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          Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl: Dickie V, Tampa teams and Patriots celebrate

          • Jeremy Willis, ESPN.comJan 25, 2021, 01:25 AM

          It would be hard to argue against the sports-calendar year Los Angeles had, but Tampa, Florida, is making a case.

          The Lakers and Dodgers won championships in the fall, but Tampa now has the Super Bowl with the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers representing the NFC. This comes after the Lightning won the Stanley Cup and the Rays won the American League before losing to the Dodgers in the World Series.

          The Bucs are the first team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium, and they return to the Super Bowl after a 12-year drought, the second-longest drought in NFL history.

          This is also an excellent civic development for Tampa mayor Jane Castor. She took office in May 2019 and has seen all of her city's major league teams make championship runs.

          Castor might be the mayor, but Tampa's biggest fan is undoubtedly ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale. He tweeted about his anxiety early in the game:

          But Dickie V was overjoyed when the Bucs won:

          Vitale was joined by the Rays and Lightning.

          Buccaneers QB Tom Brady is playing in his fourth Super Bowl in five seasons. In Brady's historic career, he joins Kurt Warner, Craig Morton and Peyton Manning as the only QBs to represent two teams in the Super Bowl. Brady and Morton are the only QBs to play for both an AFC and an NFC team. Brady's latest Super Bowl trip brought out more celebrations, including cheers from his former New England Patriots teammates.