By now you’ve heard the news that your Tampa Bay Buccaneers games will all be on TV this year. ALL, as in all the preseason, all the regular season.
Easy on the playoffs! You need to “Guard” your expectations this year!
All those ‘negative Nancys’ who said Bucs fans were staying 
away from the stadium because of the product were out of their mind.
Nothing has changed about the product, Tampa Bay is coming off a 4-12 season, and sure a new coach like Lovie Smith is bound to stir up enthusiasm, but people were just as enthused when Greg Schiano took over.
Uniforms can excite a fan base, but all indications are these uniforms did the exact opposite, at least at first. “They look like Division 3 college uniforms” said Scott Kelly of Tarpon Springs,FL.
So if its not the uniforms, not the coach, not winning, what then?
Well what really changed is the economy, its recovering, and nicely. Jobs are starting to return to ‘close to’ mid 2000’s levels, and people are finding disposable income again.
THATS why attendance has been an issue at Raymond James, not fan apathy. Local TV ratings didn’t take a hit, and Radio broadcasts on 620 WDAE went through the roof. People simply couldn’t afford to go to the games, even with 30 dollar select tickets.
You can expect sellouts in the future, and probably an eventual evening out of ticket prices back to normal levels. IE get your 30 dollar season tickets now because they won’t last long.
There is no doubt that winning cures all ills. Even before Raymond James was open, the “Big Sombrero” had plenty of open seats for Tony Dungy’s inaugural season. Even in 1997 with Pewter Power emerging, there were empty bleachers in Tampa Stadium to start the season.
But once the Bucs shot out to a 3-0 start, a National Broadcast on TNT vs Miami showed the world a full stadium and a preview of things to come.
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