The Tennessee Titans and St Louis Rams put the finishing touches on one of the most bizarre NFL campaigns in history by winning the right to play for American football's ultimate prize, the Lombardi Trophy.

While traditional NFL juggernauts like Denver, Green Bay and San Francisco fell off the road to Super Bowl XXXIV by failing to even make the play-offs, two nomadic franchises confounded the experts by reaching the title game at the Georgia Dome.

Tennessee won the AFC Championship at Jacksonville 33-14 and St Louis came from behind late in the fourth quarter to edge Tampa Bay 11-6 for the NFC title.

Next Sunday's Super Bowl showdown could not be more fitting. The biggest game in America pits a couple of teams who wear the `franchise relocation' tag which has become part and parcel of professional sports in North America.

The Rams were located in Cleveland from 1937 before moving to Los Angeles, where they remained until 1994. Now they are in St Louis, giving the Missouri city pro football again following the Cardinals departure to Arizona in 1987.

The Titans franchise used to be known as the Oilers, and they resided in Houston from 1960 to 1996, before leaving when the city balked at funding a new stadium. After a brief stint in Memphis, Tennessee, the Oilers moved into the Adelphia Coliseum this season in Nashville and changed their name to the Titans. The Oilers never reached the Super Bowl.

The Rams will be the pick of many because of their preference to play on the Georgia Dome astroturf - they won all 10 of their games on the surface at the Trans World Dome, their home field.

But Tennessee, one of the few teams to beat St Louis during the regular season, will take heart from Tampa Bay's brave performance in an 11-6 defeat when they almost completely shut down the Rams' explosive offence.

Who is brave enough to bet against the Titans? They sealed a hat-trick of victories this season against the mighty Jacksonville Jaguars, capturing the AFC crown thanks to a superb display by quarterback Steve McNair. Tennessee have been playing like a team with destiny on their side. They needed a late kick-off return for a touchdown to beat Buffalo in the first round of the play-offs, and also won at high-flying Indianapolis last week.

"We're not finished," said Titans coach Jeff Fisher, a player on the great Chicago Bears team who thrashed the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 1985.