Buccaneers not doing much to be more likeable

[Madman]

The fans stopped caring when they noticed the owners stopped caring... when they bought Man U and stopped spending money on the Bucs.

Sure the hardcore fans like you and me will still follow the team but the rest of the folks, the ones yuo need to fill a stadium, are as apathetic as the owners.

[JavaRay]

The fans stopped caring when they noticed the owners stopped caring... when they bought Man U and stopped spending money on the Bucs.

Sure the hardcore fans like you and me will still follow the team but the rest of the folks, the ones yuo need to fill a stadium, are as apathetic as the owners.

The end of the 2007 season when they raised ticket prices 35% in one season was they year I bailed.    But many of my friend kept their season tickets one more year until they heard Gruden was fired and replaced by Raheem.   That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

[Madman]

I still have my season tickets and I swear someone offers me theirs nearly every week. Fans have totally lost interest in the 2011 Bucs.

[bucfan33]

The end of the 2007 season when they raised ticket prices 35% in one season . Agree with this point Java. it was the first straw. Second wasn't the hiring of Raheem, but the unceremonious dumping of Veteran players (Especially D Brooks). The final straw for me will be if I see any more lack of effort games like the Houston game. They need to realize that any good will they were winning back after last season is being lost quickly by lack of effort and excuses.

[jerseybucsfan]

It's been a gradual process. You love, then you're disenchanted, you consider leaving and then you leave. I noticed one level of fandom from 2002 to 2005. A bigger dip happened over the next two years. Then more left.

[Morgan]

The attitude towards the team just shows how poor and un loyal the Tampa area is to it's sports teams.

So you completely missed the entire point that the article is addressing: lack of commitment, marketing, community involvement by the Glazers. 

Loyalty is a two-way street.

I've been posting this POV for about a year: Bucs have a couple of thugs on their teams, have overpriced tickets, haven't brought in the flash player free agents, has allowed the team to be taken to London at the expense of the fan and the team.......blah, blah, blah.

[jerseybucsfan]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers not doing much to be more likeable



 By Gary Shelton, Times Sports Columnist
In Print: Wednesday, November 23, 2011
 



They have not won in more than a month. Twice in six games, they have been accused of loafing, once by their head coach. Home games are almost always blacked out, and more and more, you get the feeling that road games are being tuned out.

So how do you like your Bucs now?

Over 10 weeks, they have one of the worst offenses in the league, which is troubling because they also have one of the worst defenses. They still spend less than most teams in the NFL. Also, the defensive huddle breaks with Aqib, Albert and Tanard.

And let's ask again. Do you like this team?

Still?

That was one of the goals of the new regime, remember? The Bucs wanted to be embraceable again. They not only wanted to win, they wanted to admired, the way they were in the old days. They wanted kids to wear their jerseys, adults to wear their caps. They wanted to win back the hearts of Tampa Bay.

It was that way in the old days, remember? The Bucs would play on Sunday, and Warrick Dunn would give away a house on Tuesday, and Derrick Brooks would mentor kids on Wednesday, and Mike Alstott would make an appearance for charity on Thursday, and John Lynch would visit his foundation on Friday. They were not only fine football players, they were fine people, and even in weeks they didn't win, the community still cared.

Now?

Do you like them? Do you think they are fun? Do they entertain you? Do their results affect your mood? Here's a question: When referring to the Bucs, do you use the words "we'' or "us?''

Three years into the current Bucs era and there still seems to be a disconnect between team and community. It is as if the Bucs and their fans are still at arm's length, still trying to figure each other out.

Start with losing, because in professional sports, that's the easiest thing to dislike. The Bucs haven't won a playoff game since 2002, and sadly, they don't look close to getting back to a postseason anytime soon. This year, there have been many more times when they have looked like the 3-13 team of 2009 rather than the 10-6 team of 2010.

Much of that has come down on the head coach. Still, give Raheem Morris credit for this much: The schedule is harder. That said, a head coach is the last person who should bring it up. In the NFL, no one grades on a curve.

Remember how Morris bristled last year when anyone mentioned the Bucs weren't beating winning teams? If the schedule is a reason for the current underachievement, then logic says it was the reason for the overachievement of last year, and suddenly, the Bucs have devalued the success of 2010.

Besides, you may remember this: The Bucs beat San Francisco by 21 points last year. They lost by 45 this year. That doesn't have a thing to do with the schedule.

Of course, fans might like the team better if they could follow it more closely. Again, I understand why owners grasp the blackout rule so firmly. If I were an owner, I wouldn't want to give away my product either. That said, the blackouts, and the ongoing rhetoric, isn't helping team win back fans.

Then there is the roster, where most players haven't been around long enough for fans to develop an emotional investment. Ask yourself this: Except for Ronde Barber's, and maybe Josh Freeman's, whose jersey would you purchase for your kid?

Aqib Talib's? Albert Haynesworth's? Tanard Jackson's? Yeah, yeah. Talib's trial isn't until next year, and the team is more talented with him. Haynesworth is still more of a Band-Aid than a blueprint, and no, no one really considers him a mentor. (Let's hope). Jackson was an upgrade.

Still, I have to tell you, it was puzzling that Jackson not only was active his first game, but started. And he not only started, but was introduced. And he was not only introduced, but was introduced last and carried the team flag as he entered the field. It was a hero's return to the field, not the return of a guy who had let down his team by being suspended for drugs.

