DOUBLE KNOCKOUT: Tampa Bay's 13-6 win against San Francisco in the 1997 season opener is regarded as the start of a new Bucs era. Warren Sapp knocked out 49ers QB Steve Young
with a concussion on San Francisco's fifth play. It was Sapp again in the second quarter, corralling WR Jerry Rice on an unsuccessful reverse. Rice suffered a knee injury that put him out for
most of the season. Sapp had 11 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks and a pair of Hall of Fame knockouts.
PLAYOFF FEVER: Tampa Bay lost to Green Bay 21-7 in the 1997 NFC divisional playoffs, but Sapp made his mark and established a furious personal rivalry with Packers QB Brett
Favre. Sapp had seven tackles and three sacks. He forced two fumbles and recovered another. At one point, Favre got up woozy, thinking his nose was broken. Sapp chimed in: ``Hey, pretty boy!
What's wrong?'' Favre got in the huddle. Later, Sapp walked off the field to rest for one play. Favre: ``That's right, go take a blow.'' Sapp wheeled and returned, fuming. ``He's wearing green
and gold and I'm red and pewter,'' Sapp said. ``We're going to be fighting for a very long time.''
NO WAY OUT: In 1999, when he became NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Sapp roared up the middle, forced a game-turning fumble from Seattle QB Jon Kitna and recovered it. Sapp
popped up and slowly shook his head, side to side. No way, Seahawks. Not now. Not today.
SETTING THE TONE: In 2000, with the Bucs at 3-4 and on a four-
game losing streak, the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings came to Raymond James Stadium. But Sapp set the emotional tone seven plays into the game when he quickly beat a one-on-one block, swatted the
ball away from QB Daunte Culpepper and Bucs DE Marcus Jones recovered 26 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The Bucs scored two plays later and blasted the Vikings 41-13.
BLINDSIDED: In a 2002 regular-season victory against the Packers, Sapp took out Green Bay OT Chad Clifton some 20 yards away from the play, after CB Brian Kelly intercepted
Favre. Clifton's pelvis was broken on Sapp's hit and he spent three nights in a Tampa hospital. The NFL ruled Sapp's hit was legal, but Packers coach Mike Sherman called it a cheap shot. ``I
can count the number of personal fouls I've had in my career on two fingers,'' Sapp said. ``I don't play that way. I know what a clean shot is. Front is front, back is back. I hit him right in
the mouth.''
KEY AND ME: Sapp and WR Keyshawn Johnson - the most quotable and controversial figures in Tampa Bay's locker room for most of four seasons - had a tenuous co-existence. ``The
thing that I'll always say is that there's never been the real deal,'' Sapp said of Johnson. ``I want to see the wideout who's supposed to strike fear in a defense. Show me that guy.'' Sapp
particularly didn't care for Johnson's inconsistent participation in the team's offseason workouts. ``We've changed quarterbacks, we've changed coordinators, we've changed systems, we've
changed almost everything - everything but the way our receiver comes to work,'' Sapp said.
TD THRILLA: Last season, Sapp lined up as a tight end at Atlanta and caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from QB Brad Johnson. He bounced up and down in an end-zone celebration dance,
a move he said was influenced by Beyonce Knowles' ``Crazy In Love'' video. ``It just adds to the legacy of Warren Sapp,'' Bucs coach Jon Gruden said.
A FINE MESS: After being told by the NFL to stop his pregame practice of running through opposing teams' warm-ups, Sapp called the league a ``slave system.'' He added, ``Make no
mistake about it, slave master say you can't do it, don't do it. They'll make an example out of you. I guess I've become larger than life.'' The next week, Sapp bumped an official while
running onto the field at Washington, kicked over a pylon and was fined $50,000 by the league.
