Manning threw a late touchdown pass to John Gilliam, but the Saints would get no closer than 33-14.

The big surprise was the margin of victory. The Bucs had only scored as many as 20 points twice before that, topping out at 23 in another loss to Seattle earlier in '77.

The following week, the last game of the regular season, the Bucs gave their home fans their 1st win, beating the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 17-7, to finish the season at 2-12. In 1978, they improved to 5-11. In 1979, they finished 10-6, winning the NFC Central Division, and advancing to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams. After a losing season in 1980, they won the Division again in 1981, before falling apart again.

It would take until 1997 -- the season when they dropped Bucco Bruce for their pirate flag helmet design, and their "creamsicle" uniforms for their red and "pewter" version -- for the Bucs to stop being a joke franchise and make the Playoffs again, beginning a run of success that included winning Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003. They have also won Super Bowl LV in 2021.

The longest losing streak in the NFL since the '76-'77 Bucs is 20, by the 2020 and '21 Jacksonville Jaguars. Although the 2008 Detroit Lions and the 2017 Cleveland Browns both went 0-16, neither threatened the Bucs' 0-26 mark.

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December 11, 1977 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-14 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills, 14-10 at Shea Stadium.

* The New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins, 14-10 at Schaefer Stadium (later Sullivan Stadium and Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Baltimore Colts, 13-10 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Houston Oilers beat the Cleveland Browns, 19-15 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Chicago Bears beat their arch-rivals, the Green Bay Packers, 21-10 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-31 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers, 17-9 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons, 23-7 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* In a rematch of the previous season's Super Bowl, the Oakland Raiders beat the Minnesota Vikings, 35-13 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* The day before, Washington Redskins lost to the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 26-20 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* Also the day before, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-10 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys beat the San Francisco 49ers, 42-35 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

There was 1 college football game played, the Mirage Bowl at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Grambling State beat Temple, 35-23.

There were 3 NBA games played that day:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Washington Bullets, 106-95 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Buffalo Braves, 124-119 in overtime at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 43 points and had 19 rebounds.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Houston Rockets, 116-84 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were 6 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins, 8-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Cleveland Barons, 11-1 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. Tom Bladon had a hat trick.

* The Washington Capitals beat the St. Louis Blues, 2-1 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Atlanta Flames beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Minnesota North Stars, 8-3 at the Chicago Stadium.

And there were 3 games played in the World Hockey Association:

* This was the season of an experiment where Soviet and Czech All-Star teams played in the WHA. The Czechoslovakia team played 8 games, and won only 1, This was not it: They lost to the Quebec Nordiques, 8-4 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Indianapolis Racers, 7-1 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* And the Houston Aeros beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

May 9, 1980: The Sunshine Skyway Disaster

May 9, 1980: The Japanese cargo ship MV Summit Venture crashes into the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, causing 7 vehicles, including a Greyhound bus, to fall into Tampa Bay, killing 35 people.

The ship's pilot, an American, was soon cleared of wrongdoing, because he was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis, and would eventually die as a result of it.

One of the cars on the bridge actually landed on the deck of the ship, and the driver survived. Among the drivers who weren't hurt, and got out to help, was Granville "Granny" Hamner, the shortstop on the 1950 National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies, a.k.a. the Whiz Kids.

The original Sunshine Skyway, which became the northbound span, opened in 1954. The southbound span opened in 1971, and had to be completely replaced after the accident. The new southbound span opened in 1990, and a new northbound span in 1993.

It carries Interstate 275 and U.S. Route 19 over Tampa Bay, between St. Petersburg and Palmetto. In 2005, it was renamed the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, after the Governor of Florida who presided over the 1990 and '93 bridges' design and construction, and later served as a U.S. Senator,

The Sunshine Skyway should not be confused with the W. Howard Frankland Bridge, which also carries Interstate 275, further north, over the Bay between St. Petersburg and Tampa. Named for the Tampa businessman who proposed it, it opened in 1960, with a 2nd span opened in 1990. Traffic on that bridge is so bad (How bad is it?), it is known as "the Howard Frankenstein Bridge" and "The Car-Strangled Spanner."

(UPDATE: In 2025, a new southbound span opened. The former southbound span of 1990 was switched to northbound, and the 1960 northbound span was demolished.)

Just to the south of the Frankland, the Gandy Bridge spans the Bay from Tampa to St. Petersburg, carrying U.S. Route 92, with a 1924 span replaced in 1975, and a 1956 span replaced in 1996. George S. Gandy was the original bridge's designer.

