By TANYA CALDWELL, Times online staff
Published August 10, 2004
[Times photos: Tanya Caldwell]
The Bucs draw a full house of fans for a Monday morning practice.
Johnny Elmore, 55, of Safety Harbor tapes practice Monday with a digital video camera.
Bucs wide receiver Charles Lee signs autographs for fans after the morning practice.
LAKE BUENA VISTA -- Last season may have been the opportune time for some fans to jump the Bucs' ship. But for the die-hard crowds who come to the team's Orlando-area training camp, loyalty is the plank they've walked for years -- long before the Buccaneers were a regular playoff contender.
Bright and early Monday morning, on Day 10 of the Bucs' 19-day training camp, a few hundred faithfuls from around the state and globe converged at Disney's Wide World of Sports to see their favorite players in action.
For these fans, preseason camp offers an intimate connection with the team before the stands are suffocated with regular-season crowds.
Ike Dyer, who serves in the U.S. Air Force and is currently deployed in Saudi Arabia, has backed the Bucs since the team began in 1976 -- "Back when they were giving the tickets away for free," he said.
Dyer, 38, said watching his home team while overseas has helped him get through rough times in the Middle East when he would "wake up every morning and wonder if it's going to be my last."
"I'm just here to thank the Bucs for all they did. They have no idea what they do for our troops overseas," said Dyer, who grew up in St. Petersburg. "What (head coach) Jon Gruden brings to the game is what our troops are trying to bring to America."
Sean Guidry, 34, of Orlando has been a fan for 18 years -- long enough to recall the days when game tickets could be found for free. On Monday, he proudly donned an old-school Bucs cap, complete with the team's old Bucco Bruce logo.
"That's how you can tell the die-hard fans," he said from the front row of the stands. "The die-hard fans have memorabilia to sport around."
Likewise, the front seats of Johnny Elmore's 1990 Honda Accord sport Shaun King and Warrick Dunn jerseys -- two former heroes no longer on the team's roster.
"Warrick Dunn is still my favorite player, I don't care where he is," said the 55-year-old Safety Harbor resident who's been a fan since '76. "But when he comes here I don't want him to get but two yards, because he's dangerous."
Like many fans, Guidry and Elmore both said they were disappointed that the team slacked off last season after becoming world champions in 2002.
"Winning was so sweet after all those years of all that abuse," Elmore said. But after winning those championship rings, "it was like they won the lottery with the Super Bowl and didn't show up for work."
"If you're a fan of any team, you don't just bear with them when they're doing good," he said. "Whether they win no games or whether they go to the Super Bowl, I'll still be a fan."
Terra Faubel of West Melbourne said she just wished the players would use a little more discernment with the fans' levels of dedication.
"I think a fan is a fan is a fan," said Faubel, 33, as most of the players went to the locker rooms after morning practice passed by fans pleading for autographs. "But I think the tried and true should have a little more support from the team."
