Even if the Bucs had lost, Joe thought the CITS looked sharp Sunday.

The place was total throwback from the unis to the field painting to the throwback Swashbuckler uniforms to the 1970s music blaring from the public address system.

Most of the Bucs fans found some orange gear, likely dug out of their closets.

On a day that was devoted to the past — Lee Roy Selmon and the 1979 Bucs — the future of the team stole headlines: rookie quarterback Josh Freeman.

 Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune writes about what a neat scene it was on a warm November day.

It was all anyone could ask on a day when the Bucs improved to 1-7 and now – deep exhale – don’t have to listen to comparisons to the 2008 Detroit Lions anymore. Raheem Morris got his first win as an NFL coach.

It was pretty cool seeing Ray-Jay decked out in orange Sunday. People really did dig deep into their closets for those faux chic Buccaneer uniforms of old for the first ‘Throwback’ game in team history.

The ceremony at halftime honoring the 1979 division champion Bucs was dignified and long overdue, and if you didn’t get at least a little choked up watching the eternally classy Lee Roy Selmon become the first Buc in the new Ring of Honor then I’d gently suggest you’re overdosing on cynicism.

At one point yesterday when Freeman rolled to his left, Joe had flashbacks of Doug Williams.