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This article is about the 2021 calendar year in American football.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2021) |
This article is about the 2021 calendar year in American football.
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2022) |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the XFL cancelled its 2021 season with plans to return in spring 2022. [2]
European League of Football- paneuropean league, continuation of NFL Europe, hold it first season. Frankfurt Galaxy win at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf in final Hamburg Sea Devils 32:30. In ELF All Star Game in Berlin: ELF All Stars defeated United States men's national American football team 26:8.
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The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League (NFL). It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game is played on the second Sunday in February. Prior Super Bowls were played on Sundays in early to mid-January from 1967 to 1978, late January from 1979 to 2003, and the first Sunday of February from 2004 to 2021. Winning teams are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the eponymous coach who won the first two Super Bowls. Due to the NFL restricting use of its "Super Bowl" trademark, it is frequently referred to as the "big game" or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. The day the game is played is often referred to as "Super Bowl Sunday" or simply "Super Sunday".
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The club joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, and played its first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Prior to the 1977 season, Tampa Bay switched conferences and divisions with Seattle, becoming a member of the NFC Central division. As a result of the league's realignment prior to the 2002 season, the Buccaneers joined three former NFC West teams to form the NFC South. The club is owned by the Glazer family and plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Tampa Stadium was a large open-air stadium located in Tampa, Florida, which opened in 1967 and was significantly expanded in 1974–75. The facility is most closely associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League, who played there from their establishment in 1976 until 1997. It also hosted two Super Bowls, in 1984 and 1991, as well as the 1984 USFL Championship Game. To meet the revenue demands of the Buccaneers' new owners, Raymond James Stadium was built nearby in 1998, and Tampa Stadium was demolished in early 1999.
Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida, that opened in 1998 and is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls college football program. The seating capacity for most sporting events is 69,218, though it can be expanded to about 75,000 for special events with the addition of temporary seating. Raymond James Stadium was built at public expense as a replacement for Tampa Stadium and is known for the replica pirate ship located behind the seating area in the north end zone. Raymond James Financial, a financial service firm headquartered in the Tampa Bay area, has held the naming rights for the stadium for the stadium's entire existence.
The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough rivalry games between the teams, it currently has four members: the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings, with the latter three based within most definitions of the Upper Midwest. The NFC North was previously known as the NFC Central from 1970 to 2001. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were previously members, from 1977, one year after they joined the league as an expansion team, until 2002 when they moved to the NFC South. The division was created in 1967 as the Central Division of the NFL's Western Conference and existed for three seasons before the AFL–NFL merger. After the merger, it was renamed the NFC Central and retained that name until the NFL split into eight divisions in 2002. The four current division teams have been together in the same division or conference since the Vikings joined the league in 1961. The Bears, Lions and Packers have been in the same division or conference since the NFL began a conference format in 1933. Largely because the four teams have played each other at least twice a year, with the exception of the strike-shortened 1982 season, for more than 60 years, the entire division is considered one very large rivalry.
The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. The NFC South currently has four member clubs: the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Lawrence Edward Foote Jr. is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the co-defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Foote previously served as the linebackers coach for the Arizona Cardinals from 2015 to 2018. He played college football at Michigan and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft.
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This fulfilled one of the conditions agreed to in 1966 for the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, which called for the league to expand to 28 teams by 1970 or soon thereafter.
Bruce Charles Arians is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2013 to 2017 and the Buccaneers from 2019 to 2021. He was also the interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts during the 2012 season. Arians is known for his slogan "No risk-it, no biscuit," which encourages aggressive playcalling.
The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) with ten teams from four states, all of whom existed in some form as participants of regional leagues in their respective territories. The league took on its current name in 1922. The NFL was the first professional football league to successfully establish a nationwide presence, after several decades of failed attempts. Only two founding members are still in the league, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals is the oldest NFL franchise.
The Tampa Bay area is home to many sports teams and has a substantial history of sporting activity. Most of the region's professional sports franchises use the name "Tampa Bay", which is the name of a body of water, not of any city. This is to emphasize that they represent the wider metropolitan area and not a particular municipality and was a tradition started by Tampa's first major sports team, the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, when they were founded in 1975.
The U.S. state of Florida has three National Football League teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Basketball Association teams, two National Hockey League teams, two Major League Soccer teams and 13 NCAA Division I college teams.
Brendan Daly is an American football coach who is the linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Daly previously served as a defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots.
The Buccaneers–Saints rivalry is the rivalry between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. While the teams first met in 1977, the rivalry did not develop until the teams were placed in the NFC South in 2002, resulting in two annual meetings. The Saints lead the overall series, 39–25. The two teams have met in the playoffs once, in the 2020 NFC Divisional Round, which the Buccaneers won, 30–20.
Shaquil Akeem Barrett is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Nebraska Omaha before transferring to Colorado State University, and was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2014. After five seasons with the Broncos, including winning Super Bowl 50, Barrett signed with the Buccaneers. His level of play increased, making the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams in 2019 after leading the league in sacks, and in 2021 won Super Bowl LV.
Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the defending American Football Conference (AFC) and Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, 31–9. The game was played on February 7, 2021, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the home stadium of the Buccaneers, marking the first time a team played a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Due to COVID-19 protocols limiting the stadium's seating capacity to 25,000 fans, it was the least-attended Super Bowl.
Tevita Tuliʻakiʻono Tuipulotu Mosese Vaʻhae Fehoko Faletau Vea, otherwise known as Vita Vea, is an American football nose tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington and was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Alex Cappa is an American football guard for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Humboldt State. He was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Antoine Duane Winfield Jr. is an American football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to gridiron football across the world, mirroring its impact across all sports. Across the world and to varying degrees, leagues and competitions have been cancelled or postponed.