With the Tampa Bay area hosting the 2009 Super Bowl, we picked 25 memorable moments from past games and asked you to rank them. After more than 1,000 votes, we are counting down to the game with a look at your picks for the most memorable. See slide shows of the nominees, narrated by legendary announcer Pat Summerall, at superbowlvote.tampabay.com.
The result: Tampa Bay Bucs 48, Oakland Raiders 21
The date: Jan. 26, 2003
The place: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
The situation: Tampa Bay Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks was on the prowl late in Super Bowl XXXVII. Three times during the regular season, Brooks had returned interceptions for touchdowns - setting an NFL record for linebackers. With the Bucs ahead 34-21 with about 90 seconds to play, Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon took the snap on third and 18 and threw toward the left sideline. But Brooks saw it coming.
THE MOMENT: Brooks swooped in for the pick and raced 44 yards for yet another touchdown return. This one - with 1:06 remaining - was the sweetest of all, ensuring the first Super Bowl title in Buccaneer history.
"We just kept telling each other to keep pounding the rock," Brooks said after the game. "We let them score a couple of times with the blocked kick and the long touchdown pass, but this defense just kept on bringing it and bringing it. I just want to thank God that I was able to read the quarterback and pick that pass off."
There was still time for Dwight Smith to return another Gannon interception - the quarterback's fifth of the game - 50 yards in the final seconds to cap the 48-21 rout. But it seemed fitting that Brooks, who had been turning interceptions into points all season, was the player who put the game out of reach.
"Today, it means we've come full-circle," Brooks said. "From the laughingstock of the league to the world champions."
MVP: Dexter Jackson won it for intercepting two Gannon passes in the first half - a Super Bowl record - and joined the Cowboys' Larry Brown (Super Bowl XXX) and the Dolphins' Jake Scott (Super Bowl VII) as the only defensive backs to earn the honor.
