Buccaneers Choose White Jerseys in Super Bowl 55, Siding with Lucky White Jersey Trend

• As the home team in Super Bowl 55, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers enjoyed the choice on which jersey to wear, opting for their road whites
• The Bucs hope to extend a trend that has seen the team wearing white jerseys win 13 of the past 16 Super Bowl matchups
• We’ve got you covered with all the details on the Lucky White Jersey trend, and what it means for next weekend’s Super Bowl 55 matchup at Raymond James Stadium

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the first team to compete for the Super Bowl on home turf when they take on the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs next weekend at Raymond James Stadium. While the Buccaneers remain three-point underdogs as the countdown to Super Bowl 55 continues, they are hoping to take advantage of the good luck that has followed teams hitting the gridiron wearing white.

Bucs Seize on Chance to Wear White

Just three of the past 16 Super Bowl champions have raised the trophy while wearing non-white jerseys. And as the home team representing the NFC in this year’s big game, the Buccaneers wasted no time in deciding what jerseys to wear this time around, electing to follow the winning tradition with a white jersey along with teal pants.

With the Bucs wearing their white uniforms in the #SuperBowl it marks the fourth time in the last 15 #SuperBowl matchups that the “home” team has worn its away jerseys. PIT did in 2006, DEN in 2016, NE in 2018 and TB this year. Steelers and Broncos both won. @UniWatch pic.twitter.com/idLIMsUFBj

— Thufir Hawat Toyota (@JayDSarkar) January 28, 2021

But while the recent success of white-clad teams on Super Sunday is noteworthy, it is a shaky basis on which to make Super Bowl betting decisions. Two of the past three Super Bowl-winning teams have bucked the white jersey trend. In addition to defying the odds, the Philadelphia Eagles also ended a six-year run for teams wearing white with their 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots at Super Bowl 52.

San Francisco #49ers go into locker room after 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.#NFL100 | #SBLIV | #GoNiners | #3ptcnvrsn pic.twitter.com/XTzo4z9A3E

— The 3 Point Conversion (@3ptCnvrsn) February 3, 2020

The Chiefs further diluted the trend last season, opting to wear their red home jerseys in an impressive 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. However, there is plenty of reason to believe that the lucky white jerseys will rebound this time around.  A six-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots, Tom Brady has lost the big game only once while wearing white. He also recorded his most recent Super Bowl victory in white, a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams two years ago at Super Bowl 53.

Lucky White Super Bowl Jerseys

Lucky White Jersey at Odds with Other Super Bowl Trends

Skeptics will point to Kansas City’s 27-24 victory in Tampa Bay earlier this season. But it was the Chiefs who wore white in that Week 12 matchup, fueling a steady 12-6 SU run for teams wearing white in games involving the Buccaneers this season.

"The Bucs lost this game bc in the 1st quarter they could not complete a single 3rd down, and in the 3rd quarter Tom Brady couldn’t stop turning the ball over."

— @getnickwright reacts to the Chiefs 27-24 win over the Bucs pic.twitter.com/OptrUdQAw2

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) November 30, 2020

However, the trend towards lucky white jerseys is at odds with other Super Bowl trends . In addition to making Kansas City the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls in 40 years, a Chiefs victory would extend a steady run of success for AFC teams. Teams representing the AFC have claimed victory on Super Sunday in six of the past eight years, and in 11 of 16 Super Bowl contests since the Buccaneers’ lone championship win in 2002. The team representing the AFC has also claimed victory in eight of the past 11 Super Bowls held at a stadium exclusively used by an NFC team, and in each of the two previous Super Bowl games played at Raymond James Stadium.

Bucs Likely Need More Than Jerseys to Top KC

Of course, what is far more important than jersey color is the quality of the team wearing them. While sports bettors wagering against Tom Brady in the Super Bowl do so at their own peril, the Buccaneers will need far more than luck if they are to knock off the defending champions. The Chiefs take an epic 25-2 SU run into this year’s big game, including this season’s victory in Tampa Bay, which was nowhere near as close as the score indicated.

Tom Brady will get much of the credit for advancing the @Buccaneers to the Super Bowl, and he deserves it. But on Sunday, he threw 3 INT and his team overcame it because Todd Bowles defense allowed 6 points off those turnovers. Difference in the game.

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) January 24, 2021

The Buccaneers enjoy a seven-game SU win streak, during which Brady has flashed vintage form. However, Tampa Bay has also enjoyed the benefit of favorable regular season scheduling, which featured just two dates with playoff bound teams over their final 10 contests. In addition, the Buccaneers benefited from considerable luck during a playoff run. Tampa Bay was fortunate to get a Wild Card Weekend matchup with the injury-riddled Washington Football Team, and relied heavily on turnovers to generate points in the postseason. The Bucs were also lucky to escape from Green Bay with the win in last weekend’s NFC title game despite seeing Brady toss three picks.

White jersey or not, expect the Buccaneers’ luck to run out against Kansas City at Super Bowl 55.