The Bucs knocked off the No. 1 seed in the NFC to reach their second Super Bowl in franchise history and the first since they defeated the Oakland Raiders 18 years ago, becoming only the first team in NFL history to play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in its own stadium as Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium will host Super Bowl LV on February 7.
By reaching the Super Bowl, the Bucs have also made Tampa Bay only the third metropolitan area in the history of the four major American leagues to have at least three teams competing for the title in the same season after Philadelphia in 1980 and the Greater New York area in 2000.
In September, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup after defeating the Dallas Stars in six games, atoning for the disappointment of the previous season when they failed to win a single playoff game after tying an NHL record for points in the regular season.
Led by Conn Smythe Trophy winner Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and playoffs top scorer Brayden Point, the Lightning lost Game 1 before winning three straight games and eventually clinching the series in Game 6, securing a third major title for the Tampa Bay after the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003 and the Lightning themselves won their first Stanley Cup the following year.
A month after the Lightning’s triumph, the Tampa Bay Rays returned to the World Series for the first time since 2008, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
Philadelphia remains to be the only city to have all its four major sport teams playing for the title in the same season, with the Philadelphia 76ers reaching the NBA Finals in 1980 and the Phillies and Flyers making it the World Series and the Stanley Cup Finals in the same year.
The Eagles, meanwhile, reached Super Bowl XV, although the nature of the NFL season meant the game was played in January 1981. Philadelphia’s dominance, however, did not quite translate into parades as the Phillies were the only team to bring a title back to the City of Brotherly Love after defeating the Kansas City Royals 4-2. The Sixers and the Flyers both lost in six games against the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Islanders respectively, while the Eagles were defeated 27-10 by the Oakland Raiders.
Two decades later, the New York Yankees won their third straight World Series by defeating the New York Mets in five games, while the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup after beating the Stars in six games and the New York Giants lost 34-7 to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV in January 2001.
Should the Bucs defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, Tampa Bay would join Los Angeles as the holder of two major titles this season after the Lakers won a first NBA Championship in 10 years and the Dodgers celebrated a first World Series win since 1989.
Tom Brady knows all too well the feeling of living in cities or metropolitan areas that have witnessed multiple titles in the same season. In February 2005, three months after the Boston Red Sox broke the “Curse of the Bambino” to win their first World Series since 1918, Brady led the New England Patriots to a 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX to secure a second consecutive Vince Lombardi Trophy and the franchise’s third in four seasons.
The Greater Boston area repeated the feat 14 years later, with the Red Sox defeating the Dodgers in five games just months before Brady and the Patriots overcame the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII to clinch their sixth ring.
A host of cities have celebrated multiple titles in the same season—New York and the Greater New York area have done so six times—and Detroit came closest to boast three World Champion teams simultaneously, with the Lions and the Tigers winning the NFL Championship and the World Series in 1935 and the Red Wings lifting the Stanley Cup in April of the following year.