Tampa Bay Curse

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The Tampa Bay Curse is a sports hex that has not yet been broken. No team that has lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers professional American football team in the regular season has gone on to win the Super Bowl.

[edit] Cases of the Tampa Bay Curse

• The 1979 Los Angeles Rams lost 21-6 in the regular season to the Bucs, although the Rams won the NFC Championship game in Tampa, 9-0. The Rams lost Super Bowl XIV to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

• The 1982 Miami Dolphins lost a Monday Night Football game to their Sunshine State rival, 23-17. The Dolphins lost Super Bowl XVII to the Washington Redskins.

• The 1988 Buffalo Bills came into a Week 14 game at Tampa 11-2, but lost by the baseball-like score of 10-5. The Bills lost the AFC Championship game to the Cincinnati Bengals, who went on to lose Super Bowl XXIII to the San Francisco 49ers.

• The 1991 Detroit Lions lost to the Bucs in the regular season, then won six in a row to finish 12-4, only to lose to the Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship.

• The 1998 Minnesota Vikings dropped their only regular season loss to Tampa and ended up losing the NFC Championship to the Atlanta Falcons (who later lost Super Bowl XXXIII), 11 point underdogs entering the game.

• The 2001 St. Louis Rams lost to the Buccaneers in the regular season and ended up losing in Super Bowl XXXVI to the New England Patriots on an Adam Vinatieri last-second field goal.

• The 2002 Green Bay Packers lost to Tampa in the regular season, ultimately costing them a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs. They would lose to the Atlanta Falcons 27-7 in the Wild Card round, their first ever home playoff defeat. The Bucs themselves would go on to win Super Bowl XXXVII at the end of the season.