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Bucs

Fans' dreams left in the cold

They brought their grills, flags, TVs and high hopes for a Bucs victory. Now they have only next season.

By S.I. ROSENBAUM
Published January 8, 2006

TAMPA - The game ended. The sky was black. The night cold. And Buccaneer fans filed out of Raymond James Stadium glum-faced, toting their homemade signs and dashed playoff dreams.

As they trooped back to their cars, some stalwarts gathered in the chill, huddling around charcoal grills that glowed faintly in the parking lot.

North of the stadium in Al Lopez Park, somebody lit off fireworks anyway.

For Buccaneers fans, the day that ended in the ashes of defeat had begun with blue skies and high hopes.

For the first time in two years, the Bucs were back in the NFL playoffs, and the faithful were gathering to cheer them on.

They converged on the stadium in a celebratory mood, turning the grass fields and nearby parks into an instant improvised city of charcoal grills, tents, flags, beer and generator-powered televisions, stretching for miles.

"It's vital we win this game," said Tony Dull, as smoke from the grill drifted into his face.

He said he wanted to shut up all the snide Redskins fans who had been snickering at his team on the Internet.

Dull, 43, of New Port Richey has his faith in his team written on his skin: a pirate flag tattooed on his left ankle, a black-sailed ship riding the crest of his left triceps, and a fresh one blossoming on his right shin, a freshly-inked Buccaneers insignia.

Dull's temporary neighbor, Nick Price, 55, of Town 'N Country, was under his favorite tree. He has been tailgating under the same oak in Al Lopez Park since 1976, except for a time when fans were banned from the park. In those early days, he said, he had just a little black-and-white battery-operated television.

On Saturday, his truck was a small work of art, with Bucs signs and flags and a Chucky doll in pirate regalia on top, like the angel atop a Christmas tree.

A generator powered a big-screen, color TV.

"This is tradition," Price said. He pointed to the nearby live oak. "That's our lucky tree."

Well, not that lucky, as it turned out. Price took it in stride.

"We're still proud of our team. Even though we're disappointed in their loss, we're still proud of the Buccaneers," Price said after the game. "They're our team."

When the final second ticked away on the game clock, the Buccaneers' season was over.

Then all around the stadium, the temporary city of Buccaneerville disbanded and transformed itself into a line of cars inching along on pavement and bare grass.

In the gloom, Craig Carrier, 55, of Palm Harbor and his friends stood over their sputtering charcoal grill. One by one, they pulled out their tickets, and ceremoniously tossed them into the flames.

It was a spontaneous gesture, he said.

"We had the tickets in our pockets, we had a fire, and traffic was backed up," he said. "But we feel a lot better now."

Really?

"No," he said. "I was planning a trip to Detroit (for the Super Bowl)."

But his disappointment doesn't mean he's giving up on the Bucs.

"Next season," he said, his face lit by the firelight. "We're ready to go."

[Last modified January 8, 2006, 00:45:14]