By MIKE LOPRESTI
Gannett News Service

SAN DIEGO - Something, at last, will have to give. It will be Oakland's No. 1 offense ... or Tampa Bay's No. 1 defense.

It will be Al Davis, the NFL's most compelling owner ... or Jon Gruden, the young and brash coach who left him.

It will be one of the quarterbacks. Rich Gannon, who bloomed late on the west coast ... or Brad Johnson, who blossomed late on the east.

It will be the mystique of the ageless Raiders ... or the charm of the first-time Buccaneers.

Someone stands aside in Super Bowl XXXVII Sunday. There is no way out now.

It can be heard from the Raiders. "If we lose," guard Frank Middleton said, "they get to wear our rings for the rest of their lives."

It can be heard from the Buccaneers. "Championships are what build legacies, and that's what we're here for," defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "I've been waiting for this for a lifetime."

There is much to be gained. The Raiders can storm back to power 19 years after their last Super Bowl, an infuriating dry spell for a franchise that likes to mention itself among the elite.

"Very rarely," said tackle Lincoln Kennedy, "is second place ever remembered."

The Buccaneers can complete a journey that began in the painful humiliation of a 0-26 birth in the 1970s. It has been a long road from the land laughingstock.

"It's the moment of truth for us and our game," said defensive end Simeon Rice. "It redefines our career."

Personal tales flood the field. From Oakland receiver Jerry Rice chasing another ring at 40, to Tampa Bay receiver Joe Jurevicius playing for a sick baby back home.

There are future Hall of Famers, and new names from nowhere. Plus the Raiders fans, flooding down the I-5 Freeway like the Goths, to a stadium where the local hatred for them runs pure after so many Charger defeats.

"We own San Diego," Middleton said. "They'd never want to see us celebrate in their stadium."

The game's juiciest plot line has raged like a grassfire all week; Gruden coaching against the team he left behind for a better deal in Tampa Bay.

The intrigue is undeniable. Gruden and Davis have not spoken since the night he left.

"I don't live in the rear-view mirror," said Gruden. "I can't tear myself in half with all these emotions."

He will be facing Bill Callahan, the assistant who took his place, and promptly led the Raiders to Qualcomm Stadium with his daring.

"I was just an obscure guy nobody knew. I was this guy in the film room," Callahan said. "I had nothing to fear. I had nothing to lose.

"When your players sense it and feel it, that you're fearless and what you want to accomplish, I think you can lead anybody."

The two coaches have been friends for some time - Gruden helped Callahan get his first NFL job - and their relationship has been examined this week for every crevice, as if it were a moon rock. "It hasn't changed at all," Callahan said. "It won't change."

Tampa Bay General Manager Rich McKay said the entire issue "was like dealing with elevator music. It's going to be talked about ... just don't listen to too much of it."

While Gruden's Tale of Two Cities has made this a national holiday for talk shows, the players will decide the day.

"We don't have to fight Gruden," Oakland running back Charlie Garner said. "We have to fight the Buccaneers."

The Raiders roster is just short of an old-timers' game.

"Pretty much everybody," Jerry Rice said, "had put me out to pasture."

Now he is like a fine wine, and surrounded by a pack of 30-something Raiders who demonstrate a Davis credo - that wise old veterans almost always have a move or two left in them.

But then, Rice has Super Bowl rings for three fingers. What of Tim Brown or Gannon, forced to wait so long for this chance? They are Cinderella. If Cinderella can be imagined in silver and black.

"One thing we have never probably had," Brown said, "is a role as sentimental favorites."

The main battle line is clear and crisp.

The Raiders scored 450 points this season. Their offense was the most potent in the league. "Electric," Sapp called it.

The Buccaneers allowed only 196. Their defense was the finest in the land.

"Just another thing the NFL loves about this game," said Brown.

Gannon, the league's MVP, was at his busiest in the AFC title game. The Raider running backs got the ball only nine times.

"If you look at that game," said Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, "you'd think you're in the arena league."

Promised Jerry Rice: "It's going to be fireworks."

But Callahan said Oakland must "pound with patience, pass with patience" against a Tampa Bay defense that thrives on turnovers.

Sapp recalled a conversation earlier in the season.

Reporter: "Warren, points are up in the NFL."

Sapp: "Not down here."

That defense has allowed only 16 postseason points. But it is fine print without a Lombardi Trophy.

"I think they do accept the premise," McKay said, "that until you win a championship, you are not going to be viewed as special."

Sunday is the moment of truth in so many ways, which is precisely what anything called a Super Bowl - and costing $400 face value for a ticket - should mean.

"We haven't done anything yet," Tampa Bay fullback Mike Alstott said. "That's the truth."

For both sides.

Return to Bengals front page...