Eight Years Ago Today …
January 26th, 2011Over at TBO.com, NFL writer eye-RAH! Kaufman penned a story to remind everyone that today marks an important anniversary. A day that should send chills through every reader of these here pages.
On January 26, 2003, the Chucky-led Bucs won the Super Bowl by making the Raiders look like the 2010 Lions. … (Joe wonders whether Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik ever play with their Super Bowl rings in some sort of bizarre Wonder Twins–like ritual.)
The folks at Hulu.com, in conjunction with the NFL, offer up a glorious video reminder. “Feel the electricity,” says Gene Deckerhoff. Enjoy!
January 26th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Man what a thing of beauty.
January 26th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
If they were the 2010 Lions, the Raiders would have beat us with a phantom offensive pass interference call 🙁
(2008, I think you mean :P)
January 26th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
lol .. yeah .. the Lions beat us ..
That Pass interference call happened with 9 minutes to go .. We later got the lead and they ran the ball down our throat .. I just cant make excuses for the Lions game .. They gave it to us!
Hard to believe that SuperBowl was only 8 years ago, Wow .. Alot has changed since then ..
I get the feeling we may the chance to Celebrate again .. and maybe soon
January 26th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Gotta love that Sapp daddy dance and number 40 running Rominowksi over.
Who was that guy coaching the team? Video is a little fuzzy.
January 26th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
I could watch that everyday!
It also shows me that if Raheem is anything of a coach that Mike Tomlin is, we are in good shape.
January 26th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Yea I see who that was Eric. Guess what? By the time we hit Our 10 yr anniversary we will have a legit super bowl contending team! And not a one and done team built with aging vets either, a young team that can do it for a long time. I’d say firing lord gruden was the right move.
January 26th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
The only ring Rah will ever get is found at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks.
January 26th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
way to be a fan Eric
January 26th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Just think if Chucky were still around we’d have McNabb as our qb
January 26th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Well said Gary!!!!!
Gruden was the icing in the cake! (Wyche, Dungy then Gruden)
Rah is taking us to a new level and a new brand of Buc Football, Baby!!!!
Players and Oweners get your act together. We have some Buc Football to watch! Within the next two years we’ll be back at The Super Bowl!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 26th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
The only super bowl that Rah has an opportunity to participate in is the one offered by Tanard, Jerramy Stevens and Aqib Talib.
Well, maybe Mike Tomlin will hire him in 2012 after his 6-10 season next year as the Steeler D Backs coach, a position that he is qualified for.
BTW – in 2002-03 Rah was a “quality control” coach, not even considered a defensive assistant. I believe he basically followed the coaches around, listended and fetched them water and coffee. I am not even sure if he qualified for a ring. If so, I doubt it is of the same quality as the people who earned it.
January 26th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Rah is surely taking us to a new level.
How highs the water mamma? Three feet high and rising………..
January 26th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Joe, I have a request. Could you possibly one day get someone with actual NFL experience to answer many of the dumb ass comments like Thomas 2.2 and put them in their place?
January 26th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
i clicked on the comments area for this story knowing exactly who would be dominating it. eric and thomas, you guys are way too predictable.
January 26th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Thomas2.2
What exactly was your job on the 2002-2003 Bucs?
And asking them if they want fries or a super size doesn’t count.
So Raheem was the defensive quality control assistant for the Super Bowl Champions at 26 years old. You’re right that’s not at all impressive. And the fact that within 6 years he would be head coach is not impressive at all either.
I guess Randolph and Mortimer Glazer just looked around and found Billy Raheem Valentine and decided to see if they could turn him into a head coach.
January 26th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
@Nick:
From the guy who commented:
“Just think if Chucky were still around we’d have McNabb as our qb”
If you are going to comment in an invaluable way, at least make it funny.
Well we have Rah as defensive coordinator, and we have Styles White, Roy Miller, Kyle Moore and Get Mauled Consistently as our D Line, and of course the 28th rushing d and 30th pass rush D.
And you want to know why you finished third in the division (or worse) again and missed the playoffs.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
I don’t know I thought Nicks comment was kinda funny.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
I still get chills every time I watch that Ronde Barber interception against the Eagles…
that was the greatest play of the season
January 26th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
No d-money.
The Glazerhouses had just fired Gruden with 15+ million guaranteed on the deal until Gru took another NFL job, they were looking for the cheapest replacement possible, and with the recent Tomlin success they felt like the could “sell” it to the fan base.
Then after the second season tix installment was due – they gutted the veteran leadership and went “real cheap” on player talent. They just received most season tix commitments for the 2009 season (and they dont give refunds). 2009 was WAY worse than projected and a huge percentage (including myself bailed).
