It’s Creamsicle Week, Pewter People. The Bucs will break out the old orange and white this Sunday when they host the Falcons in a crucial NFC South matchup.

This is obviously a game that has major implications in terms of the divisional race, and it’ll be a tough task for Tampa Bay considering the injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Above all else, the Bucs need to win to split the season series with the Falcons, improve to 2-1 in divisional play and take over the NFC South lead.

But it sure would be nice to see Tampa Bay snap a frustrating streak when Atlanta comes to town, wouldn’t it?

Of course, that streak is the four-game skid the team has when wearing its creamsicle throwbacks. After beating the Packers when Bucco Bruce was reintroduced for a throwback game in 2009, the Bucs have lost subsequent creamsicle games in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2023.

If You’ll Allow Me To Get Up On My Soapbox For A Bit…

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

I’ve never been one to buy into the narratives about the Bucs’ woes in their creamsicle games. Because let’s be real, the orange jerseys and Bucco Bruce helmets aren’t the reason why Tampa Bay lost those games in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2023.

Having 102 penalty yards and allowing a 102-yard kickoff return en route to blowing a 24-14 lead is why they lost to the Falcons in the 2010 throwback game. Generally speaking, being a bad team is why they lost the creamsicle games in 2011 and 2012. And when the throwbacks returned in 2023, they lost because the offense played poorly on its way to six points and the Lions were simply a better team.

It’s not the jerseys, the helmets or the pants. It’s the players and coaches, and it’s on this group of players and this coaching staff to reverse the trend come Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium.

So, hold on. If I don’t believe in these creamsicle narratives, why am I paying them any mind this week and proclaiming that the Bucs need to reverse the trend? Well, it’s because it’s a fact that yes, Tampa Bay has lost four throwback games in a row.

That’s just reality.

And that’s why this team needs to win on Sunday. Yes, it needs to win because of the NFC South implications, but also because it would be a great way to dispel these narratives that – frankly – I’m tired of hearing about every time the topic of the creamsicles comes up.

A win and the stink of it all subsides.

A loss? More talk about how the team should never wear these throwbacks (which are among the NFL’s best) ever again.

Bucs Need To Win Sunday’s Creamsicle Game For The Vibes

Former Bucs DE Lee Roy Selmon – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers

The throwback game is supposed to be a special occasion – something fun for the fans, as well as the players and coaches. Sure, the creamsicles have a complicated history given their association with a largely losing era of Bucs football. But you know what else happened in the creamsicle uniforms? The franchise’s first game, its first win, its first playoff appearance, its first playoff win.

Franchise legends were born during the creamsicle era, too. Bucs Ring of Honor members Lee Roy Selmon, John McKay, Jimmie Giles, Paul Gruber and Doug Williams all donned the creamsicles, as did icons like Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Mike Alstott.

Paying homage to the franchise’s roots and turning back the clock with throwback jerseys, signage, field design and the lot if it? That’s supposed to be fun. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

So, when it comes time for the throwback game every year, it should be a fun occasion. It should be a unique game within the 18-week regular season schedule that stands out for the way it honors the team’s history and celebrates decades upon decades of football in Tampa Bay.

But when the Bucs announced their 2024 creamsicle game over the summer? Not to go full Gen Z on everyone, but it was bad vibes. For many, there was that instant reaction of dread – fans know the team loses the games when they break out the old orange and white, after all.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: USA Today

It would be nice if it didn’t have to be like that, wouldn’t it? I can write 10,000 words about the lack of a true correlation between these uniforms and the team’s record in them, but when it’s all said and done, it’s about the result. And I get that – I do.

That’s why coming away with a win in Week 8 would mean a whole lot. A win over the Falcons on Sunday afternoon would snap that frustrating losing streak in throwback games and change the narrative a bit.

Because then, when the team presumably announces a creamsicle game in 2025, we can get back to the root of what these throwback games are: fun and good vibes.

And now I’ll step down from my soapbox.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming here on PewterReport.com.