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A Times Editorial
The Tampa Bay Bucs have brought our community together in ways that could pay dividends long after the excitement of Super Bowl XXXVII has passed.
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 21, 2003
For a community that has seldom shown much unity, Tampa Bay has come together in grand style for the Bucs' Super Bowl run. Never before have residents from Spring Hill to Seminole to Sun City Center -- men and women, young and old, rich and poor, Republicans and Democrats -- found so much reason for so many shared high-fives. County lines, generation gaps and other barriers that often divide our community have disappeared for at least another week.
For those of you who think that sports are socially irrelevant, did you notice that on the evening before the annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, the predominantly white residents of Tampa Bay erupted in spontaneous street demonstrations to celebrate the achievements of the predominantly black members of the Bucs? The players who have earned the community's rabid support are judged by the color of their uniforms and the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
Sure, football is just a game, but the outsized attention surrounding the Super Bowl will do wonders for Tampa Bay's national and international image. Millions of people will finally be able to find us on a map.
Fairly or not, our community will be popularly identified with a group of winners -- and an especially media-savvy group of winners at that -- instead of the sad collection of losing pro sports teams that have represented Tampa Bay over the years.
The Bucs' success also will improve the community's self-image -- and it might even inspire some of us to emulate the qualities that led to that success. Jon Gruden has shown us that energy, innovation and optimism can make demons disappear. Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, Monte Kiffin and Brad Johnson have shown us that quiet excellence will eventually be recognized and rewarded. Warren Sapp and Keyshawn Johnson have shown us that it ain't bragging if you can back it up.
Even the Glazer family has shown that success can compensate for a multitude of sins. The Bucs' owners have made many missteps, but they have been willing to spend the money required to bring in talented people -- and, unlike many owners, they generally have resisted the temptation to meddle. Unlike the Bucs' previous owner, they also seem to understand that a professional sports franchise belongs to an entire community.
Now that Tampa Bay is finally getting a sense of what shared civic pride is all about, let's try to maintain that spirit, long after Super Bowl XXXVII has passed, for all those less exciting but more important issues that will truly determine the quality of our community.