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Tampa Game A Super Success

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By BENTLEY ORRICK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 23, 1984

Updated: 11/20/2008 03:36 pm

Sunday was a lousy day for the Redskins. It was a great day for the Raiders. And it was a super day for Tampa, which took the extravaganza in casual, big-league stride.

Raiders, 38, Redskins, 9. And a rushing record 191 yards for Raiders running back Marcus Allen.

For Tampa, a lot of hard work had been capped by some luck at last with the weather.

It all came together at 4:46 p.m. as the 72,920 lucky, wealthy, well-connected or just-plain dogged game goers – the ones who had somehow wrangled tickets – stood up howling inside Tampa Stadium for kickoff.

Outside the exclusive stadium precincts, the less-favored legions settled back in lawn chairs in the parking lots, picked a bar stool in a tavern or lounged in homebound sofas to watch THE GAME on television.

From the stadium came a bass rumble topped by the shrill soprano of air horns as the people watchers, professional event goers and yes, football fans gave voice.

Tampa's Super Bowl XVIII, 33 months in the making, was under way as Jeff Hayes of the Redskins arched a kick to the Raiders' Greg Pruitt inside the 5 and the ball skittered into the endzone where Pruitt covered it for a touchback.

The civic boosters had done their best and the members of the Super Bowl Task Force had retired in the early afternoon to a tailgate party under a just-in-case tent.

Traffic snarls were at a minimum. There was even some sunshine darting out from between the scudding, darkening clouds and, for a wonder, no rain and only the slightest hint of that Christmas freeze which had shriveled the normally lush vegetation into sad imitations of wilted lettuce.

At game time it was 69 degrees, and a stiff breeze from the northeast kept it from seeming too warm for Northern visitors and Florida natives alike.

For better or worse, Tampa was on the air and on the map of America as never before. There was nothing to do now but watch the game.

Three and a half hours later, the game was over.

Tampa's biggest production since staging the troops for an invasion of Cuba in 1898 had come to an end.

Everything had gone well except for the lopsided score which had fans leaving in a steady stream in the third quarter.

Police reported arresting only 77 of the throng inside and outside the stadium. Of those, 29 were arrested for attempting to sneak their way through or over the gates without a ticket and another 15 for attempting to scalp tickets. Another hundred or so were ejected. Most were caught milling around or sitting in the aisles and couldn't produce a ticket stub.

Violent rowdiness was at a minimum and there were only two arrests for strong-arm robbery, although about 30 people reported they had been victimized by pickpockets or purse snatchers who went for tickets as much as for money.

There wasn't even an attempt by this orderly crowd to tear down the goal posts. Only a few fans jumped the 4-foot wall near the Raiderss endzone and they merely performed a victory dance.

This article originally appeared in The Tampa Tribune on January, 23 1984.

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