Bucs can become first to play at home for Super Bowl
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a chance to make history at 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 wild-card Bucs to reach the NFL
finale 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.
Tampa Bay averaged 14,483 fans for its 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 Tampa Bay advances to the big game, it won’t gain a significant advantage by playing in front of its home crowd. Technically, it won’t even be a sellout, and the game would set an attendance record for the smallest Super Bowl crowd.
Here’s a look at the other NFL teams that made the playoffs the season their home stadiums hosted the Super Bowl and came up short:
• Minnesota, 2017 Coming off the “Minnesota Miracle” at home against New Orleans — Stefon Diggs hauled in a 61yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum on the final play — the Vikings traveled to Philadelphia for the NFC title game and got shellacked 38-7.
• Houston, 2016 The Texans won the AFC South and were the No. 4 seed heading into the AFC playoffs. They beat Oakland in a wild-card game but lost 34-16 the following week on the road to Brady and New England.
• Miami, 1998 The Dolphins were the No. 4 seed in the AFC and beat division rival Buffalo 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: quarterback John Elway, running back Terrell Davis, tight end Shannon Sharpe and safety Steve Atwater.
• Miami, 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 Kansas City to open the playoffs and traveled cross-country to face San Diego in the divisional round. Miami led 21-6 after Marino’s third TD pass of the day just before halftime. But it was all Chargers from there.
• Miami, 1978 The Dolphins lost to Houston at home in a wildcard game, ending any chance they had of returning to the Orange Bowl for the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh beat Dallas for its third Vince Lombardi Trophy in five years.
• Miami, 1970 The wild-card Dolphins lost at Oakland 21-14 in the opening round of the AFC playoffs and ended up watching Baltimore beat Dallas in Super Bowl 5 at the famed Orange Bowl in Miami.