It all started on a warm 1976 August night in Largo, FL when an quizzical preschooler asked his dad why a guy wearing the zebra shirt threw yellow trash on the ground.
In that moment, my love for Buccaneers football was born and my journey as a lifelong fan started.
From 0-26 to Super Bowl champions. From 8-8 predictions to 2-14 flops. From #1 rated defenses to dismal offensive displays. From 4-12 to 9-7 to 5-10. From Florida orange to Pewter Power to over-sized helmet logos. From the Big Sombrero to Ray Jay. From “Here Come The Vacuuuums!” to “Fire The Canons!” From the “Wilder One” to the “A-Train”. From the Throwin’ Samoan to the Goat. The Bucs have been and will forever be my team.
But how did “Buctor1an” come about? I was a college sophomore, obsessed with Bucs trivia, sharing facts with anyone who’d listen. One day, my roommate said, “Dude, you’re like a Bucs historian… a “Buctorian.” And somehow, it just stuck.
Win or lose, it doesn’t matter.
Always honor the orange. Always raise the flags. Always fire the cannons! And…
Never! Jump! Ship!
The top 10 contests of all times as determined by this lifelong fan. These 10 games depict the franchise’s best, worst, and most unique contests personally experienced. 50 seasons of games to choose from. 10 make the list that define the Buccaneers from the eyes of the Buctor1an.
Select a number above to see game details and comments.
Fitzmagic controlled the offense completing 70% of his passes for 406 yards. The Bucs were moving the ball at will, resulting in 5 red zone trips. But when it mattered most, the team just couldn’t score. Fumbles, interceptions, and missed FGs were more common than TD celebrations this day.
Bucs walk away with only 3 points. 3!
It truly is a Bucs life.
Prior to this game, the Bucs had never returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Never. It became the standard commentator jargon to comment on the long overdue event.
Think about this: In 32 season, 512 games, 1,092 kickoff tries, the Bucs had never returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Not once!
Oh the ineptitude.
That is until late in the first quarter, Bucs leading 7-3, Michael Spurlock lined up on the goal line ready to make a return.
He fields the ball at the 10 and proceeds 90 yards untouched to paydirt while the great Gene Deckerhoff yells “Run Michael! Run Mihcael! Run!”
Santamaria!
Regardless the Bucs were 0-7 and sniffing the NFC South cellar, the Tampa Bay area was celebrating Bucco Bruce once again.
After 12 years of wearing red & pewter, the Florida Orange is dawned on the gridiron once again.
Lee Roy Selmon is the first inductee into the team’s Ring of Honor, forever having his name displayed high in the stadium.
#63 was retired and never again to be worn.
Bucs battle back from being 11 points down in the 4th quarter to earn the dub.
HEY HEY TAMPA BAY THE BUCS KNOW HOW TO SHINE!
2 years removed from losing 26 games straight, Bucs were hosting the NFC Championship game with the chance to go to the Super Bowl in just their 4th year of existence.
Truly, WORST TO FIRST!
Unfortunately the football gods didn't point their finger to our side of the field this day.
For the first time in many, many years, the Bucs had a meaningful game in the month of December.
With the help of ESPN Sunday Night Football, and Michael Husted’s foot, I was able to witness our beloved Bucs take Favre and the Packers into OT and clinch the W…..to keep the playoff hopes alive and guarantee there would not be a double-digit losing record.
I vividly recall waking up the house after the kick went through the uprights.
For the first time in league history, a Super Bowl team was playing in their own backyard for all the glory.
After 3 impressive road playoff victories (@WAS, @NO, @GB), the Goat and the Bucs returned to sunny Florida and kept the peddle down to wreak havoc all over Mahomes, Hill, and the rest of the Chiefs.
Kansas City failed to score a touchdown and lost by double-digits, making them the third Super Bowl team not to score a touchdown.
The Bucs capitalized on these struggles to take a 21–6 lead at halftime and dominated the remainder of the game.
27 years in the making………60 minutes to glory.
The Raiders came into the game as four-point favorites. However, a dominant defensive performance from the Buccaneers throughout much of the game would unravel the juggernaut Raiders offense. Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon threw a Super Bowl record five interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns (both SB records). The Bucs also sacked Gannon five times, and scored 34 consecutive points to build a 34–3 lead late in the third quarter.
The Bucs had reached the mountain top.
3rd straight year the Bucs go to fridgid Philly for the playoffs. This time it’s for a trip to the Super Bowl.
No one picked the Bucs to win and 57 seconds into the game you would think that to be correct. Philly returns the opening kickoff to mid-field and then 2 plays later are in the end zone. Ugh. Here we go again….but wait….Gruden has a master plan that gets executed to perfection.
Late in the 4th quarter Philly is making play after play, looking to get the game close. What ensued was the best play in franchise history….Ronde Barber baiting McNabb with a blitz only to snag a short pass in the flat and return it to paydirt.
TOUCHDOWN, TAMPA BAY!
The Vet gets closed in slience heard around the world.
Just glorious.
0-26 before kickoff.
First team victory when the clock struck 00:00.
After an 0-14 campaign in their inagural season, the 1977 Bucs sat at 0-12 and had been shut out in five of their previous seven games, scoring a meager 53 points on the season.
Tampa Bay had been making obvious strides on defense, but its offense was simply anemic.
There was no reason to expect a Tampa Bay victory except for the fact that the Buccaneers were overdue, and the 3-9 Saints were nearly as inept.
Some bulletin board material from Archie Manning calling the team a “disgrace” was that extra motivation needed.
The Bucs continued their “hot streak” the following week with another victory, a 17-7 conquest of the St. Louis Cardinals at Tampa Stadium, to finish the season at 2-12. Two years later, they made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game. (See #6)
A tribute to my childhood football hero.
A true legend on and off the field, Selmon was the Buccaneers’ first-ever draft pick, a 6x Pro Bowler, and the first Buc inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He dominated the trenches, often times manhandling double teams on the way to the QB.
Buccaneer assistant Abe Gibron said, “Selmon has no peers” at defensive end, while former Detroit Lions coach Monte Clark compared him to “a grown man at work among a bunch of boys”.
By the numbers:
The top players that impacted the franchise and left a lasting mark on this lifelong fan.