They were prepared to gut payroll and fan interest temporarily until they figured out what they wanted to do, to see if their financial situation improved etc. Rah went 13-19, finishing third and fourth in the division and missing the playoffs both years, but Free looked good so there is some hope.
So now they are sending letters to all of us asking us to come back and get a credit for the seat deposit we gave up. Not me, and I suspect not many others – b/c the record is misleaqding related to how close this team is to a Pittsburgh, even New England, even New Orleans when they are healthy and interested.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
@d-money
Thomas doesn’t think it’s funny because he actually would rather have McNabb as our QB, imagine that
some people just have to have something to complain about
January 26th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Thomas, my statement isn’t meant to be funny. Its more true than any statement you or Eric will ever make…ever
January 26th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Anything that is a reminder of the greatness of Jon Gruden irritates all the so called “bucs fans” on here.
pretty sad.
34 years of football – one shining and totally unappreciated moment in the sun.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Eric, I appreciate what Gruden did for that one-shining moment. Just the moments that followed were hard to appreciate. Why can’t you appreciate what Rah has done with a young QB and players? Something your golden boy wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
first of all, eric ur a moron!!! i hate u and cant stand u
second, ur not even a bucs fan, ur a gruden fan, in that case, dont screw with us
third and finnally, STFU dumbass
January 26th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
34 years and only one good moment? So, 33 years of whinny and bitching?? Jeez, even for gay guys, that’s alot of whinning!
January 26th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Ill appreciate Rah when he produces the Vince Lombardi trophy. Its in the video up there, check it out.
10-6 is nice but no playoffs, no playoff wins, nuttin to show for so far except the opinions of a bunch of lemmings.
The Golden boy won two division titles after the Super Bowl Championship.
What has Rah won again? 0 dash two for playofffs. Gruden never has gone three straight without a Division Title in 11 years as a HC.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Thomas, question for you. Were the Glazers going cheap when Chucky got rid of Sapp, Lynch, Rice, McCardell, Dexter Jackson?
January 26th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Jeez, can’t we just enjoy our Super Bowl win, without all the “my coach is better than yours…nanny-nanny boo-boo” crap?
January 26th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
nick:
Why, the Glazers were so cheap, they paid Chucky and Bruce Almighty $5 million a year just to golf and fish.
Tight ass bastards! 🙂
January 26th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
Sorry, *Wouldn’t
January 26th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
nick,
Funny, but McCardell did hold out for more money. Dexter Jackson(CB I assume?) went on to Arizona and more money after the SB.
BTW When we were in cap-hell, Simeon never restuctured his contract for the good of the team(see Brooks, Alsott, etc).
January 26th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Thomas 2.2, regarding your comment about whether Rah got a ring:
I was on a flight from Miami to Dallas a few months ago. While waiting to get off the plane, I turned around and three rows behind me was a rather small guy, about 35 years old, with a smoking hot chick. I noticed on his right ring finger was a ring about the size of Kansas. I caught his eye and pointed to the ring, at which point he smiled and held it up. Sure enough, it was a Super Bowl ring. He proceeded to tell me he was the mascot for the New England Patriots when they beat the Rams in Super Bowl 36.
When the mascot gets a ring (not to mention hot tail like that), I’m pretty sure that the guy who “gets coffee” as a Defensive Quality Control coach probably gets a real ring.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:53 pm
I got a super bowl ring once, but it’s gone now thanks to Clorox!
January 26th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
Teddy: Touche! You might be right that Rah got a ring.
However, the difference is: the Patriots didn’t make that guy their head coach 6 years later.
Joe: the Glazers were of course betting that Chucky would take another NFL job (like Allen eventually did) which would let them off the finanical hook – because their replacements weren’t paid anything by NFL standards – some have speculated less than 1 million combined for 2009 and 2010.
So, yes they were cheap for doing what they did. They didn’t replace these two with 5 million per year HC and GM. I believe the only reason Rah Rah and boy wonder got the jobs is because of their price tag.
They didn’t even search for competition. How would they even know what was out there? These were calculated cost-savings moves – nothing more.
January 26th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Do you really enjoy having trolls on your comment boards Joe? You do know many moderators ban people just for being trolls? And make no mistake that Thomas is the very definition of a troll.
January 26th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Amazing how the Joe(s) have turned into such staunch defenders of the Glazer Boys.
January 26th, 2011 at 5:29 pm
O I’m not done Thomas and Eric dumb and dumbasz gruden won us 1 damn superbowl with a team that was going to win it if Ryan leaf coached us it was our year regardless if anything that ring gruden (fill in coach) has should go to dingy he built the team also we didn’t win any playoff games after the superbowl with gruden and the year we were rolling with Jeff Garcia gruden choked Da last four games and we missed Da playoffs hmmmm
January 26th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Gitarlvr is right. Joe is a patient guy. The trolls sure stop alot of conversations, on a lot of threads. It seems to be their function , not to allow Buc Fans have conversations. They cost this site a lot post, IMO. They are so hateful that alot of people just refuse to see their nonsense daily. Again, this is for Buc Fans, not whinny, self loathing gay guys!
