SAN DIEGO – As thousands of flash bulbs engaged simultaneously with the kickoff of Super Bowl XXXVII at Qualcomm Stadium last night, this entire week of hype, anticipation, parties and prognostications boiled down to three hours of football.
The seemingly endless count of appetizing subplots took a back seat to the football as some 100 players pursued one of those precious Super Bowl rings.
Still, as the game was played out, so too, were those subplots, the most compelling of which was former Raiders’ head coach Jon Gruden coaching against his protégé, former Oakland offensive line coach Bill Callahan.
“I’ll tell you, it’s been a real strange week for me,” Buccaneers’ coach Jon Gruden said the other day in perhaps his most candid moment of the week. “Some of these questions are almost impossible to answer without making somebody mad.
“All I can say is that I’m so happy for a lot of those people [with the Raiders]. But I can’t tear myself in half with all these emotions.”
Indeed, the Gruden topic has been the hot button since the moment this delicious matchup came to fruition last weekend.
A number of players on the Raiders have been openly critical of Gruden based on their feelings that he abandoned them when he left in the night last offseason to take over the Raiders.
“He didn’t take us to the Super Bowl, did he?” Raiders’ WR Jerry Porter said sarcastically.
Raiders’ RT Lincoln Kennedy was another player who conceded that Gruden’s departure climaxed an uncertain time for the team, which didn’t know whether he was coming, going or staying based on the litany of rumors surrounding him.
Kennedy spoke of a “Napoleanic complex” that Gruden has, adding, “He wants to rule the world. I’m 6-7. He’s five-foot nothing. He has this little scrunch on his face when you are around him. He takes little shots at you. It’s funny. I laugh every time I see him. For me to have to try to look at him when he’s trying to be big and bad is hilarious.
“We needed to know who our coach was going to be,” Kennedy added, referring to the widespread approval of Callahan, who’s brought stability and clam to the organization.
As stable and calm as the Raiders have become under Callahan, though, last night was perhaps more of a watershed moment for the Raiders than it was for the Buccaneers.
The Raiders entered the game as a win-now group that will likely never be the same after this season.
The window of opportunity for the elderly Raiders was much further closed down than it was for Tampa Bay at game time.
Nine Raiders’ starters on last night’s team are scheduled to count at least $4 million against the projected $74 million salary cap in 2003. Estimates have the Raiders standing at some $34 to $45 million over the cap for next season as they stand now.
“This is the year,” Raiders’ guard Frank Middleton said before the game. “Everyone knows it’s got to be done now. We worked too hard to get to this point. It’s going to be too hard to get back here next year because a lot of big-pay guys have got to go. They’re going to re-do this team next year.”
A Buccaneers’ loss would be much less devastating, because they’re younger and are more likely to stay together for another run or two or three.
Another feature to last night’s game was the marquee matching of the NFL’s No. 1-ranked offense (Oakland) and the No. 1-rated defense (Tampa Bay.).
This was the first time that’s ever happened.
There, too, was a thought amongst many people surrounding the game that the Tampa Bay defense was far superior to that of the Raiders.
“Will their defense and our offense be the only ones playing the game?” Raiders’ LB Bill Romanowski asked. “I don’t think so.”
“We’re here to win a Super Bowl and we’re not really into who gets ranked higher and who gets more publicity,” Raiders’ LB Eric Barton said.