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May 9, 1980 was a Friday. This was also the day the 1st Friday the 13th film premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

Football was out of season. The NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs were both underway, although no games were played on this day. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Ron Guidry outpitched Jerry Koosman. Bob Watson went 2-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBIs.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Craig Swan outpitched Steve Rogers. Lee Mazzilli doubled home a run in the 3rd inning, and Steve Henderson singled a run home in the 5th.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. 

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. George Brett went 1-for-4 with a walk and 3 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4 with a walk. Pete Rose went 1-for-4 against his former team, and Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout. Robin Yount went 2-for-4. Paul Molitor went 1-for-5.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 15-7 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Richie Zisk hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Willie Stargell only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and drew a walk.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Each team scored a run in the 9th. In the top of the 10th, Jason Thompson hit a home run to give the Tigers the win.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* And the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays were rained out at the Oakland Coliseum. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 22. The Jays won the opener, 6-2. The A's won the nightcap, 5-1. Over the 2 games, rookie Rickey Henderson went 2-for-5 with 2 walks, 2 stolen bases and an RBI.

March 26, 1990: Digital Underground Release "The Humpty Dance"

March 26, 1990: Digital Underground release their album Sex Packets. According to Greg Jacobs, leader of the Oakland-based hip-hop group, the album was named after a pill allegedly given to astronauts who, due to the nature of zero-gravity life, had to remain celibate, thus giving them the feeling of not.

Jacobs formed the group with Jimi Dright, a.k.a. Chopmaster J, from nearby Berkeley; and Kenneth White, a.k.a. Kenny-K, a disc jockey who had previously worked in Tampa. The group also had Ronald Brooks, a Philadelphia native known as Money-B.

Jacobs, born on Augsut 25, 1963 in Queens, and raised in Tampa where he'd met White before moving to Oakland, had several aliases. As "Shock G," he was the group's frontman. As "Rackadelic," a play on his birth name, George Edward Racker, he was the designer of their album covers, patterning them after the artwork of his favorite funk albums, including those of George Clinton's bands Parliament and, yes, Funkadelic. Certainly, Clinton would have appreciated not only titling an album Sex Packets, but also Jacobs' following of him with space metaphors. Jacobs sometimes performed as other characters including MC Blowfish, Icey-Mike, The Computer Woman, ButtaFly, and Peanut Hakeem.

But it is as "Humpty Hump" -- a character on top of a stage name on top of a legal name on top of a birth name -- that he's best remembered. The song "The Humpty Dance" sampled "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & The Family Stone, along with Clinton among the developers of funk, and Clinton's "Let's Play House."

The video featured Jacobs wearing "Groucho Marx glasses," horn-rimmed with an oversized nose and mustache. A fictional biography was written for Humpty, the story being that Edward Ellington Humphrey III, former lead singer of "Smooth Eddie and the Humpers," had become a rapper after burning his nose in a kitchen accident with a deep-fryer. Because of the "accident," the character is seen wearing a large nose disguise.

But the song is about not just the dance in question -- "People say, 'You look like M.C. Hammer on crack, Humpty'" -- but about this silly-looking guy's ability to get women. Warning: These lyrics are rated R:

* I look funny, but, yo, I'm makin' money.

* Sometimes I get ridiculous

I'll eat up all your crackers and your licorice
Uh, yo fat girl, come here, are ya ticklish?
Yeah, I called ya fat, look at me, I'm skinny
It never stopped me from gettin' busy
I'm a freak, I like the girls with the boom
I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom

I'm crazy
Allow me to amaze thee
They say I'm ugly but it just don't faze me
I'm still gettin' in the girls' pants
And I even got my own dance.

* People say, "Yo, Humpty, you're really funny lookin'"
That's all right, 'cause I get things cookin'.

* Oh yes, ladies, I'm really bein' sincere
'Cause in a 69 my humpty nose will tickle ya rear.

In spite of such lyrics, "The Humpty Dance" was their biggest hit, reaching Number 11 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100.

The group released 5 albums in the 1990s, and 1 more in 2008. Shock G and Money-B were the only performers to appear on all 6 albums. In between Sex Packets and the 2nd LP, 1991's Sons of the P, there was an EP release titled This Is an EP Release a.k.a. Same Song, released on January 15, 1991. This release marked the recording debut of Tupac Shakur, then listed as "2Pac." But he left after the 1993 album The Body-Hat Syndrome.

Jacobs said he stopped work on Digital Underground because he wanted to explore ideas that wouldn't fit with their theme. He continued music production work until his death in a Tampa motel room on June 10, 2021, at the age of 57, from what the coroner ruled was a mix of alcohol, methamphetamine and fentanyl.

*

March 26, 1990 was a Monday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 6 games in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Charlotte Hornets, 97-83 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Denver Nuggets, 113-102 at The Omni in Atlanta. Dominique Wilkins, "The Human Highlight Film," led all scorers on the night with 36 points.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings, 116-95 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns, 121-92 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 113-95 at The Summit in Houston. It's now the Central Campus of televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.

* And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 101-96 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

There was 1 game in the NHL: The Minnesota North Stars beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-4 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

February 7, 2021: Tampa Bay: City of Champions?

February 7, 2021: For the 1st time, an NFL team plays in the Super Bowl on its home field. This is never by design, even though the chance had nearly always been there:

* Up to this point, Miami had hosted 11 Super Bowls, and the Miami Dolphins had appeared in 5 -- but never in the same season.

* New Orleans hosted 10 times, but the New Orleans Saints never even reached the Playoffs until the season of Super Bowl XXII. They finally made it to Super Bowl XLIV, and won it -- in Miami.

* The Los Angeles Rams almost did it: They reached Super Bowl XIV, but that game was played at the Rose Bowl, not at their home field at the time, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Either Miami, New Orleans or the Los Angeles area hosted the 1st 7 Super Bowls, 14 of the 1st 15, and 19 of the 1st 24, but no home team played in one.

* The Dallas Cowboys played in 8 Super Bowls, winning 5, and one of the main reasons for building AT&T Stadium in suburban Arlington, Texas was the hope that they could host a Super Bowl,. and play in it. They were awarded Super Bowl XLV, but they finished 6-10 that season.

The 2020 season was unlike any other in NFL history, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having to play the early part of the season behind closed doors proved what had long been suggested: Between television revenue and merchandising, an NFL team could make a profit even if paying attendance was exactly zero. By the time of Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, restrictions had been lifted to the point where 24,835 fans were let in.

On March 20, 2020, in the first few days of the COVID shutdown, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were set to be the host team for the Super Bowl, signed a free agent to play quarterback for them: Tom Brady, who had led the New England Patriots to win 6 Super Bowls -- by any means possible, legitimate or otherwise. Brady told them to sign his favorite receiver, for Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski, and they did. Despite having won Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003, the Bucs were still one of the NFL's joke franchises, but Brady and Gronk were ready to lift them out of that.

Under head coach Bruce Arians, they went 11-5 in the regular season. They had to play 3 Playoff games on the road in order to reach a home Super Bowl, and won them all: They beat the Washington Football Team (in their Redskins-to-Commanders interregnum), 31-23 in Landover, Maryland; beat the New Orleans Saints, 30-20 at the Superdome; and beat the Green Bay Packers, 31-26 at Lambeau Field.

Their opponents would be the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending World Champions, who had beaten the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. Under head coach Andy Reid, and with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, they had the best record in the NFL, 14-2, losing only a home to the Las Vegas Raiders, and a meaningless regular-season finale, home to the Los Angeles Chargers. They had a bye in the Wild Card Round; beat the Cleveland Browns, 22-17 at home at Arrowhead Stadium in the Divisional Playoff; and beat the Buffalo Bills, 38-24 at Arrowhead in the AFC Championship Game.

As the defending Champions, the Chiefs were favored by 3 points. Sure enough, the Chiefs scored first, on a 49-yard field goal by Harrison Butker. But Brady marched the Bucs down the field, and threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Gronk, to give them a 7-3 lead as the 1st quarter ran out.

In the 2nd quarter, Brady threw 2 more touchdown passes, for 17 yards to Gronk and 1 to Antonio Brown. In between, Butker kicked another field goal, but it was 21-6 Tampa Bay at the half, and the Chiefs never seriously threatened again.

Butker and the Bucs' Ryan Succop each kicked a 52-yard field goal in the 3rd quarter. In between, Leonard Fournette scored on a 27-yard touchdown run. It was 31-6 Buccaneers at the end of the 3rd quarter. There was no scoring in the 4th. The Bucs had their 2nd Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Brady had his 7th -- his 1st without Bill Belichick as his head coach. Most people who had not yet been calling Brady the greatest quarterback ever -- ignoring his proven cheating -- pretty much joined the people who had been calling him that in now calling him the greatest player ever, regardless of position. Having previously honored him as such in 2005, Sports Illustrated named Brady their Sportsperson of the Year for 2021. The only other 2-time winners have been Tiger Woods and, with 3, LeBron James.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had won the Stanley Cup on September 28, 2020, those Playoffs delayed by the COVID pandemic. They repeated on July 7, 2021. Therefore, from February 7, 2021 to February 13, 2022, a little over 1 full year, 371 days, the Tampa Bay region held the World Championships of both football and hockey.

