The opinions expressed in this feature are those of the author and not necessarily those of NightMoves or AAN.

Sunday February 7, 2021 will go down in the history books as the day that Tampa, Florida officially became “Titletown”. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9 Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, they joined the “big boys” of New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Detroit as a city with two world champions in the same year. The other team of course was our NHL Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

We must add here that there are also big time props to the Tampa Bay Rays who won the AL championship in baseball, got to the World Series only to get beat by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Also props go out to the Tampa Bay Rowdies who were Eastern Division champions in the USL soccer league. Now, if they had both won their world championships the city honored would have been St. Petersburg, where they both play. If that had happened it would have given the Tampa Bay area four championship professional sports teams in one year, something that has never been done. So, if you put it all together, this area really is “Titletown”, USA.

We won’t go into the details of the game as that has been covered over and over by local and national media in every way big and small. My thoughts and comments are more about how the city of Tampa and the bay area came together to pull this off in as year of the pandemic. To say it was a monumental task to pull of is an understatement. It was a lot more than  building new hotels, fixing up the infrastructure and making the Tampa Bay area look even more appealing than it already is. There were the constant worries throughout the season about the COVID-10 effect on the NFL and how it might affect the se4ason and the Super Bowl. Every precaution was taken and then some.  Fortunately the NFL was able to0 overcome a few COVID  bumps in the road and g et the season completed on time with little worry. The city of Tampa put in its mandates to assure safety to every one coming out for all the activities along the Riverwalk and other areas. The set up for the “NFL Experience” was pulled off without a hitch with big crowds every day and all the safety protocols in place.

Then came game day as Tampa took the worldwide stage showing off not just its football team, but everything the area had to offer t hose watching anywhere in the world, almost 100 million viewers. The game was played on a sparkling new field that was put in Raymond James Stadium and it looked awesome. There was the amazing flyover, the anthem and the halftime show, the football crew from CBS all over the stadium and the surroundings, the more than 120 cameras to catch every bit of action (even the streaker!). Then the big win and celebration of the trophy after the game and the celebration by the fans on both sides of the bay. Yes, it got a little carried away in some places, and that was to be expected. But overall, there were few arrests, there were no riots, looting, burning down buildings, etc.  There were just a lot of overzealous, excited and very happy fans that our Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV.

All in all Tampa and Tampa Bay did it right, did it well and made our area look fantastic and certainly impressed the NFL as well. There is no question that we have solidified another Super Bowl slot in the not so distant future. It was a great time for everyone and it was a diversion we all needed. Most important it was a huge economical shot in the arm to the business communities on both sides of the bay, big and small, at a time when it was needed most after all we have been through the past year.

Now today there will be the big celebration boat parade to honor our Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Congratulations for bringing the Super Bowl LV trophy home and big congratulations go out to the entire Tampa Bay area for a job well done.

Art Koch, National Features & DVD Edsitor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN