Revenge!

Celebration From Our Seats

St Louis Rams v Tampa Bay Buccaneers, December 18, 2000

Raymond James Stadium, Sec 314 Row P

Hooked up with a old fraternity brother who was a season tickets holder. St Louis got a gift call in the previous year's playoffs to knock the Bucs out. Tonight was a night for revenge.

The day of the Marriott was packed outside with autograph hounds. We walked right in to meet someone and mingled with an almost entire lobby of Rams players and their families.

We tailgated with Warren Sapp's family briefly. There were bigger and better things going on in the parking lot. My buddy was a rock musician with a lot of local connections. Any tailgate we walked up to, we were eating and drinking and enjoying the moment.

This was a time when Monday Night Football still meant something.

In a game that featured six lead changes and four touchdowns by Marshall Faulk, Tampa Bay won the game thanks to a number of improbable plays. Torry Holt had given the Rams a 35-31 lead with 5:18 to go on a 72-yard touchdown catch. But Shaun King directed the Bucs on a 13-play, 80-yard drive in the final three minutes.

The key play was a swing lateral to Warrick Dunn. Dunn was trapped far behind the line and, as he was being dragged down, suddenly pitched the ball back to King. King shook loose and streaked down the right sideline for a 15-yard gain, and 15 more yards were tacked on for a late hit called on linebacker Mike Jones. Later, on a fourth-and-4, King scrambled for a first down. He then threw a 22-yard pass to Reidel Anthony, which set up Dunn's 1-yard TD run to clinch the 38-35 win for Tampa.

What sucked about this quick trip to Tampa was I ended up getting a nasty flu. I barely made it home and was laid up for over 3 days.