It’s rap versus retirement homes in Super Bowl XXXVII today. In sunny San Diego, a monumental clash of cultures will take place on the grassy gridiron when the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet for the championship of football.
When most people think of Oakland, it’s all about hard urban rap music and the fanatical, gruesomely costumed fans who populate the “Black Hole” section of the football team’s storied stadium.
Think of Tampa, and it’s golf carts, early-bird specials and warm weather. Clichés maybe, but the cultural collision embodied by the two teams in football’s showcase match today is very real.
And their stage is Super Bowl Sunday, when almost everyone becomes a TV-commercial critic, a half-time-show heckler, a gambler and a football fan.
The game, which is scheduled to kick off at 6:20 p.m., pits the Buccaneers, who are like cartoon pirates, against the Raiders who are like real pirates. Sort of. In a fun way.
Raiders fans are not merely an audience. They are “Raider Nation,” flying flags of their team’s silver and black. Around Northern California they plaster bumper stickers on their dented cars with sayings like, “F- – – Raider-haters.” They view fans of the San Francisco 49ers across the bay as white-wine-sipping snobs who spend Sundays hiking among the sagebrush on Marin County trails while letting their Tivos record “whiner” games to watch later.
Raiders fans quaff beer in sports bars or stampede into their stadium in an industrial part of Oakland near a junkyard. In the Black Hole, a section near one end zone, they paint their faces like death and brandish rubber armor, morning stars and skulls impaled on sticks.
The Buccaneers, on the other hand, have a homefield like a fun park, and their fans have lots of nice, safe, toys to play with.
Above the end zone of their shiny, 5-year-old stadium is a 103-feet-long, 43-ton , $3 million 1800s-replica pirate ship that fires canons each time Tampa Bay scores. The canon also blasts confetti, mini-footballs and a variety of Buc merchandise into the stands while nearby is “Buccaneer Cove,” where souvenir and concession stands are disguised as beach huts.
One of the Oakland cheerleaders, Raiderette Jaclyn Siino says in her official bio, “I have chosen a career path in law enforcement, as well as being a Raiderette.” But does the average American know what a “Raiderette” is? They might guess it’s a kind of insect-repelling chewing gum.
Tampa’s cheerleaders are a more refined marketing tool. The pompom-toting ladies were called the SwashBuclers from the team’s founding in 1976 until 1999, when the name was changed to Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders. Official team info explains, “Many people around the country are not familiar with pirate and nautical terms and do not know what a ‘SwashBucler’ is.” But maybe they do know how to spell. Not that Bucs fans don’t love their team. They do. They often stand, wave big red flags and occasionally bang on the seats.
Raiders fans just beat on each other. Truly. After they beat the Tennessee Titans to grab a Super Bowl berth, Oakland cops made 20 arrests – Raiders fans bashing each other in excitement.
SWASHBUCKLE CHUCKLES – TALE OF THE TAPE
Tampa Bay vs. Oakland
FANS
Sun-tanned, skull-and-crossed-swords-flag-waving horde
Bug-eyed, skull-waving, silver-and-black-blooded barbarian brutes
CHEERLEADERS
Formerly called the SwashBuclers
Raiderettes
COACHES
Jon “Chucky” Gruden, nicknamed for funny expressions. Once worked at Hooters.
Bland Bill Callahan. Father a vice-squad sergeant from Chicago’s South Side.
STANDING
Underdogs. Lost 26 games straight after 1976 founding.
Three Super Bowl victories since founding in 1960.
WHAT AM I BID?
Quarterback Brad Johnson’s signed replica helmet is listed for $200 on eBay.
Receiver Jerry Rice’s autographed, game-worn jersey from hisformer team the 49ers is listed at $3,375 on eBay.