Police say bay area fans will behave

TAMPA -- After the Bucs won Sunday, fans flocked to Raymond James Stadium like pilgrims to Mecca, hoping for a glimpse of their football heroes returning from Philadelphia.

The sheer size of the crowd -- nearly 25,000, by some estimates -- surprised many. Including Tampa Police.

"I don't think we were unprepared Sunday," said police spokeswoman Katie Hughes. "But we were not anticipating the number that arrived that night."

Initially, TPD had only 30 officers staffing the celebration, but called in more units as the crowd grew. A few problems were reported -- a couple of drunk and disorderly arrests, some fans rocked a vehicle back and forth and a pedestrian was struck and killed -- but by most accounts, the crowd was well-behaved.

Police officials say they will be even more prepared for a spontaneous rally here this Super Bowl Sunday when the Bucs play the Oakland Raiders in San Diego. Officials met Tuesday to discuss security, and said that because Tampa is used to quelling problems at large events such as Gasparilla, they will be ready for anything.

Whether the Bucs win or lose, fans here won't riot, loot or shut down the city, officials insist.

"We don't burn cars like they do in Oakland," Hughes said. "Historically, Tampa Bay has a cooperative and benevolent crowd."

Sunday night -- just as Bucs fans were cheering and dancing near the stadium -- members of the so-called "Raider Nation" 3,000 miles away staged an impromptu rally of their own.

There, fans surrounded and rocked an Oakland police car. They kicked the windows out of a city bus. Officers were pelted with rocks and bottles.

According to the Oakland Tribune, police responded by saying they would use "less than lethal force" to disperse the crowds.

Riots stemming from sporting event "celebrations" are not new. In Los Angeles, fans celebrating the Lakers NBA championship in 2000 overturned vehicles, burned and looted property and caused nearly $250,000 in property damage. And in Detroit in 1990, when the Pistons beat Portland for an NBA title, widespread looting was reported and seven people died.

To be sure, Tampa fans have not lived through a major sporting celebration.

Police are more worried about something that threatens people every day -- drunken driving.

"There's going to be lots of Super Bowl parties, and people really need to do the designated driver thing," said Hillsborough Sheriff's Lt. Rod Reder. "We are in far more danger of drunk driving."

"This is not an antagonistic town," Tampa Mayor Dick Greco said Tuesday. "If the Bucs win Sunday, this town is going to go crazy. Crazy in a nice way."

-- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.