By Alex Trickett BBC Sport Online

The teams:

Baseball: Padres
American Football: Chargers
Basketball: None
Ice Hockey: None

Well established as one of the warm-weather cities on the Super Bowl rotation, San Diego hosts the big game for the third time in 2003.

San Diego is on the Super Bowl rotation

Its football franchise, the Chargers, have only appeared in the NFL-season finale once.

They made it to Miami for Super Bowl XXIX in 1995 before losing to the Steve Young-led San Francisco 49ers.

The Padres, the city's baseball team, have fared slightly better, reaching the World Series twice.

But they also fell short of the mark on both occasions, despite the influence of all-time great Tony Gwynn.

Host to this year's Super Bowl, the 71,000-seater Qualcomm Stadium is the regular home of the Chargers and the Padres.

A ceremony to mark Johnny U's death in 2002

Since opening day in 1967, it has been treated to many momentous sporting moments, from Willie Mays' 600th home run to the World Series.

Quarterback legend Johnny Unitas ended his career here in 1973.

And, once he had gone, the Chargers faithful were privileged to watch one of the most attacking NFL teams ever - the fabled "Air Coryell" unit, led by sure-armed Dan Fouts.

Baseball fans, meanwhile, have been entertained by MLB heroes like Ozzie Smith and Dave Winfield.

Perhaps better loved than any other San Diego star, hitter Tony Gwynn was the model of consistency and brilliance by the bay for 20 glorious seasons.

Gwynn: One of baseball's best batting averages

He led the Padres to their only World Series appearances in 1984 and 1998, setting a host of personal records along the way.

In 1994, Gwynn won his fifth batting title with an incredible average of .394, the highest in the majors since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

"Mr Padre" won a National League-record tying eight batting championships in total and was selected to 15 All-Star teams.

He retired with a .338 career batting average - higher than the likes of Joe DiMaggio or Stan Musial - and had 3,141 hits in his 2,440 games.

Following in the explosive footsteps of Dick Butkus and Lawrence Taylor, Junior Seau is the perfect modern linebacker.

Seau is fierce competitor for the Chargers

Quick, perceptive and powerful, he made his mark in the NFL soon after being drafted by the Chargers as the fifth pick of the 1990 draft.

Seau reached his first Pro Bowl the next year, and has filled opposition quarterbacks with fear ever since, ruthlessly hunting them down from the snap.

A tireless community worker, Seau also has his own charitable foundation, and has won the respect of the average American for his efforts on and off the football field.