For Raider Nation, is Super Bowl between Chiefs and Brady’s Bucs a worst-case scenario?
A Raiders fan’s nightmare of a Super Bowl will take place in Tampa, Florida, in a couple of weeks.
The Kansas City Chiefs will face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 7.
The Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 38-24 in the AFC championship and the Buccaneers won the NFC with a 31-26 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
For the second consecutive year, the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl.
Last season, Raider Nation endured another nightmare seeing an AFC West rival face the 49ers, the Raiders’ former Bay Area neighbor. The Chiefs won 31-20 in Miami Gardens, Fla., for their second championship overall and Kansas City’s first since Super Bowl IV in the 1969 season.
The Raiders faced both of this year’s conference champions this season and were 1-2, with the lone win coming against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Las Vegas almost pulled off a win at Allegiant Stadium before a late touchdown pass by Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce led Kansas City to a 35-31 victory.
The Buccaneers, behind Brady, rolled to a 45-20 road win over the Raiders in Week 7.
Raiders fans have a strong dislike for the future Hall of Famer since the 2001 AFC divisional game in the infamous “Tuck Rule” game against the New England Patriots.
With less than two minutes left, it appeared Charles Woodson sacked Brady and caused a fumble the Raiders recovered, which would have sealed a victory in snowy conditions. But the referees looked at the replay and ruled the play an incompletion.
The Patriots tied it with a field goal and went on to win 16-13 in overtime, then marched on to a Super Bowl XXXVI victory, the franchise’s first win after losing its previous two tries. In all, Brady led New England to nine Super Bowl appearances, winning six to tie the NFL mark for most team championships.
Along with that playoff victory, Brady has a 4-1 career record against the Raiders in the regular season.
In another twist, the Raiders haven’t reached the NFL’s title game since the 2002 season, when they lost 48-21 to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. Tampa Bay’s coach was Jon Gruden, who had led the Raiders the previous four seasons. Gruden has since returned to the franchise and just completed his third season in his second run as head coach of the Raiders.
Moments after the Chiefs secured their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance Sunday, Raiders fans on Twitter were asked by The Fresno Bee who they plan to root for.
Most fans said they will root for the Buccaneers because of their hate for the Chiefs, while others said they will root for their squares to hit and win some money.
A small group of those who responded said they’re rooting for the Chiefs because of Brady.
Others said they will root for health care workers. The NFL is inviting approximately 7,500 vaccinated health care workers to Super Bowl LV as guests of the league to thank and honor them for their continued extraordinary service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raider fan @codyl25 said, “I’m going fishing.” @Krystal_Baybee said “The Raiders had they been there, but now for the Bucs!”
More comments:
@Rene_Le_Resist: “A draw.”
@Josh_Gabel: “A power outage > The TB12s > An endless game of OTs > KC.”
@Perry07595898: “Neither. Just rooting for good football and a great competitive game.”
@redondo85: “Duh, the refs.”
@XULATennis: “Will be painting my daughter’s room during the game. Will make sure to watch it dry.”
Now that we’ve asked Raider Nation who they’re pulling for, it’s your turn. Who do you want to win? Let us know in our poll. Results will be posted Monday.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 1:03 PM.
