For the last 22 years, I've always promised myself I'd go to the SuperBowl when/if ever my Buccaneers got to the big dance. . . . well the dance happened and it was quite the experience for this die-hard fan and super bowl virgin. Some of my observations include:

1. GO. Especially if your team ever makes it. It's a football high for the entire week and builds and builds each day. Every newspaper, every talk show, most all conversations on the street are geared to the game.
2. BE AWARE OF GETTING TRAPPED IN THE STADIUM AREA. Saturday, my buddy and I stopped by the extra tight secured stadium just to walk around the perimeter. Little did we know that as we walked around the stadium they were adding yet another level of secured areas behind us. . .thus not allowing us to go back to our car when we were ready to leave. Eventually, a nice cop showed us the way to walk back via surface roads outside the stadium. . . . good workout if nothing else!
3. THE MAJORITY OF RAIDER FANS ARE A**HOLES. I'm all for ribbing other fans in fun and all. . .but these "raider nation" blowhards just went way over the top. . . wearing shirts that say "F" the rest, having this unbelievable cockiness that not only would they win, but just blow out the Bucs.(kinda like a lot of the media too in all fairness) The height of this crap came when a little kid probably under 10 shot me an unprovoked bird while his drunken and fat dad laughed. I had to laugh myself in amazement. Even after the Bucs handed the "Fay-ders" their ass on a plate, several of their players and many fans still were cutting down the bucs organization. To hell with them all!! Go back to your hole with big gay AL Davis!!! hahahhaah
4. THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE THE TRUE SUPERBOWLS FOR THE FANS. By far the majority of the fans at the game were indifferent to the outcome and were there more for show and tell. Several "fans" we met over the weekend had just been given tickets from their employers/sponsors of game, etc. . . . good for them but sad to know that literally thousands of die hards would give their left nut to see the game live and couldn't buy a tix to save their lives.
5. SAN DIEGO GUYS GET A BIG THUMBS UP!!! Didn't do the gay thing much out there, but did pop into Hamburger Mary's one evening and got to meet some locals. And "Matt", a bartender there, is a looker and charmer!!! I wanted to tackle him and score right there!!!
6. ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL THE DAY AFTER THE GAME TO BUY THE T-SHIRTS, PINS, SB MERCHANDISE. Most everthing (other than the SuperBowl Champion stuff) was greatly discounted (upto 50% off) early on monday.
7. DON'T BE AFRAID TO GO WITHOUT A GAME TICKET. This superbowl happened to be one of the hardest to get tix in the last several years. . . mainly due to a smaller, super secured stadium removed from downtown and no real identified "selling zone." My buddy and I were fortunate to buy 2 tix about 2 hours before kickoff. . . but was ready to go watch in our hotel room if needed. The "hunt" turned out to be a great memory and experience and opportunity to meet alot of other fans.
8. EVEN THOUGH ROOMS MAY BE VERY HARD TO SECURE IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE GAME, SEVERAL WERE AVAILABLE ON FRIDAY AT REASONABLE PRICES. After the Bucs beat the Eagles to advance, I immediately got on-line and couldn't find ANY reasonably priced hotels in the city proper. But once in the city on Friday, called a few places and found good rooms.
9. DON'T DRINK TOO MUCH AND FALL ASLEEP AT THE GAME. A guy sitting across the aisle from me started dozing mid-way through the 2nd period. . . and no, it wasn't because the game was becoming a blowout!! We were just waiting for him to fall over and start his fast roll down the aisle.
10. STICK WITH YOUR TEAM, NO MATTER HOW GAWD AWFUL THEY MAY BE. . . . I guess I'm really thinking here of the Bengals/Lions/Cards type teams. . . . Even though us Tampa Fans enduring a 0-26 start and 14 seasons straight with losing seasons, we stuck by them. There is something to be said for "going through it all. . . ". a true appreciation for achieving World Championship status from Worst to First that many franchises will never know.

GO BUCCANEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NFL CHAMPIONS!!!!!

I will second all your remarks about Raiders fans and organization!

These fans are 1st class BUTTHOLES!

Keeping it G-rated, I want to thank the Bucs for handing the Loser-Nation a thump in the head!

Just be glad none of them confronted you, they are known for their stupid violent attacks on unsuspecting fans of the opponent.

I've never been to a Super Bowl. Closest thing I can imagine would be my experiences attending the Winter Olympics. I always encourage people to go, even without any tickets, as you can always get tickets (even to the most in-demand events) either from scalpers, ticket agents or occassionally attendees who can't use their tickets. Of course, that's at a price. Which brings me to the real question: How much did you pay for your tickets? What price category/face value were they? How much did you pay for your hotel room? When we went out to SLC last year, I had managed to find cheap (and somewhat tawdry) accommodations for most of our stay. We had to spend one night in a Comfort Inn at a rate of $489, easily three times the usual price for the room. So, I'm just curious what the prices were like.

[ February 03, 2003, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: Torgauer ]