Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

I’ve been a fan of the Buccaneers since about 1984. I began going to the games in ‘85, and started buying season tickets shortly thereafter. The team was not very good then, but I enjoyed seeing them live. Tampa Stadium was always only half-full, and I liked the thrill of sitting on the edge of my seat, absolutely certain the team would begin a winning streak any minute. As you know, ten years later when Malcolm Glazer bought the team, his kids put Rich McKay in charge, and with Tony Dungy as the head coach, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became a consistently good football team, reaching the playoffs five out of six years. The pinnacle as a fan was when they played for and won the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Since they won that Super Bowl, It hasn’t been as fun to root for them. I don’t know why. It could be that they reached the pinnacle, and now there is no reason for living. It could be my failure to figure out exactly what the Gruden/Allen regime is trying to do. It could be that I growed up, and it’s just not as important as it once seemed. Likely it’s a combination of all of those things, plus some. I’ve been quiet about the recent price hike on tickets to the games. Almost shocked into disbelief, I guess. For seats to the first season in the new stadium (1998), I paid $48 for each ticket. This year’s invoice is at $71 plus 2.50 service charge and sales tax for each seat. That’s a 48% increase in 7 years. Not to mention the chickensh*t move to sneak the news out on the Friday before the Super Bowl, just like last year. Add that to the fact that I’ve never liked that the NFL forces their best customers to buy seats for the practice games. I’m just not sure I can justify the expense any more.