For Bucs safety Dwight Smith it's gotta be the shoes
By JOANNE KORTH
Published December 19, 2004
TAMPA - Dwight Smith primps.
It's okay, he admits it. The Bucs safety, who packs a mighty wallop on the field, spends an hour before kickoff just putting on his uniform. And the primping isn't complete until a highly skilled Bucs trainer applies the finishing touch.
Spats.
"Put it like this," Smith said, "a spat is so important to me that I lost my Nike deal just to have spats. I lose it every year because I tape over the logo. I still wear Nikes, I just have to pay for them. No more free shoes."
Smith's commitment to wrapping athletic tape around his shoes to give the appearance of formal-wear spats - think W.C. Fields - might seem a tad excessive for a rugged football player. After all, Smith does not need the ankle support the tape provides.
No, spats are strictly for looks.
"I'm a fashion guy," he said. "When I was young, the first person I really heard talking about dressing was Jerry Rice. And Jerry Rice said when you look good, you play good. That's what I live by. I try to look good and, hopefully, I play good."
Smith is not alone in his passion for game-day fashion. Apparently, most members of the Bucs secondary fuss over some manner of their appearance on game day.
A high white sock.
A hand towel tucked into the belt.
A belt left undone.
"They are high maintenance, but I like them that way," defensive backs coach Mike Tomlin said. "High-performance sports cars, your Ferraris and what not, are high maintenance and that's kind of those guys' personalities. You change the oil and put high-octane gas in them and let them go. That's their mentality.
"They have to look good and feel good and hopefully that goes over to their playing good. Actually, from the outside looking in, it has absolutely nothing to do with the game itself, winning or losing. But there's something about those personalities that have that swagger and I think you need that swagger to be a good secondary."
There you have it. The real reason the Bucs are the league's top-ranked pass defense? The meticulous application of training tape to a pair of Nikes. A neatly folded towel tucked just so at the waist. Socks pulled up all the way to the knee.
"Defensive backs are crazy," safety John Howell said. "Towels and wrist bands and head bands and two or three socks folded down this way and spat jobs. It's comical."
Howell should know.
Every week, he has a front row seat for the show. Howell, you see, is the exception to the primping rule. He hates that he must be at the stadium two hours before kickoff. In the midst of so much fussing, he sits at his locker in street clothes idly reading the media guide while perplexed teammates come up to ask if he is playing that day. Finally, about 20 minutes before warmups, he gets dressed.
"John doesn't care," Tomlin said. "He puts his gear on and goes to work. He's the Dodge truck. There's one in every group."
So far, the pregame primp has not spread to other parts of the locker room. Offensive lineman Cosey Coleman, for example, hardly worries about the way his uniform looks.
"Do I what?" Coleman said.
Never mind.
Meanwhile, Smith seeks out trainer Pat Jernigan - yes, it has to be Jernigan - twice on game day to tape his shoes. There's nothing worse than sloppy spats.
"I see a lot of guys whose spats look like they did it themselves," said Smith, shaking his head at the obvious mistake. "That's what I try to stay away from, looking like I did it myself. And you have to get a new one every half. You have to get one at the beginning of the game and the beginning of the second half."
NFL rules do not allow players much leeway when it comes to individuality. There are regulations for everything from sleeves to socks. Smith knowingly pushes the legal limit on a weekly basis by using white tape over his black cleats.
A few weeks ago, the league sent him a politely worded letter informing him that his spats were in violation of the dress code. The color of the tape, the letter explained, should match the color of the shoe, not contrast.
Smith conformed.
For one week.
Black on black? C'mon, it's like not having spats at all. Sometimes, a guy just has to make a stand.
