He may not have had a pick this season, but seven years ago, his interception return for a touchdown in the NFC Championship became what many would consider the most important play in Buccaneers history.

To understand the magnitude of Ronde Barber’s interception against the Philadelphia Eagles, you have to realize where the team had been, and the fact that they were playing in a place they never wanted to be: frigid Veterans Stadium, with temperatures dipping below 26 degrees.

The previous season, the Bucs traveled up to Philly for the NFC Wildcard game and got stomped, 31-9. In 2000, same team, same thrashing – 21-3. Oh, and they had lost 20-10 (and their quarterback to bruised ribs) earlier that year.

To complicate matters, just days before the game, wide receiver Joe Jurevicius’ newborn son had been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease and was fighting for his life. The team didn’t even know if they’d have Jurevicius, one of their leading receivers, for the game.

Jurevicius traveled with the team to Philadelphia, but it was unclear how much his son’s plight would affect him and the team on the field.

Within 52 seconds, the Eagles were on the board thanks to a short field and a 70-yard kickoff return from Brian Mitchell.

On offense, the Bucs had to settle for a field goal, but they jumped out to take the lead on a 1-yard run from Mike Alstott, set up by a 71-yard reception from Jurevicius at the end of the first quarter.

Philly fired back with a field goal in the second quarter to tie the game at 10.

Then Brad Johnson hit Keyshawn Johnson for a 9-yard touchdown pass, giving the Bucs a 17-10 lead at halftime.

But if anyone could erase a 7-point lead, it was Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. In fact, it looked as if the Eagles were making a comeback in the fourth quarter, trekking 73 yards down to the Buccaneers' 10-yard line.

With 3:12 remaining and all three timeouts, McNabb locked in on his intended receiver, Antonio Freeman. With ball-hawk instincts, Barber broke in front of Freeman and returned the interception 92 yards, all the way to the end zone.

Ronde Barber streaks for the score after picking off Donovan McNabb to send the Bucs to the Super Bowl.

As Barber charged down the field untouched, the fire in his feet a contrast to the icy cold, you could feel the air sucked right from the stadium. At that moment, it became real. The Bucs were going to San Diego.

They didn’t annihilate teams with a high-octane offense like this year’s 13-0 Saints. Their grizzly veteran quarterback wasn’t an ageless wonder like Brett Favre.

But something happened when they took the field in 2002. It was as if the stars had aligned so perfectly that destiny had written their story long before that blisteringly cold day in Philadelphia. That’s what these championship games are about. The moment when destiny and the present finally touch – it becomes almost euphoric.

Ask me about my favorite game as a Buccaneers fan and I’ll tell you, it wasn’t San Diego. It was Philly, in the cold, finally beating a nemesis, a demon that had eluded the Bucs for so long. That game was the main course of the meal – the delmonico steak. The rest was just dessert.

OK, I lied. The Super Bowl was everything a Bucs fan possibly could could have imagined – and more. But in my eyes, the real prize was the journey in getting there.

-- JENNA LAINE
Follow her on Twitter @bucsblogblitz