In addition, the Tampa Bay Rays had won the 2020 American League Pennant, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies won the 2021 United Soccer League title. People in the Tampa Bay region claimed a title that had been used by other cities in the past: "City of Champions." It didn't work: The USL is the 2nd tier of North American soccer, the Rays lost the World Series, and the Bucs' Super Bowl and the Bolts' Cups were won under unusual conditions.

After all, from May 16, 1980 to January 25, 1981, Philadelphia made it to the Finals of all of the "Big Four" sports, but won only one, the World Series. While, from October 28, 1981 to June 8, 1982, Los Angeles won the NBA Championship legitimately after winning the World Series in a strike-shortened season. Neither city's fans then claimed the "City of Champions" mantle. And when the Oakland Athletics won the 1989 World Series by beating the San Francisco Giants, in between back-to-back Super Bowl wins by the San Francisco 49ers, the San Francisco Bay Area as a whole didn't claim it. So Tampa Bay was on shaky ground claiming it.

The year after this Super Bowl, the Los Angeles Rams were both the host team and the NFC Champions, and won Super Bowl LVI, beating the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

UPDATE: The Buccaneers have a Ring of Honor. From their founding era, including their trip to the 1979 NFC Championship Game, they have honored quarterback Doug Williams, tight end Jimmie Giles, defensive end Lee Roy Selmon and head coach John McKay.

From their Super Bowl XXXVII winners, they have honored running back Mike Alstott, defensive tackle Warren Sapp, defensive end Simeon Rice, linebacker Derrick Brooks, cornerback Ronde Barber, safety John Lynch, head coach Jon Gruden, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, and owner Malcolm Glazer.

From between those eras, they have honored head coach Tony Dungy and offensive tackle Paul Gruber. From their Super Bowl LV winners, so far, they have honored only head coach Bruce Arians.

The Florida Sports Hall of Fame has inducted Selmon, Brooks, Dungy, Gruden, founding owner Hugh Culverhouse, 1990s running back Warrick Dunn, and the team's 1st starting quarterback, Steve Spurrier, although that's more for his playing and coaching at the University of Florida.

*

February 7, 2021, like all Super Bowl days, was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. There were 5 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat, 109-103 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Washington Wizards, 119-97 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers, 103-95 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Boston Celtics, 100-91 at the Phoenix Suns Arena. (It was in between naming-rights contracts. It was soon renamed the Footprint Center, now the Mortgage Matchup Center.)

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 113-110 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, which was also the home of an NHL team named the Kings.

And there were 5 games in the NHL:

* The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at the Amalie Arena (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa. This game faced off at 7:00 PM, and ended at 9:21, so it was played during the Super Bowl. I can find no reference as to attendance, COVID-affected or otherwise.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Nashville Predators, 2-1 at the BB&T Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks, 5-4 in a shootout at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

February 1, 2009: The Tampa Toe-Tap

February 1, 2009: Super Bowl XLIII is played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. It turns out to be one of the best NFL Championship Games ever played, under any name.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were in their 7th Super Bowl, looking for their 6th win. They had won the game 3 years earlier, under head coach Bill Cowher. Now, his former assistant Mike Tomlin was in charge. Ben Roethlisberger, their quarterback in Super Bowl XL, was going for his 2nd title.

In contrast, the Arizona Cardinals were in their 1st Super Bowl. As the Chicago Cardinals, they had won the NFL Championship in 1925, before there was an NFL Championship Game; won the NFL Championship Game in 1947 and lost it in 1948; left Chicago for St. Louis in 1960; made the Playoffs only 3 times; left St. Louis for the Phoenix area in 1988; finally reached the Playoffs again in 1998, winning their 1st postseason game in 51 years; and now, under coach Ken Whisenhunt, had reached the title game again for the 1st time in 61 years.

The quarterback for this most unlikely of NFL finalists was also unlikely, but not as unlikely as he had been 9 years earlier. Kurt Warner had fallen to the Arena Football League before getting a lifeline with the St. Louis Rams, helping them to win Super Bowl XXXIV and reach Super Bowl XXXVI. Now with the Cardinals, he joined Craig Morton as the 2nd quarterback ever to guide 2 different teams into the Super Bowl. Of course, both of Morton's had lost, so that wasn't a good sign.

