* 2012 – The Republican National Convention takes place in Tampa Bay, Florida.

The Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 – 10 in the final game of the season to improve their record to 9 – 7.

The Falcons finished the season at 10-6, securing the fifth seed after a Week 17 beatdown of Tampa Bay in which the Falcons pulled their starters after leading 42-0 just twenty-three minutes into the game.

They wore the combination again in 2006, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2.

The Falcons also wore their all-black uniform in 2007 against the New York Giants, and in 2008 against the Carolina Panthers and against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( for the second time ).

The Atlanta Falcons wore 1966 throwback jerseys for 2 home games in 2009 – against the Carolina Panthers on September 20 and against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 29.

Arizona had originally been intended to join Tampa Bay in the American League.

Thus, on January 16, 1997, the Diamondbacks were officially voted into the National League while their expansion counterparts in Tampa Bay were voted into the American League.

Finally, they traded Casey Fossum to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for José Cruz, Jr.

The award has never been presented to a member of the following five teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, and Washington Nationals.

Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves and Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays are the most recent winners.

The Ravens triumphed over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV at the conclusion of the 2000 season, making them one of four NFL teams to win in their lone Super Bowl appearance, along with the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Although the Orioles hovered around. 500 for much of the season, they had fallen back by September and were over 20 games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays.

Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, Orioles v. Tampa Bay Rays, Camden Yards, April 12, 2009.

On April 12, 2010 the team set a club record for the lowest paid attendance in Camden Yards history, only 9, 129 attended the game versus the Tampa Bay Rays

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays were putting the finishing touches on their eight run comeback against the New York Yankees.

* Two additional franchises: the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, now the Tampa Bay Rays ( 1998 )

Carolina debuted the alternate light blue jersey for one game at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.

In the same suit, the Raiders challenged the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1997 uniform design, including the pirate logo.

Although Carolina first played Tampa Bay in 1995, their rivalry did not start until 2003, when DT Brentson Buckner claimed fellow DT Kris Jenkins was the best defensive tackle in football, angering Tampa Bay DT Warren Sapp.

A group of investors from St. Petersburg led by Vince Naimoli reached an agreement to purchase the team and move them to the Tampa Bay Area, but National League owners voted against the acquisition.

Burns was the widow of Harmon Burns, a financier in the San Francisco Bay Area who was a key member of the investor group that saved the team from moving to Tampa in 1992.

The team name was opposed by St. Petersburg businessmen on the grounds that it emphasized Tampa at the expense of other Bay Area cities, until NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle himself met with them to encourage their support.

* Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida, the two largest cities of the Tampa Bay Area

** On the Gulf of Mexico Coast, the Tampa Bay Area, consisting of Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg

Citrus County is sometimes considered a part of the Tampa Bay Area along with the counties to the south.

Hernando, together with Pasco, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties to the south comprise the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, and along with various combinations of Manatee and Sarasota counties further south, Citrus County to the north, and Polk County to the southeast is often referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.

Hillsborough, together with Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties comprise the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, and along with various combinations of Manatee and Sarasota counties to the south, Citrus County to the north, and Polk County to the east is often referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.

Manatee County is a part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area and along with Sarasota County to the south and several counties to the north is often considered part of the Tampa Bay Area.

Pasco, together with Hernando, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties comprise the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, and along with various combinations of Manatee and Sarasota counties further south, Citrus County to the north, and Polk County to the east is often referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.

Pinellas, together with Hillsborough, Hernando, and Pasco counties form the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, and along with various combinations of Manatee and Sarasota counties to the south, Citrus County to the north, and Polk County to the east is often referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.

Located in central Florida along the I-4 Corridor, Polk, along with the counties to the west, is sometimes considered a part of the Tampa Bay Area.

Sarasota County is a part of the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization ( MPO ) and the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area and along with Manatee County and other counties to the north, often is considered part of the Tampa Bay Area.

St. Petersburg is the second largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, which is composed of roughly 2. 8 million residents, making it the second largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the state.

Today, Tampa is a part of the metropolitan area most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area.

On January 7, 2011, Matt Garza was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Cubs as part of an eight-player deal.

Glen Benton, 2009 Deicide was formed in Tampa, Florida on July 21, 1987, after guitarist Brian Hoffman called Glen Benton, replying to an advertisement the latter had placed in a local music magazine.

It was a foregone conclusion that one of them would be placed in Florida ; the only question was whether Huizenga would beat out competing groups from Orlando and Tampa Bay.

His final appearance was a 2 – 3 defeat away to local rivals Tampa Bay Rowdies on 17 June 1978, in which Rodney Marsh scored all three for the home team.

Head coach Jim Mora was fired at the end of the season and was replaced by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy.

The tribute was continued in 2008, when, during games on April 15, all members of the Mets, Cardinals, Washington Nationals, and Tampa Bay Rays wore Robinson's number 42.

On 3 June, a concert at Tampa Stadium was cut short because of a severe thunderstorm, despite tickets indicating " Rain or Shine ".

The first regular-season game in the Metrodome was the 1982 opener on September 12, when the Vikings defeated Tampa Bay, 17 – 10.

The Vikings finished the season 15 – 1, their only loss was to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27 – 24 in Week 9.

In 2001, Nauru was brought to world attention by the Tampa affair, a Norwegian cargo ship at the centre of a diplomatic dispute between Australia, Norway and Indonesia.

She was the opening act in Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington D. C.

The expansion draft was held March 30 – 31, 1976, with Seattle and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers alternating picks for rounds selecting unprotected players from the other 26 teams in the league.

Their 9-7 regular season record was followed by postseason wins over the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The game was played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the first time the Super Bowl was held in that city.

This was first time Tampa hosted the game, making it the first Super Bowl to be played in Florida in a city other than Miami.