Somehow, playoffs lost luster

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© St. Petersburg Times
published January 11, 2002

How about that parade? How about those banners? How about that tingle in the air? How about that murmur of excitement?

Oops. That isn't a tingle. It's frostbite. And that isn't a murmur. Someone is snoring!

Come to think of it, does anyone out there realize it's a playoff week?

Such is the shape of the Tampa Bay Bucs. They are preparing for only their 10th playoff game in franchise history, and already, this is old hat. Bucs fans seem to be looking at Saturday's game against Philadelphia with every bit of eagerness that FSU fans looked at the Gator Bowl this season.

The playoffs?

Oh.

This week, the playoffs are only a by-product of the real debate, which is whether Bill Parcells or Steve Spurrier should take Tony Dungy's job, and if either should have to wait until Dungy, technically, moves out. You hear a lot about Spurrier. You hear a lot about Parcells. You hear a lot of debate over whether Spurrier would be better than Parcells.

But has anyone heard the name Donovan McNabb? Do you hear anyone worried about Hugh Douglas? Duce Staley? Is anyone discussing Brad Johnson on ice?

Not enough, you don't.

A reminder, people. Reaching the playoffs isn't nothing. And if ever there were fans who should realize it, those of this team should.

Remember 1983? Remember 1996? Remember all those seasons in between, when the playoffs seemed like a distant promise? Remember 1997, and the way electricity filled this area just because the Bucs had made it to the postseason?

I didn't think so.

Once upon a time, the playoffs would have been the topic of conversation around here. People would have worn Bucs colors to work. Radio stations would play silly little songs about the players. Mayors would wager.

These days, people say the word with a sneer. Playoffs. "The Bucs didn't win their division, they didn't get homefield advantage. They merely made the playoffs." Just that.

The playoffs no longer sound like magic. They sound like mediocrity. They sound like that second-rate vacation place you've been to too many times. "Mosquito Beach? Again? But we went there last year."

Trivia time: Do you know how many teams in the NFL have made the playoffs for three straight seasons? Three. That's it. The playoffs aren't as easy to reach as you might think.

Yet, fans seem to be looking for someone to blame that the bus broke down here. They act like they are Charles Lindbergh, and they have just landed, to their dismay, in Newark. "What do you mean, this isn't Paris?"

Look, there is nothing wrong with wanting more. But Tampa Bay is robbing itself of some of the joy of the postseason. And the truth is, the playoffs aren't such familiar ground. In only six of 26 seasons have they made it this far. They have only three playoff victories in their history, for goodness' sakes.

This should be more fun. Fans should be talking about the Bucs offense (personally, I think it's a heck of an idea. The Eagles wouldn't be looking for that). They should talk about whether McNabb can be contained. They should talk about the heat of the game and the cold of day.

Instead, they talk about how many points Spurrier will average, and whether the Bucs get to play Louisiana-Monroe next year, and how much time Parcells will need, and how much time he has.

You get the idea Dungy shouldn't order pizza, because by the time it arrives, someone else may have preferred pepperoni. If ABC really wanted ratings points, it would have Parcells debate Spurrier at halftime over which guy should get the job.

Actually, I did get one e-mail talking about the game. It was from a guy named Alex Kumar, who said it was 100 percent the Bucs would lose Saturday. Unless, he said, a columnist wrote something really, really nasty about the team to "wake them up."

After all this time, I'm an alarm clock? On the other hand, Dungy said something very similar last week when I asked him how he could get a sense of desperation to his team. "Maybe we need some really critical articles," he said.

Personally, I wouldn't think I was much of a conversation piece in the huddle when it gets to be third and 4, but I wouldn't want to stand in anyone's way. So here goes. The offensive line stinks. The game plan reeks. The secondary receivers have no direction. The defense fades in and out. Also, fumbles are bad.

There, I've done my part. Happy?

Now, back to your debate. If Spurrier left Gainesville going 90 mph, and Parcells left New Jersey going 100, which one gets to Tampa Bay first?

And furthermore, how long until one of them takes the Bucs to Paris?

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