The Steelers' Jeff Reed kicked a field goal in the 1st quarter, and Gary Russell's run gave them a 10-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. Warner threw a touchdown pass to make it 10-7. But on the last play of the 1st half, Warner was intercepted in the end zone by James Harrison, who returned the ball 100 yards for a touchdown and a 17-7 Steeler lead. Michael Wilbon, columnist for The Washington Post and co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, has called that the greatest play in Super Bowl history. Reed kicked a field goal late in the 3rd quarter, and it was 20-7 Steelers. Anyone calling this game a classic at this point would have been kidding himself.

But Warner kicked the Cards into high gear, leading them down the field for a touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald. With 3 minutes left, the Steelers committed a holding penalty in the end zone, which awarded the Cardinals a safety. It was 20-16. And Warner struck quickly, throwing a 64-yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald, giving the Cardinals a 23-20 lead. The Cards had scored 16 points in less than 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.

The Steelers had 2:37 left. Roethlisberger went to work, including a 41-yard pass to Santonio Holmes. With 35 seconds left, "Big Ben" threw to Holmes again. Holmes snared the pass, came down, landed on his toes, getting both feet in bounds, and fell out. It was enough: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23.

That play, which became known as "The Tampa Toe-Tap," gave Holmes 9 catches for 131 yards, and the game's Most Valuable Player Award. It also gave the Steelers their 6th Super Bowl win, surpassing the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers for the most Super Bowls.

The New England Patriots have since reached 6 Super Bowl wins, but no one has won 7. Overall, the Green Bay Packers still lead the NFL with 13 league championships.

The Steelers have been to 1 Super Bowl since, losing it; the Cardinals haven't been to any. Despite the defeat, Warner's performance that season may have made the difference to getting him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as he was elected in 2017. Holmes is eligible for the Hall, but does not seem to have the career statistics necessary to gain election. Fitzgerald will be eligible for the Hall in the election of 2026; Roethlisberger, in 2027.

In 2019, a poll ranked this game 12th on a list of the 100 Greatest Games of the NFL's 1st 100 years.

UPDATE: Larry Fitzgerald was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2026.

The Steelers have a team hall of fame, calling it the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor. From their Super Bowl XLIII winners, they have inducted team owner Dan Rooney, executive Art Rooney Jr. (Dan's brother), assistant coach Dick LeBeau, scout Bill Nunn, broadcaster Tunch Ilkin; quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Willie Parker, receiver Hines Ward, tight end Heath Miller; defensive end Aaron Smith, defensive tackle Casey Hampton, linebacker James Farrior and James Harrison; and safety Troy Polamalu. Head coach Mike Tomlin has not yet been inducted.

Center Maurkice Pouncey was added to their team after the win in Super Bowl XLIII, and playing on the team that lost Super Bowl XLV.

*

February 1, 2009 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. The NBA risked playing 4 games as distractions from the Super Bowl:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 109-101 at the TD Garden in Boston. Paul Pierce scored 36 points.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors, 113-90 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 90-80 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. LeBron James scored 33 points.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-118 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Kelvin Martin scored 37 points for the Kings.

And there were 3 games played in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators, 7-4 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Alexander Ovechkin scored a hat trick.

* And the Nashville Predators beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Northlands Coliseum (then known as Rexall Place) in Edmonton.

January 28, 2001: Baltimore Football Finally Moves On

January 28, 2001: Super Bowl XXXV is played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Baltimore Ravens beat the New York Giants, 34-7. It is the 1st NFL Championship won by the franchise formerly known as the Cleveland Browns in 36 years, and the 1st by a Baltimore-based team in 30 years.

Since the Giants' only touchdown is scored on a kickoff return -- by Ron Dixon, followed immediately by the Ravens doing the same, by Jermaine Lewis -- the Giants became the only team in Super Bowl history whose offense scored no points.

It marks Kerry Collins as the worst quarterback in Super Bowl history. He went 15-for-39, for 112 yards, 4 interceptions, and no touchdowns. In contrast, Trent Dilfer -- who has often been mocked as the worst quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl, and indeed became the 1st winning quarterback ever let go before the next season (as opposed to retiring) -- went 12-for-25, 153 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions. Quarterback ratings: Dilfer 80.9, Collins 7.1.

Under head coach Brian Billick and defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, the Ravens' defense drew comparisons to the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers and the 1985 Chicago Bears in terms of effectiveness and ferocity. Linebacker Ray Lewis was the best player and the emotional leader of a side that also included defensive end Michael McCrary, linebacker Peter Boulware, safety Ed Reed, and cornerback Rod Woodson, who won his 1st title after a long career with the Steelers. The offense was led by Dilfer, veteran running back Earnest Byner and rookie running back Jamal Lewis, with protection from tackle Jonathan Ogden.

