Super Bowl: Johnson survives slow start to find the fast lane

If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers manage to defeat the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII here on Sunday, the result will produce the unlikeliest sporting trivia question: Name the only Super Bowl winning quarterback who began his career at White Hart Lane.

Brad Johnson never plied his trade for Tottenham Hotspur, but eight years ago he found himself performing in north London as a member of the London Monarchs, in what was then called the World League. A former basketball player from a small town in North Carolina, Johnson had been drafted by the Minnesota Vikings despite one scouting report which summarised him as "slow, tall, not smart and having a weak arm''.

The Vikings had no real idea of his potential, so they sent their man across the Atlantic to see what he could do. "I felt I knew the system in Minnesota, but I wasn't getting any playing time,'' he said. "I felt I needed to play, to make mistakes and learn from them. It was one of the best moves I ever made, and what I went through made me tough-skinned.''

Life in Europe did indeed prove hard. The World League had just reformed after two years in suspension. The Monarchs, who had attracted gates of 40,000 in 1991, their inaugural season, saw attendances dwindle to 8,000. Johnson, along with 34 other bemused Americans, found himself living in a former police barracks in Crystal Palace, earning less than $1,000 a week.

If home comforts were in short supply, on the field things were even worse. The 1995 Monarchs were a motley group of wholehearted but limited plodders; their coach was out of his depth, and Johnson found himself the highest profile member of a team destined for a tortured season of struggle. "I was pretty much on my own,'' he said here this week. "There was no one there to hold my hand, and it's not like I was surrounded by great talent, but I am a survivor.''

Johnson duly survived the carnage of White Hart Lane, demonstrating sufficient poise and leadership for the Vikings to retain him. However, he was plagued by injuries and was eventually shipped to the Washington Redskins, where he blossomed under the tutelage of the head coach, Norv Turner. Just when he seemed settled, a new owner bought the team, promptly fired Turner, and brought in a new passer, the strong-armed but temperamentally suspect Jeff George. Johnson was on the move again, this time to Tampa Bay.

Again the fates failed to smile on him. Last year, after his first season in Florida, Tampa's coach, Tony Dungy, was dismissed. In came Jon Gruden, whose first move was to announce that the quarterback position was up for grabs.

Gruden operates a complicated offensive scheme, so the oft-injured passer, once dubbed "not smart'', faced a challenge, but in the end there was no competition. Johnson won the job outright, and his 2002 season, in which he threw 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions, confirmed his status as one of the game's most overlooked performers.

"We had to modify some of the things we wanted to feature with him, but he is an outstanding football player,'' Gruden said. "Brad is a fine passer, a great competitor, and one of the big reasons we are here today. Brad grows on you.''

This season, Tampa's offence struggled early, the players needing time to absorb the complexity of Gruden's "West Coast'' system, which requires precise timing and execution. However, over the course of his last six games Johnson was flawless, with 15 touchdowns against just one interception. When he missed the last two games of the year with a bruised back, the Buccaneers first lost 17-7 to Pittsburgh, then failed to score a touchdown in a grinding victory against Chicago.

Returning for the play-offs, Johnson showed how much he had been missed, first by orchestrating the demolition of San Francisco, then overcoming an early interception to throw three touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles.

London now seems far away. Struggling for respect as a professional for so long, Johnson's path to the Super Bowl has never been easy. The Monarchs could have ruined him: indeed, none of his former team-mates from 1995 went on to enjoy a successful playing career.

Instead, it only strengthened his resolve. The maturing of Brad Johnson has been one of the most pleasing stories of the season. "I've had it tough, but I've beaten the odds,'' he said, "But I've always believed in myself even though I was a late bloomer. I started slow, but hopefully I am finishing fast.''