Super Bowl hype machine kicks into gear

Super Bowl LV is still more than a year away. But excitement about Tampa’s fifth turn as host of the biggest of big games went next-level with the recent unveiling of the host committee leadership and logo.

Notably, the logo — designed to resemble a pirate ship — reads, “Tampa Bay: Host of Super Bowl LV,” instead of just “Tampa.” That’s by design, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Owner and co-Chairman Bryan Glazer says.

“Our community comes together for Super Bowls,” he says at a Sept. 4 press conference at Raymond James Stadium.

Indeed, the emergence of Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater as one of the fastest-growing and most desirable metro areas nationwide has made the region a top option for marquee events including the NHL All-Star Game, the College Football Playoff Championship Game and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four. All of those have been held in Tampa in recent years.

That's partially why it’s not difficult for Glazer to convince other NFL team owners to let Tampa Bay host the Super Bowl. “I’m lucky,” he says, “because I have the easiest job in the world: to sell this community. But it’s not a one-man job.”

Glazer, in the effort, is backed by a number of business and sports All-Pros, headlined by Super Bowl LV host committee co-chairmen Derrick Brooks and Will Weatherford. A former speaker of the Florida House and Land O’ Lakes High School football player, Weatherford grew up idolizing Brooks, the Bucs’ Hall of Fame linebacker.

“To one day get to co-chair a Super Bowl with Derrick Brooks, that’s what dreams are made of,” says Weatherford, who now runs Tampa-based private investment firm Weatherford Capital with his brothers Sam and Drew, the latter a former star quarterback at Florida State University. “It’s a humbling opportunity.”

Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, leads the host committee and shares the group's excitement. “We can’t wait to show the world again how much Team Tampa Bay loves the Super Bowl,” Higgins states in a press release.

Super Bowl LV (for 55) will be played Feb. 7, 2021.