The Past Is A Matter of Perspective

          Well folks, it has been a very long time since I've thrown some letters together to make words, and some words together to create sentences here on this blog. Life changes, responsibility changes, workload changes and everyone's most hated change.....less spare time for fun things has unfortunately been the reason for not partaking in this hobby. Thanks to the Corona Virus sweeping the planet and Social Distancing guidelines, most people have a little more spare time on their hands, and that includes me. So let's see give it a shot.

          Buccaneer fans are a fickle bunch, a polarized bunch, a divided bunch. No matter what the topic at hand, Buccaneer fans are usually split down the middle, feverishly arguing with their fellow fans. It doesn't matter what the topic at hand is, you can guarantee the fanbase will be split. I've never been a fan of another team, so I've never had the experience of discussing topics of a shared love with any other fan base. With my having been born and raised in Rhode Island for 31 years, then relocating to Kansas City, MO a little more than 16 years ago, I have the experience of being an outside observer of two different fanbases. I can tell you one thing for sure, I've never noticed division or infighting about almost every single topic about their teams from Patriot and Chiefs fans. Certainly not like Buccaneer fans.

          So that brings me to the point of this blog entry. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers existence has two distinctly separate eras. First was 1976 through 1996 when the team donned creamsicle(Florida orange) and red, with the winking pirate Bucco Bruce on the sides of the helmet. That was followed by 1997 through present time for which the team has been colored in pewter and red, with a pirate attack flag on the sides of the helmet. Argument topics come and go. They usually pertain to a player on the roster, a draft selection, a coach, a general manager and even the ownership. They may stem from offensive or defensive scheme, offensive or defensive play calls, or when and when not to call a time out. However, the longest lasting argument is and will always be creamsicle and red vs. pewter and red.

          Some fans love and respect the old uniforms and logo. Its sentimental value tugs on their heart strings. It brings up powerful feelings of joy when the Tampa Bay area was selected as one of the new homes for an NFL franchise. It reminds them of their childhood and their young innocence watching their new found heroes play the game of football. For some it's respect like the adage and Maya Angelo quote, "You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been." Respect and understanding for the past are paramount throughout most walks of life.

          Some fans despise the old threads and winking pirate because it brings back feelings of sadness. It brings back memories of losing, of 0-26, brown paper bags, the Yucs and Johnny Carson's almost nightly  insults of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Those colors and logo for this group of fans reminds them of the harrassment they received from other teams' fans. The harrassment and insults Buccs players received from players on other teams' rosters. They want to forget those memories and feelings, but they can't. They hate that they can't forget, therefore they hate what reminds them.

          For me personally when I see the old uniforms it reminds me of how this little boy from Rhode Island fell in love with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. My paren......errrrrrr Santa Claus brought me an NFL dartboard with velcro darts. Around the perimeter of this dart board were the helmets from all the NFL teams. As you can imagine being from the northeast, the Buccs were hardly ever on TV. That one Sunday though,  when my little brother and I were wrestling around in the living room while the TV was on and I looked up. There they were, playing at the J-E-T-S. I yelled out, "the team with the wicked awesome helmets!" I was hooked for life. No pirate pun intended. On an unrelated side note, with brothers sometimes being competitive, obviously my brother was rooting for "the green team," only because big brother was rooting for the other team. To this day, my little brother is still a J-E-T-S fan.

The biggest reason why I look at the past uniforms with favor is because it reminds me of how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers accomplished something that has never been or will ever be done. You see, a lot of people don't realize what a horrible position the Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks were put in when they entered the league as expansion teams. The rules are very different now for expansion teams. Current NFL teams protect 5 players on their rosters, and expansion teams can pluck whomever they want from any team that is not protected. Expansion teams also have the luxury of Free Agency which didn't exist in 1976. The Buccs roster at that time was made up of a bunch of players nobody else wanted on their teams, and it showed on the field as evidenced by their 0-26 start. Their truly amazing and miraculous turnaround is what gives me pride in those old uniforms and Bucco Bruce. From the day the Buccs broke their 0-26 streak of ineptness, it only took them just 34 games to go from the laughing stock of the world, to coming within one game of the Holy Grail that is playing in the Super Bowl. The same team just 34 games previously, that couldn't get out of their own way was 9 points from playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl, when they held the Los Angeles Rams without a touchdown in the NFC Championship game. The LA Rams could only muster 3 field goals against the team that not too long before that, was mostly made up of men who wouldn't have been NFL players had the NFL not expanded to 28 teams. That is what I think of, and the joy that comes with it when I see the creamsicle uniforms and Bucco Bruce.