It’s a depressing time to be a Bucs fan nowadays. Since Jon Gruden left, the Bucs went through five head coaches over the past 10 seasons, two seasons above .500, and no playoff runs. At 3-7, most realists accept the idea the team will play for next year.
The front office won’t likely change with Jason Licht signing an extension to be the team GM. Head coach Bruce Arians will be back to mold the team further in his image. His results this year or lack thereof is reminiscent of his first years at other organizations. Short of some behind the scenes fallout, Arians likely retains quarterback Jameis Winston for an extension. Whether Winston has real competition at the position is another question entirely. While fans and coaches prep for their final evaluation of the 2019 season, here are suggestions to deal with the losing season
Spend Time With Your Pets/Kids
No matter what mood you’re in, your fuzzy friend has an empathic way of connecting. If you’re in distress, your dog and/or cat typically comes to you in comfort in your time of need. It’s quite a therapeutic distraction from a ref’s bad call or it can turn your mood 180 degrees, at least for a short time. Pets don’t typically judge.
If you have kids, there are plenty of things you can do to enrich your child’s life to distract you from how awful the team is doing. Play catch, read to them, play videogames, or watch a movie. Just be genuine. A kid, much less any adult, likely has the intuition to see if interest is there. If you treat it like an obligation, they’ll know.
Play As The Bucs On Madden
The Bucs might be failing again in the 2019 season, but that doesn’t mean they have to when you play Madden ’20. With all that talent on the team, you can show your opponents what an Arians team can really do sans the excess turnovers. Provided you know half of what you’re doing, the defense won’t crumble like the current secondary for big plays.
You can make up combating over 10 years of not making the playoffs with a dynasty of your own. Sign quality free agents or trade aging players for a slew of draft picks. You get to feel smart because you aren’t Licht and you likely won’t take a kicker in the second round.
Watch Hockey And/Or Basketball
Sure, you might not have a dog in the race much longer in the NFL, but there are other sports on TV for teams that still have a chance. The Tampa Bay Lightning is still watchable since it’s not playoff time, yet. If any of the teams you root for are successful, by all means, enjoy them. Since winter is approaching, some streetball or flag football wouldn’t be bad ideas either.
Pop In 2002 Bucs Super Bowl DVD
If you’re longing for the days when the Bucs were the toast of the league than hot garbage, you can pop in the 2002 Bucs DVD and see old favorites like John Lynch, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, and Keyshawn Johnson. It was a time when the defense was such a fierce force you almost never had to worry about them giving up 300 yards a game through the air. Savor the time when one of the most prolific runners in team history Mike Alstott broke tackles with his wide frame and punishes would-be tacklers to a first down or the end zone.
Put On A Comedy
Watching sloppy football with turnovers from the offense; commit stupid penalties like a false start, holding or pass interference; or watching the other team burn the Bucs secondary for a quick score is an infuriating experience especially when it occurs late in the game when the team is down just a score. As the time ticks closer to zero and you’re yelling at the screen, perhaps it’s a good idea to put on your favorite comedy.
Some suggestions for your viewing pleasure: The Office, Police Academy, Airplane!. Anything that can take your mind off of how awful the team is.