January 26th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
I wasn’t happy with the way things were going either. But even though some of records were misleading, the last four years brought:
2007. 9-7 with a relatively likable team before getting blown out by Giants in playoffs
2008 9-7 but heading the wrong way for sure. Give the Bucs some credit for recognizing that and blowing everything up and starting over
2009 The disaster that you might expect. Left angry after most games
2010 Completely unexpected success with a very likable team with stars at key positions. Also the year I stopped hating on Raheem. I realized that his ways and words were meant to motivate people of another generation, not some 55 year old dude like me. He has done a great job of preparing this team for games. So 3 out of 4 winning season is not the complete disaster we all seem to think it was.
January 26th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Funny how these two tools never have anything to say inregards to the personnel issues on this team. All they know is they hate Morris and the Glazers and that’s all they care about. Get over it guys, neither one is going anywhere anytime soon.
January 26th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Check the posts, all i did was point out who was coaching the day we won the Super Bowl. As soon as I did the usual Gruden attacks started.
January 26th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
It’s amazing anyone can run Gruden’s offense. He makes everything so much more complicated than it needs to be. The amount of verbage is ridiculous. Keep it simple dummy.
January 26th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
There ya go, perfect example.
January 26th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Thomas, I don’t see how your comment regarding the mascot and Rah both getting rings is relevant. I’m sure that the Bucs had no idea that their Quality Control coach would be their head coach in six years, but if they had, would it have made one hill of beans to them at the time that they decided to hand out rings?
We can settle this argument by finding the answer to one very obvious question:
Did Captain Fear get a ring in ’02?
January 26th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
God those were some ugly hats.
January 26th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
Hahahahahaha
Gotta be the worst Super Bowl hats ever.
January 26th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Eric,
Let it go, buddy. Gruden is gone, Brooks is gone, get over it. Stop hating on this team and this regime just because they haven’t produced a SB yet. I know Gruden produced one on his first year, but under totally different circumstances. I have great respect and appreciation for what he did. He is a very good coach. I cheered just as hard as you for Gruden’s team. I traveled 5000 miles every year to watch them play, pissing my wife off every year in the process. The difference between me and you is that I continue to cheer for THIS team. I don’t live in the past, and I don’t hold grudges on a business where being cut throat is an understatement. I’m not hating on Gruden, but he’s not here anymore. It is irrelevant if I agreed with his firing, he is gone. If you are that upset about it, choose a new team. Otherwise, get over it and stop sniffing his jock, because it is pretty pathetic. To sit here and say Raheem will only find the bottom of a cracker jack box is really stupid on your part. That is not being a fan, that is being a hater. What is the purpose of coming on this site and saying that? What does that accomplish? Stop pointing the finger at everyone else and look at yourself.
January 26th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Joe here,
C’mon, Eric. Joe is no staunch defender of Team Glazer. The team went 10-6 and, nearly miraculously, the Glazer plan has the team in a good spot on the field (not off). Nobody can argue against that. Joe doesn’t really care about all the other BS. …Playoffs are expected and demanded for next year. Anything else most likely would be a step backwards.
As for judging the Glazers, how should one approach it? Over how many years? The body of work? Who are you comparing them to? Surely, they’ve proven to be better than most NFL owners (not necessarily saying much), if we’re judging by delivering good teams and organizational stability. … Time will tell. It always does.
**And to those advising Joe to get rid of trolls, Joe has no interest in kicking anyone to the curb unless they violate Joe’s hate speech standards and/or repeatedly misrepresent/distort Joe’s words.
January 26th, 2011 at 11:19 pm
You definitely shouldn’t get rid of Eric, he will do that on his own next year after each win, especially when he runs out of excuses as to why we won the game. I find it very interesting that he is so much more active now that the season is over, and he is once again predicting next year to be a failure. What a joke!
The funny thing is, this is a post about our only SB win, and the haters are the one who ruin it by trashing Raheem. I guarantee you if Eric didn’t make that post about not being able to see Gruden, nobody would have made one negative post. But nope, he can’t resist, and look where this post has gone. Then Thomas comes in to back up his brother from another mother, and the entire post is no longer about what it is supposed to be. Pretty pathetic, because they are the ones tarnishing the Super Bowl win, when we should all be celebrating the greatness of it. Great job guys.
January 27th, 2011 at 12:25 am
As McDonald’s says: I’m loving it (the video that is). What a great time to be a buc fan. That first INT made me a little worried but we held our own throughout. Just goes to show that a great offense will get you there but a great defense will win it.
