Tampa Bay's 10 Greatest Teams
Honorable Mention to the University of South Florida. The Bulls' football program went to Division I-A in 2003, won the 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl, rose to a national Number 2 ranking in 2007, won the 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl, won the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl, won the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl, won the American Conference Eastern Division title and the Birmingham Bowl in 2016, and won the Birmingham Bowl again in 2017.
10. 1983-85 Tampa Bay Bandits. Perhaps the only team in the United States Football League that could be called "well-run," Steve Spurrier coached them to an 11-7 record in the League's 1st season, 1983, and then to the Playoffs the next 2 seasons.
Put it another way: Over those 3 seasons, the Bandits were 35-21, for a winning percentage of .625; while the Buccaneers, playing in the same stadium, but in a League with much better internal support, went 10-38.
9. 2010-11 Tampa Bay Lightning. This team, which bore little resemblance to the teams that made the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004 and 2015, reached the Eastern Conference Finals, beating Pittsburgh and Washington before losing to Boston.
8. 2005-07 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 2006 season was bad, 4-12. But on either side of that, there was an NFC South Division title. They didn't win a Playoff game, though, losing to the Washington Redskins in 2005 and the Giants in 2007.
7. 1979-82 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After starting their history losing their 1st 26 regular-season games in 1976 and '77, the Bucs figured it out in 1979, going 10-6, winning the NFC Central Division, and beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the Playoffs, before losing the NFC Championship Game to the Los Angeles Rams.
They had another bad season in 1980, and it looked like 1979 was a fluke. But they won the NFC Central again in 1981, and made the Playoffs again in 1982. Both times, though, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1st available round. It fell apart after that: They didn't make the Playoffs again for 15 years, winning just 12 games over the next 4 seasons.
6. 1996 Tampa Bay Mutiny. In the 1st season of Major League Soccer, this team won the Supporters' Shield, for having the best record in the regular season. They beat the Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, before losing the Conference Finals to D.C. United.
They never won another Playoff game: They made the Playoffs again in 1997, 1999 and 2000, but failing finances caused them to be folded after the 2001 season. Tampa Bay has been trying to get the reborn Rowdies into MLS, but hasn't gotten very far.
5. 2008-13 Tampa Bay Rays. In 6 seasons, the Rays made the Playoffs 4 times, winning the American League Eastern Division in 2008 and 2010, and winning the AL Wild Card in 2011 and 2013. They won the Pennant in 2008 by beating the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox out for the Division title, then beat the Chicago White Sox in the AL Division Series, and then held off a Boston comeback to win the AL Championship Series, before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
4. 2014-18 Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts won the Eastern Conference in 2015, and reached the Conference Finals in 2016 and 2018, winning the Atlantic Division this year. This team could still have more in it, and could rise up this list.
3. 1975-80 Tampa Bay Rowdies. So you thought the '02-'03 Bucs were the 1st Tampa Bay team to win a title? Nope: The Rowdies won the Championship in their 1st season in the original North American Soccer League, defeating the Portland Timbers in Soccer Bowl '75.
They also won their Division in 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1980, and lost Soccer Bowl '78 to the New York Cosmos and '79 to the Vancouver Whitecaps. The NASL folded after the 1984 season. The reborn Rowdies won the title in the new NASL in 2012, and made the United Soccer League Playoffs last year.
2. 2002-04 Tampa Bay Lightning. They made the Playoffs only once in their 1st 10 seasons (1992-2002, and that was in 1996), but in 2003 they won the Southeast Division, beating the Washington Capitals for their 1st Playoff series win, before losing to the New Jersey Devils.
They put it all together in 2003-04, winning the Division again, and, well, storming through the Playoffs. They beat the New York Islanders in 5 games, swept the Montreal Canadiens, and then gutted out a 7-game win over the Philadelphia Flyers to reach their 1st Stanley Cup Finals. We can debate whether the Bolts deserved to win Game 6 against the Calgary Flames, but they did win it, and then won Game 7 for their 1st Cup.
The lockout that canceled the next season killed whatever momentum they had, but they were no longer an "expansion team." They had a title.
1. 1997-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. From 1983 to 1996, the Bucs had a losing season every year, 13 seasons of at least 10 losses, 9 of at least 11, 4 of at least 13, and 3 that were 2-14.
But Tony Dungy was brought in as head coach in 1996, and things began to turn around. In 1997, the Bucs made the Playoffs, and won a Playoff game for only the 2nd time, defeating the Detroit Lions, before losing to the Green Bay Packers.
They missed the Playoffs in 1998, then moved into Raymond James Stadium with an 11-5 record the best in franchise history. They won the NFC Central, and beat Washington in the Playoffs, before losing the NFC Championship Game to the Rams, just as they had 20 years earlier -- albeit in St. Louis, as opposed at home to Los Angeles.
They made the Playoffs again in 2000 and 2001, but lost Playoff games to the Philadelphia Eagles both times. Dungy was fired in favor of Jon Gruden. The 12-4 record of 2002 remains a Bucs best, and, in that year of realignment, it was enough to win them the 1st-ever NFC South Division Championship.
They beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Playoffs, and then, for the 1st time ever, won a game played under 40 degrees Fahrenheit -- and, for the 1st time ever, won a Playoff game on the road. The NFC Championship win over the Philadelphia Eagles was the last football game at Veterans Stadium. Finally, they beat the Oakland Raiders, from whence Gruden came, 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII. Hard to believe, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of the biggest joke franchises in North American sports, was World Champions.
Don't weep for Dungy, though: He was hired by the Indianapolis Colts, and led them to win Super Bowl XLI.
Hey! Cool blog, and interesting that you've kept it going for more than 10 years. Keep it up my man.
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