Maybe a Silver Lining?

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“Do you come here often?”  What a great line if you’re having a lovely fall evening out in downtown St. Petersburg and if the person on whom you used the line smiles. But when the “often” we are talking about is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ ineptitude, when we are referring to the mistakes, heartbreak, and the product on the field that is doubling the annual revenues of Prilosec, that line just sucks. I have always told you that I am as old-school as they come, so take it from the old school—things can only get better.

Sure, like every one of you, I have been tallying the wins and losses of every other NFC team, constantly attempting to justify our wild card chances only to have our putrid pirates blow a hole through them like so many cannonballs.  I need to crack another cold one open before I even try to think of all of the questions that have to be answered between now and training camp in July.  But there is a sliver of hope. A light at the end of the tunnel.  A reason for optimism, and I’m going to tell you what it is.  History.

The very thing that makes us Buccaneers fans is that we get knocked down—a lot—and we always get back up.  We’re the town that went bat poo crazy when, after starting 0-26, won our first game.  We are the fans who have gotten so good at looking for the silver lining that our team is the clouds.  And let’s not forget that while 29 of the other NFL cities will deal with a winter, we will bask in the Florida sun and find a way to deal with waiting for next year.

So here is my promise to you.  Deal with today’s heartbreak as you will.  Let’s debate who the next coach will be or if we should wait in the bushes outside One Buc to jump Catanzaro but join me at the Bucs/49ners game for a tailgate party.  An old-school tailgate party.  We will debate everything, toss the football around, and celebrate being one of the 32 cities in the United States of America that has an NFL team.  And if we hit the Glazers hard enough on social media, maybe we can get them to pick up the tab. I’m just sayin’….

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