Super host? With win, Bucs can make history
The Buccaneers have a chance to make history in Green Bay on Sunday. If they do, it might come with an asterisk.
No team has ever played a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Tom Brady and the underdog Bucs (13-5) will try to become the first to do so by winning the NFC championship game against the Packers (14-3). The Super Bowl will take place two weeks later at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
It would be some feat for the wildcard Bucs to reach the NFLfinale after playing three road playoff games. The prize would be much different this year, though, because the Super Bowl will be played in front of a far smaller crowd than usual.
The Bucs averaged 14,483 fans for their eight home games in 2020 — about 22% of stadium capacity. The NFL is planning for 20% capacity at the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, according to ESPN. Fans will be in pods separated by 6 feet, and masks will be required in accordance with local COVID-19 safety protocols.
Capacity at Raymond James Stadium is 65,890, so a little more than 13,000 fans are expected inside to finish a season played during a pandemic. It’s a huge drop from the 75,000 that would have been expected with additional temporary bleachers in the end zones.
So if the Bucs advance to the big game, they won’t gain a significant advantage by playing in front of their home crowd. The game will set an attendance record for the smallest Super Bowl crowd.
The first Super Bowl in 1967 was played in front of 61,946 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum. It’s the only one that didn’t sell out.
In the 53 Super Bowls since, just two teams have played the game in their home region: the 1984 49ers beat the Dolphins in Super Bowl 19 in Stanford Stadium rather than Candlestick Park; and the 1979 Rams lost Super Bowl 14 to the Steelers in the Rose Bowl instead of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Here’s a look at the other NFLteams that made the playoffs the season their home stadiums hosted the Super Bowl and came up short:
Vikings, 2017
Coming off the “Minnesota Miracle” at home against the Saints — Stefon Diggs hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum on the final play — the Vikings traveled to Philadelphia for the NFCtitle game and got shellacked 38-7. Eagles backup Nick Foles threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns, a sign of things to come in the Super Bowl against the Patriots.
Texans, 2016
The Texans won the AFC South and were the No. 4 seed heading into the AFC playoffs. They beat the Raiders in a wild-card game but lost 34-16 the following week on the road to Brady and the Patriots. It was quarterback Brock Osweiler’s final start for the Texans. Brady went on to win his fifth of six Super Bowl championships, this one in come-from-behind fashion after trailing the Falcons 28-3 late in the third quarter.
Dolphins, 1998
The Dolphins were the No. 4 seed in the AFC and beat the Bills at home to open the playoffs. They barely showed up the following week in Denver, getting smoked 38-3 by a team that featured four future Hall of Famers: John Elway, Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe and Steve Atwater. Another Hall of Famer, Dan Marino, threw two interceptions. The Broncos went on to win their second straight title.
Dolphins, 1994
The Dolphins were the No. 3 seed four years earlier with the Super Bowl set to be played at Joe Robbie Stadium. They beat the Chiefs to open the playoffs and traveled cross-country to face the San Diego Chargers in the divisional round. The Dolphins led 21-6 at halftime, but the Chargers scored 16 unanswered points in the second half, including the go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds left. Pete Stoyanovich missed wide right from 48 yards out on the Dolphins’ final play. The Chargers went on to beat the Steelers in the AFC title game before losing to the 49ers.
Dolphins, 1978
The Dolphins lost to the Oilers at home in a wild-card game, and the Steelers beat the Cowboys at the Orange Bowl.
Dolphins, 1970
The wild-card Dolphins lost in Oakland in the opening round and watched the Baltimore Colts beat the Cowboys in Super Bowl V at the Orange Bowl.