The odds appear to be against the Tampa Bay Bucs repeating.
Even though they have Tom Brady and virtually the entire team back that crushed the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the oddsmakers still have the Chiefs favored to win it all. Tampa Bay is the second choice.
That is because repeating is more difficult than you would think in the 21st century. It hasn’t been done since Brady and the Pats won back to back after the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Brady would win three more Super Bowls with the Pats but didn’t repeat each time. And didn’t repeat after he won the first one so he is one for six while trying to repeat.
He is now attempting to join Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterback to repeat twice.
Among the quarterbacks who have failed to repeat since Brady did it are the Mannings, Peyton and Eli, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Russell Wilson.
But if Brady does win his eighth and repeats twice, the Bucs have another challenge.
How do they top this year’s Super Bowl ring? They set a new ring standard.
Teams have been trying to outdo each other with gaudy rings in recent years, but the Bucs did something unique with a ring designed by Jason of Beverly Hills, a custom jeweler that has produced several rings for championship teams but had never done a Super Bowl ring.
The company CEO said the Bucs wanted to define what a Super Bowl ring looks like and since there comes a point where you can’t make them any bigger, he said you have to do better.
Their biggest innovation was the twist-off top, the first for a Super Bowl ring. On the bottom of the removal top, laser etched in gold, is the word HISTORIC along with a description of the fact the Bucs were the first team to win it on their home field.
When the top comes off, it reveals a handcrafted replica of Raymond James James Stadium. The left and right bands feature two panels, one customized for the player and other focused on the team.
On the top are two Lombardi Trophies in honor of the team’s two Super Bowl rings and it contains 15 carats of white diamonds and 14 karat yellow and white gold along with the team’s signature flag logo carved from red stone. The 319 diamonds represent the 31-9 final score.
Those are just some of the highlights of the rings – every person in the organization got one—and gives the players more incentive to repeat.
Imagine what that ring would look like if they do it.