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By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- Forget the pirate hats and foam swords. In Tampa Bay, the hottest new Buccaneers accessory is Chucky, an evil, cherub-cheeked doll that bears an occasional -- some would say uncanny -- resemblance to Jon Gruden, the Bucs' new head coach. Stores from Port Richey to Brandon are sold out of the normally slow-selling Chucky doll. Fans can't find the $39.99 stuffed Chucky, nor can they buy the $79.99 collector's version of Chucky that talks at the push of a button ("Hi, I'm Chucky. Want to play?") At Buccaneer Heaven in Tampa, 20 Chuckies at $49.99 each flew out the door this week. At least 50 people are on a waiting list for the doll, Callahan said. "They're embracing the new coach," he said. "The doll is just a way of celebrating that." It's not the most flattering of dolls. "I don't know how Coach Gruden is going to take this," said Kandi Middleton, assistant manager at Spencer Gifts in the Citrus Park Mall. "The Chucky dolls we have, they're not a nice face." And neither is Gruden's during a game. "Gruden has a tendency to sneer a lot on the sidelines," explained Thomas Callahan, the inventory manager of Buccaneer Heaven. "The eyebrows kind of come down, crunch down into the nose and he looks intense. He's a very intense coach." A bit of background on the Gruden-Chucky connection for those who aren't up on their slasher flick-NFL references: Chucky first starred in the 1988 movie Child's Play, where he was brought into the home of a loving family. But he had been cursed with a voodoo spell by a serial killer, and, armed with a tiny knife and claw hammer, Chucky goes on a homicidal rampage. Sequels followed: Child's Play 2, Child's Play 3: Look Who's Stalking and Bride of Chucky. Fast forward to 1998, to Jon Gruden's first year as coach of the Oakland Raiders. Sportswriters and fans noted his blonde hair, blue-eyed movie-star looks -- People magazine once put him in its "50 Most Beautiful People" issue. His players noticed another look, one that wasn't so pretty. During one game, then-running back Harvey Williams ran the wrong pass route and saw Gruden's deep frown and evil stare. Williams dubbed his coach "Chucky," and the nickname stuck. Did it ever. Raiders fans bought the doll and dressed it in silver and black, the team colors. They brought it to games. One fan dyed the doll's hair blonde to match Gruden's. (Chucky's hair is red.) Mike Madriaga, a San Diego man who sells comic books and movie collectibles, noticed a run on his Chucky dolls. After fans told him why, he decided to market the "Unofficial Jon Gruden Doll" -- Chucky dressed in a black windbreaker, headset and tiny whistle. "The World's Most Notorious Coach," read the box. It is going for $81 on the Internet auction site eBay. Madriaga also sells five other kinds of Chucky dolls, but they are less expensive and aren't decked out in football attire. On Monday, as soon as word got out that Gruden was headed to Tampa in a five-year $17.5-million deal, Madriaga started getting calls and e-mails from Tampa Bay fans. He already has made arrangements to order more Chucky dolls and dress them in Bucs colors. "Red and pewter," Madriaga said. "I think pewter's the color." Some Tampa fans are even asking for the Raiders version of Chucky-Gruden. "I don't know much about him," admits Madriaga. "I do know he's an awesome coach. With Gruden as coach, (the Bucs) may take it all the way." And even if Gruden looked like Raggedy Andy, isn't that what Bucs fans want? -- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.
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