FAB 3. MUST-SEE TV: THE GLORY DAYS BUCS TEAM ON HARD KNOCKS
All of the talk of the Bucs possibly being on HBO’s Hard Knocks got me thinking. As much as Tampa Bay fans (and media) want to see what goes on behind closed doors at One Buccaneer Place and want to see the private interactions between star players like Jameis Winston and Mike Evans, and Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy, this year’s Buccaneers team would pale in comparison to the Glory Days Bucs of yesteryear.

Former Bucs WR Keyshawn Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I’m talking about the Bucs of 2002 or 2003 when Jon Gruden was the head coach and Tampa Bay had not only an all-star roster of talented Pro Bowler, but an all-star cast of characters, too.

Warren Sapp.

Derrick Brooks.

Simeon Rice.

Ronde Barber.

John Lynch.

Mike Alstott.

Dwight Smith.

Booger McFarland.

“Us on Hard Knocks? Oh it would have been must-see TV,” Sapp said. “It would have been double must-see TV. You’d watch it live and then you’d DVR it and go back and watch it again right afterwards.”

Yes, the old Buccaneers would have owned Hard Knocks. From the Sapp vs. Keyshawn rivalry to Rice, Tampa Bay’s coolest cat and most unique player I’ve ever covered.

“Simeon had his own language,” Sapp said. “You’d need to carry around a thesaurus just to understand him, but the cameras could just follow him around and make a whole show of that. But you had some real personalities with guys like me, Simeon, Lynch and Dwight Smith – and Keyshawn, who was full of shit. Ours would have been the best of all-time. No doubt about it.”

Former Bucs DE Simeon Rice – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Rice, who graduated from the New York Film Academy in 2009 and has become a director and producer of the film Unsullied, agreed with Sapp.

“I think that’s why they stayed away from us,” Rice said. “They were afraid of us, man. There were so many different personalities, though it would have been the best Hard Knocks you’ve ever seen due to the characters involved. You have Sapp, Keyshawn, Dwight Smith, myself. Even our G.M. at the time, Rich McKay was a character. Even our other coaches, Rod Marinelli and Mike Tomlin – come on, man. Who wouldn’t want to see that?

“There was a whole cast of characters and personalities and coaches that were so robust. It was crazy. Without a doubt it would have been the best Hard Knocks. We didn’t have the showcase for it at the time because we were at the old One Buc Place, but that might have given the backdrop even more character.”

Smith, the star of Super Bowl XXXVII with two pick-sixes in Tampa Bay’s victory over Oakland, said that Hard Knocks would have shown the best of the Buccaneers, which occurred during the week at practice.

“Scott, everybody you named is pretty much on TV now,” Smith said. “It would have been a cast of personalities with a competitive spirit that a lot of people haven’t seen. The way Gruden would challenge our defense, those practices between our offense and defense would be so spirited. People don’t really understand how we got after it. We played games during the week before we played the game on Sunday. We could have showcased that on Hard Knocks.”

The Bucs’ practices were often heated. It was Gruden’s offense versus Monte Kiffin’s defense and I remember the intensity of not only the players during those sweltering training camp practices in Orlando, but the coaches.

“We had the coaches back in the day with Gruden, Rod, Herm [Edwards] and later Mike T. and Monte,” Sapp said. “They could’ve got old Monte rambling on and throwing his visor. It would have been great.”

Bucs DT Warren Sapp with DBs Dwight Smith, Brian Kelly and DT Booger McFarland – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR

As most long-time Bucs fans can remember, Sapp had a penchant for being moody and surly. And while he believes a Tampa Bay version of Hard Knocks in the late 1990s or early 2000s would have been great, he wouldn’t necessarily be a willing participant.

“There’s a reason why I was never mic’d up,” Sapp said. “You’re not going to invade my personal space unless I let you. I’ll let the cameras be on me when I want them to, but it’s not going to be all-access all the time with me. No sir.”

Although he was one of the least flamboyant Buccaneers from a personality standpoint, Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks would have saved the Glory Days Bucs team from letting Hard Knocks become a distraction.

 “That was the thing about our team – we had veterans, true veterans,” Smith said. “I don’t know if the young Bucs of today could handle Hard Knocks, but we could. It didn’t matter how old Derrick Brooks was, Derrick Brooks has been the same man his whole life.

“There were certain things he allowed and certain things he didn’t allow for us as a team. Regardless if Hard Knocks was there or not, we were still going to handle our business like we were supposed to. Brooks made sure of that.”