A cloud hung over the team, particularly over Ray Lewis. In 2000, he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in connection with the stabbing deaths of two men at a Super Bowl afterparty in Atlanta. He testified as a key witness at the trial, and a jury determined the killings were acts of self-defense. Ever since, people who don't like the Ravens have speculated that he had more to do with those deaths than has been publicly let on.

It had now been 5 full seasons since the Ravens arrived, 17 years since the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis, 23 years since the Colts' last Playoff berth in Baltimore, and 30 years since their last Super Bowl win in Baltimore. What's more, the Ravens had not only been to a Super Bowl, while the Colts had not yet been to one since they moved, but won it.

This game, putting Baltimore back on top of the football world, enabled their fans to finally move on from the legend and mystique of the Colts: They could celebrate their former team, but they no longer had to mourn it. Baltimore was now the NFL Champions of 1958, 1959, 1970 and 2000, and Indianapolis was still waiting.

The Colts didn't just bury the Giants, they laid the legend of the Baltimore Colts to rest, giving it the memorial service it deserved.

Over the next 11 seasons, the Colts would win a Super Bowl as an Indianapolis team, and lose another; while the Ravens made the Playoffs 7 times, including 2 trips to the AFC Championship Game. In the 2012 season, with Lewis the only holdover from the 2000 season, they won Super Bowl XLVII, for the team's 2nd title, and the city's 5th. At that point, the only cities with more were Green Bay with 13, Chicago with 11 (9 by the Bears, 2 by the Cardinals), New York with 9 (8 by the Giants, 1 by the Jets), the San Francisco Bay Area with 7 (5 by the 49ers, 2 by the Raiders), and Pittsburgh with 6. Boston now has 6, and if Providence (the 1928 Steam Roller) is counted as part of their area, that's 7. Dallas also has 5, and now, so does Philadelphia (4 by the Eagles, 1 by the 1926 Frankford Yellow Jackets).

UPDATE: Philadelphia now has 6.

The Ravens have a Ring of Honor. It honors Ravens founder Art Modell, head coach Brian Billick; Super Bowl XXXV winners Earnest Byner, Michael McCrary, Peter Boulware, Jonathan Ogden, Matt Stover, Jamal Lewis, Ray Lewis; Super Bowl XLVII winners Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, Marshal Yanda; and Todd Heap, who played between the Super Bowl wins. It also honors Colts Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Art Donovan, Jim Parker, Raymond Berry, Gino Marchetti, John Mackey and Ted Hendricks.

*

January 28, 2001, like all Super Bowl gamedays, was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. Knowing that TV ratings would probably not be good, the NBA scheduled only 2 games for the day. The New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 91-81 at Madison Square Garden. And the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers, 86-81 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

There were 3 games in the NHL:

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* And the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

January 27, 1991: The Scott Norwood Game

January 27, 1991: Super Bowl XXV is held at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It might have been the best Super Bowl of them all.

Four years earlier, the New York Giants were favored to win the Super Bowl. Coach Bill Parcells had a good offense, quarterbacked by Phil Simms; and a ferocious defense, led by linebacker Lawrence Taylor. And they did win, beating the Denver Broncos, 39-20.

This time, they won their 1st 10 games, but faltered, dropping 3 straight before winning their last 2 to win the NFC Eastern Division. One of their losses was to the Buffalo Bills, and Simms broke his foot in the game, forcing former West Virginia University standout Jeff Hostetler. to become the new starter, having started only 2 NFL games in 7 seasons.

The Giants dominated Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears in the Divisional round, 31-3. But the task ahead of them was daunting. They had to play the NFC Championship Game against the 2-time defending World Champion San Francisco 49ers, who were 14-2, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and they had to do it without their starting quarterback.

The Giants didn't score a single touchdown. They didn't have to. Leonard Marshall evened the playing field a little by sacking Joe Montana, and knocking him out of the game. On the last play, Matt Bahr kicked his 5th field goal of the day, from 42 yards out, and the Giants beat the Niners, 15-13. They were headed for the Super Bowl.

The Buffalo Bills were an unlucky franchise. They were an original AFL team in 1960. They had won the AFL Championship in 1964 and 1965, the last 2 times the AFL Champion did not get to play the NFL Champion in a Super Bowl. In 1966, the 1st season for which that would be possible, they lost the AFL Championship Game to the Kansas City Chiefs.