Just wondering, but was there a point when discussing these players that the Bucs wondered about their team image? Even a little?

You know what people like? They like effort. They like achievement. They like discipline. They like players who stand for more than games on Sunday. They like the impression that today is going to be better than yesterday, and tomorrow is going to be better than that.

They like young players, as long as they are improving. They like toughness, as long as it can be counted on. They like character, as long as it is genuine. They like home games, as long as they aren't based in London.

Also, they like owners who want to win as badly as they do.

Yes, it comes back to the Glazers. Why wouldn't it? There have been too many years of low payroll for anyone to believe it's a coincidence. There is nothing wrong with building through the draft, but when the drafts were as bad as they were in the Bruce Allen years, there are too many holes to fill without signing the right free agent or two.

So how do you rekindle a relationship with fans? First, you win. We all agree on that.

After that, the standards should be raised when it comes to character. No one expects Boy Scouts in shoulder pads, but it's time to reduce the size of the off-field headlines on this team.

After that, cut a loafer. Cut two. Cut as many as it takes until effort is no longer an issue. And the front office should stop acting as if they shouldn't be questioned. For crying out loud, the president gets questioned.

Also, stop talking about the schedule. If you want easier opponents, go coach in the Big East.

As for the Glazers, it is time to be more visible (and more audible) in the community. Convince people you have a blueprint to win. Convince people it ticks you off as much as it ticks them off. Oh, and spend a little money, won't you?

This is what the Bucs needed to realize. As tough as the economy is, there are other reasons the stands are no longer stuffed. If you want a community to embrace you, then embrace it.

The Bucs need to be good. They need to be efficient. They need to be entertaining.

For the good of Tampa Bay, they need to be likeable.

Judging from this year, they have work to do.

This has to be one of the most venomous articles I have read. In Kansas, we have the Chiefs who haven't  been to the Super Bowl since 1971. They have made the playoffs once since 1995. They have a roster of no names and are losing in the AFC west, horribly and still sell out games. You don't see this kind of article. And fan perception is driven by the media. They choose what the want to write about the Bucs. This article could just as easily have been written about how the Bucs played better against the Super Bowl champs and may be turning the corner. It could have been written about the efforts that exist in the community that are generating a positive perception as the team strives to deliver on the field. It could have included something about how Haynesworth appears to be making a positive contribution, so far.  It could have been any number of positive angles. then what would the public perception be? My guess is that if the public reads and hears about positives they will be more jnclined to support the team. And for the record, there was a sell out for the Monday night game and the Dallas game is sold out. Maybe the writer could say, if the Bucs when the next three games (all winnable, Tennessee, Carolina, Jacksonville) the Dallas game will have huge playoff implications. Perhaps that would spur fan interest. But, alas, it is more important to create any negative slant he can find, old or imaginary, and throw that out there. Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Shelton!

Thank you! Thank you! I have been saying this for YEARS. The venom against Gruden began in 2003 and continues to this day. Ironically, this isn't anywhere near the level of venom we saw in 2004 or in Gruden's last year. The negativity may have been at its worst in 2005, though, when the Bucs should have drawn raves, but instead had their success minimized because the local writers hated Gruden and wanted him gone. To this day, a large part of our fanbase feels that year was nothing special (despite the fact that four or five of the best wins in Buc history happened that year).
I think there's a lot positive to draw from the game against Green Bay. But the local media only sporadically takes that approach.

[tatmanfish]

meh, Im just tired of Shelton as hes always injecting his own opinion and assuming its the same as everyone else.

He's a **CENSORED**ing columnist. What do you expect?

way to cut out part of the quote. the part you cut out may have been trivial to your pathetic attempt huh?

[JavaRay]

It's been a gradual process. You love, then you're disenchanted, you consider leaving and then you leave. I noticed one level of fandom from 2002 to 2005. A bigger dip happened over the next two years. Then more left.

Sorry, but the biggest dip was from 2009 to 2010.

[Morgan]

meh, Im just tired of Shelton as hes always injecting his own opinion and assuming its the same as everyone else.

He's a **CENSORED**ing columnist. What do you expect?

way to cut out part of the quote. the part you cut out may have been trivial to your pathetic attempt huh?

and assuming its the same as everyone else.

What does that even mean "assuming its the same as everyone else"?   

Shelton's article was discussed by several of the local Tampa sports talk radio shows with 100% agreement.

[Madman]

Negativity not positivity sells papers and gets the radio callers worked up.

In Shelton's defense, its all true and there hasn't been a whole lot of positive stuff to talk about this season. Hey, good news, the Bucs only lost by 9 this week? 

[JavaRay]

Hey, good news, the Bucs only lost by 9 this week

LOL!    Isn't it amazing how people around here act like the Bucs did well.   They lost by more than a TD!

[Morgan]

They pulled to within 2 points after falling behind 14-0. They played much better than the previous week. They gave the World Champions a very good challenging game and played much better than anyone predicted. The final score doesn't tell the whole story.

[JavaRay]

A loss is a loss.

[Morgan]

Disagree. The big complaint lately here in Tampa is how they've been losing, and their lack of effort.  Losing 48-3 is different than giving the league's undefeeated defending champs a run for their money