High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Tampa Bay Area is represented by teams in four major professional sports leagues: the NFL, the NHL, Major League Baseball, and the Arena Football League. Three of the teams play in Tampa, while the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball play in St. Petersburg.The Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL became the area's first major sports franchise in 1976, and brought the area its first major sports championship at the end of the 2002 season, winning Super Bowl XXXVII against the Oakland Raiders.