They got old. They got the Number 1 draft pick in 1969. It was O.J. Simpson. Putting aside what O.J. has done since 1994, he was one of the best running backs in NFL history. But the Bills only made the Playoffs once while he was there, and lost their only Playoff game. They won the AFC Eastern Division Championship in 1980, but lost in the Divisional round.

By 1988, head coach Marv Levy and general manager Bill Polian had built a team capable of winning the AFC East again. In 1990, they went 13-3, including a win over the Giants. They won a 44-34 shootout against the Miami Dolphins to advance to the AFC Championship Game, and in that game, they throttled the Los Angeles Raiders, 51-3. It remains the most points scored in a Conference Championship Game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

The Bills were favored by 7 points as Whitney Houston sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," in the midst of the Persian Gulf War, a hyper-patriotic moment for the country.

The Giants forced the Bills to punt on their 1st drive, and then took 6 minutes and 15 seconds off the clock, but only got a field goal out of it. The Bills came back with a field goal of their own. On their next drive, quarterback Jim Kelly threw some quick strikes to take the Bills down, and Don Smith scored on a 1-yard run. The Bills were up 10-3.

Early in the 2nd quarter, Bruce Smith, who would go on to become the NFL's all-time sacks leader, sacked Hostetler in the end zone, to make it 12-3 Buffalo. But there was something that happened on that play that hardly got noticed, but would loom large. Hostetler was holding on with only his throwing hand. He managed to avoid fumbling. Had he fumbled, it probably would have been recovered by the Bills for a touchdown, making it 17-3.

The Giants launched another long drive, and just before the half, Hostetler threw a 14-yard pass to Stephen Baker, and the teams went into the locker rooms with the score Bills 12, Giants 10.

The Giants went to the ball-control strategy again to start the 2nd half, going 75 yards in 14 plays, taking 9 minutes and 29 seconds, a Super Bowl record at the time. On the 14th play, Ottis Anderson scored from 1 yard out. The Giants had the lead, 17-12, and that lead held through the end of the 3rd quarter.

In contrast, the Bills went for the quick strike again, going 63 yards in 4 plays, the last of them a 31-yard touchdown run by Thurman Thomas. It was 19-17 Buffalo. The Giants were not fazed: Many of them had been there 4 years before. They went 74 yards in 14 plays, in 7 minutes and 32 seconds. The Bills stopped the Giants 3 yards short of the end zone, but Bahr was able to kick a field goal, and it was 20-19 Giants.

Following a trade of punts, the Bills got the ball back on their own 10-yard line with 2:16 play. They had 1 time-out, plus the 2-minute warning. They only needed a field goal, but they would need at least 60 yards to get it.

The key would be to get enough time to do it. That would mean Kelly throwing to receivers such as James Lofton, Andre Reed, Don Beebe and Steve Tasker, and tight ends Pete Metzelaars and Keith McKeller, and then having them run out of bounds to stop the clock.

But that's not what happened. Instead, on the 1st play, Kelly ran up the middle for 8 yards. The clock only stopped for the 2-minute warning. On the 2nd play, Kelly ran up the middle, and got only 1 yard, and the clock did not stop. On the 3rd play, Kelly handed off to Thomas, who ran up the middle for 22 yards and a 1st down. The clock only stopped long enough to move the chains.

On the 4th play, Kelly threw to Reed -- over the middle. It only gained 4 yards, and did not stop the clock. On the 5th play, Kelly ran up the middle again, for 9 yards, and a 1st down. Now, the Bills were in Giant territory. But the clock only stopped long enough to move the chains. And now, the Bills took their last time out. There were 48 seconds left. They were on the Giant 46. They needed at least 15 more yards for a good shot at a field goal.

On the 6th play, Kelly threw to McKeller, who just barely caught it before it hit the ground. It gained only 6 yards. With 29 seconds left, the officials called time-out to review the play, to make sure they got the call of a completed pass right. The replay showed that they did.

On the 7th play, Kelly handed off to Thomas, to gain 11 yards and a 1st down. On the 8th play, Kelly ran up to the line of scrimmage, and spiked the ball to stop the clock. There were 8 seconds left, setting up a game-winning field goal attempt.

The kicker was Scott Norwood, a 31-year-old native of the Virginia suburbs of Washington. He had played in the USFL before joining the Bills, and was used to kicking on the artificial turf at what was then named Ralph Wilson Stadium. He had led the NFL in scoring in 1988. But he had difficulties kicking from beyond 40 yards, and this kick was going to be at Tampa Stadium, on real grass. On real grass, from 40 or more yards, he had made 5 attempts in his career, making only 1.

