"Hey dude in the third row, scream for Galloway all you want. We're going 11-5, and you can kiss my freckled ass."

There is no angrier Bucs fan than THE PESSIMIST, but at least he’s not running through life with his eyes closed and half a brain, like the legions of fans moaning about Bucs armageddon on sports radio this week.

Is it really possible that all of those clowns actually thought the Bucs were going to roll into Carolina and Atlanta and win those games? That’s why the Vegas sportsbook owners laugh every Sunday night, instead of cry.

Nobody in the freakin’ NFC South has won a road game in the division. NOBODY. Crap, most Bucs fans pleasure themselves to the thought of the NFC South being the best division in the NFL. Yet so many fans and radio hosts are blathering on like the season’s over after the last two games and Jon Gruden should have his tail between his legs.

Let’s compare. Hmmm. Like the Bucs, those fabulous Falcons have three road wins this season: at Oakland, at San Diego, and at Green Bay. Boy that’s special. Those teams are all below .500. At least the Bucs knocked off a winning team on the road, the (8-6) Chicago Bears.

Guess what. Those mighty, overrated Cowboys (9-5) also have three road wins, and not a one against a winning team (Browns, Skins and Packers).

If you’ve paid any attention to the NFL, you know that the road is tough for everyone, unless the team is truly dominant. And nobody with a clue  – before or during this season – should have thought the 2008 Bucs could be a world-beating, road-dominating machine.

The Bucs are poised to finish 11-5, after romping the Chargers and Raiders at home these next two weeks. Regardless of the painful, shameful Bucs offense with a coordinator who wets his panties in the red zone, the Bucs will win those games.

And no matter how much you’ll think the Bucs are a joke of a playoff team. They’ll be going to the party at 11-5.

Even THE PESSIMIST can’t complain with a straight face about an 11-5 season. Now if they can’t win a playoff game, or even get to 11-5, that’s another story.