Adam Lingner snapped the ball for the Bills. Backup quarterback Frank Reich was the holder. Norwood got the ball up. It was long enough... but it went wide right. One Bills kickoff and one fall on the ball by Hostetler later, and the Giants were World Champions again.

Many people blamed Norwood for the Bills' loss. No: Blame Kelly. If he hadn't kept going up the middle, he could have gained his team an additional 10 seconds, and maybe an additional 10 yards.

I used to argue this point with my brother-in-law, a tremendous fan of the Giants. And the Yankees. And the Rangers -- nobody's perfect. He insisted that Kelly couldn't throw to the sideline, because the Giants had it covered too well, with cornerbacks Everson Walls (who finally got his Super Bowl ring, 9 years after being burned as a Dallas Cowboy by Dwight Clark of the 49ers) and Mark Collins, and safeties Dave Duerson (the former Super Bowl winner for the Chicago Bears) and Greg Jackson. I reminded him that Kelly, Lofton and Reed were Hall-of-Famers, and were better than the men covering him. He and my sister are no longer together. This argument, which he still thinks he won, is not the reason why.

This performance, with a Super Bowl record 40 minutes and 33 seconds' possession, remains Bill Parcells' masterpiece. He never won another Super Bowl, although he got the New England Patriots to one and the New York Jets to within a game of one. The Giants wouldn't reach another Super Bowl for 10 years, or win another for 17 years.

The Bills got right back to the Super Bowl, and ended up making 4 straight -- and losing all 4. They have never been to another. They fell victim to "The Music City Miracle" in 2000, and then took 17 years to get back to the Playoffs. Since then, they've shown they can get to the Playoffs, but not to the Super Bowl.

"The Curse of Scott Norwood"? No: If there's a curse on the Bills, it struck long before this, maybe as far back as 1966.

Halfway through their Super Bowl run, the Bills cut Norwood, and signed Steve Christie, whose signature kick sealed the Bills' 1993 Playoff win over the Houston Oilers. Norwood became a real estate agent.

Kelly didn't get the Bills close enough. Marv Levy got outcoached by Bill Parcells. The Giants played a great game. And, even in good weather like this, even for a seasoned professional, making a 47-yard field goal on natural grass is not easy.

Still, fairly or not, this has gone down in history as "The Scott Norwood Game."

In 2019, a poll ranked this game 10th on a list of the 100 Greatest Games of the NFL's 1st 100 years.

*

January 27, 1991 was a Sunday. Obviously, there were no other football games played. And baseball was out of season. As is traditional, the NBA and the NHL scheduled as few games as possible, knowing that they'd get clobbered in the TV ratings, even against the long pregame programming for the Super Bowl.

The NBA scheduled only 1 game, maybe its best rivalry, in an attempt to peel viewers off ABC and onto NBC for their broadcast: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics, 104-87 at the Boston Garden. Earvin "Magic" Johnson scored 22 points for the Lakers. Brian Shaw, substituting for the injured Larry Bird, led the Celtics with 20.

There were 4 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders were the only team from the New York Tri-State Area in action, and they lost to the Washington Capitals, 5-4 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-4 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* And, in an All-Canadian matchup -- an attempt by CBC to lure CTV viewers off the Super Bowl, maybe? -- the Edmonton Oilers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.

And in English soccer, old foes Arsenal and Leeds United faced each other in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London. The game ended in a 0-0 draw. Three days later, a replay was held in Yorkshire, and it ended 1-1 at Leeds' home stadium, Elland Road. On February 13, a 2nd replay was held at Highbury, and it ended 0-0. Finally, on February 16, Arsenal won, 2-1 at Leeds. Arsenal would lose to neighboring rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Semifinal, but won the Football League title.

January 19, 1977: Snow In Florida

January 19, 1977: It snows in Florida. It was just a dusting, but it remains the only recorded snowfall in the history of "the Sunshine State."

A cold front combined with a high-pressure area over the Mississippi River Valley. This caused cold air to move south across Florida, causing both snow flurries and record-low temperatures for the region. Snow reached as far south as Homestead, 40 miles south of Miami.

One person was killed in a car accident in Central Florida. Most of the damage was done to the State's citrus fruit industry.

*

January 19, 1977 was a Wednesday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 7 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Phoenix Suns, 97-90 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

* The New York Nets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-94 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-94 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Buffalo Braves, 91-87 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Houston Rockets, 112-102 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls, 115-107 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Indiana Pacers, 109-102 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were no games played in the World Hockey Association that night, but there were 4 in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers played the Cleveland Barons to a tie, 3-3 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-3 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.