Those INTs and sacks on Gannon were amazing and each one gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I see it. I just got done watching the Bucs/ Saints game that I taped (first televised game where I live in about 2 years) and I can see that same desire and fight in these youngsters as the 2002 Bucs. No respect was given…all had to be earned. These baby Bucs know the challenge that awaits them.
A few comparisons (and correct me if I’m wrong Joe):
Ken Dilger is no LeGarrette Blount (the hurdle to score @ the one in the SB)
Instead of Gruden/Johnson’s long play calls or fiery rhetoric, I hear this phrase from Morris: “I need 7 here 5.”
Barber in 2011 > Barber in 2002 (I believe that his athleticism has remained at a high level w/ about 10 more years of experience)
We should be raking in the Lombardi trophies if Grimm is 1/2 the safety J. Lynch was, if D. Watson becomes 1/2 the LB Brooks was and if GMC is 1/2 the DT Sapp was. That D was amazing but our offense is better than was in 02.
I’m SO looking forward to next year!!!
GO BUCS!!!
January 27th, 2011 at 2:03 am
Joe,
The issue as to whether the Glazers have a firm financial committment to this team is very much open, and the fact they are paying Chucky is not dispositive. Thus, my remark.
@hawaiianBuc
Why would a joking remark about who the coach was in 2002 tip off the vitriolic rhetoric about Gruden? He was the coach then wasn’t he? It can no longer even be mentioned? And, if you check the posts I certainly am not the one making perverted innuendos.
January 27th, 2011 at 2:11 am
@Eric,
I know damn well you are really not that stupid. You knew exactly what was going to happen by making that remark, give me a break. Everyone here knows who the coach was. You and I both know what you were doing, so give it a rest with the innocent act.
January 27th, 2011 at 2:23 am
Thomas, thank you for admitting that you are a fair-weather fan. You enjoyed Super Bowl glory and them bailed on the team when it was time to start over. You make me sick… Nick’s comment about McNabb was the most truthful one that I have read in quite some time. To spell it out for you Thomas, it is well known that Gruden and Bruce Almighty don’t have love for rookies. They like the vets which is great when that championship window is open. However, your beloved vets can’t play forever. A testament to that fact was that none of those vets that were released were on an NFL roster at the end of the 2010 season – even Cato June, the youngest of the bunch. Now that building through the draft has proven it’s worth once again, you still can’t admit you were 100% wrong. You rather hate on the team, the owners (who brought you a Championship by spending lots of dough that Culverhouse never would have, and making the incredibly ballsy move of trading for Gruden to take the team over the top) as well as a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate. Basically Thomas, you know nothing about football. You have no integrity because you bailed when the going got tough. You are too old and stubborn to admit you were wrong when it’s painfully clear that you are. Simply, you suck.
I expected the comments for this post would be us real fans talking about how that day 8 years ago was one of the happiest days of our lives. Then idiots like Thomas take me from a nice high to being totally P.O.’d.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:23 am
I second everything Matt B just said.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:35 am
The 2002 team and coaching staff should be celebrated for a truly magnificent job that day. And i only made a passing mention of the Head Coach after bringing up Sapp Daddy and Number 40.
That lead to 30 or so blastings of Jon Gruden.
The posts speak for themselves as to the lack of respect and downright hatred shown toward the former HC by so called bucs fans in this town.
It is what it is.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:52 am
Who disrespects Gruden Eric? I have never heard one person say he didn’t do an incredible job that season. He was the perfect coach at the perfect time. That can’t be argued. Anyone who disagrees is wrong, simple as that. But in most people’s opinion, it was time for him to go. That is not a knock on him. The same will happen to Raheem, Bill Belicheat, Mike Tomlin, Jeff Fisher, and every other coach in the NFL.
And no, it was not a passing mention of Gruden. Deny all you want, but you know what you were doing. I know you are a smart guy. You are not fooling anyone. I did see one guy blast Gruden, and he is wrong, make no mistake. However, everyone is tired of having you bring up Gruden at every opportunity possible. We get it, he’s great, you love him. He’s gone, and he is never coming back. Hell, I still wear my Super Bowl champions shirt all the time, but I don’t go around crying about missing this guy or that guy. Players and coaches move on, let it go. Either support this team and this coach, or expect to get ridiculed every time you don’t. There were a ton of people against Raheem 2 years ago, and they all had a pretty legitimate complaint. I never really agreed with that criticism, but it was fair due to the miserable season that we had. However, almost all of those people have been open minded enough to see all the good that is happening to this team. You, however, have chosen to be a stick in the mud and try to downplay everything good that happened last year. I don’t know if you do it to be funny, or because you just like to argue, or if you are just that type of person, but it gets really old. Point the finger at everyone else all you want, but the problem is you.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:05 am
Ok Mr. Hawaiian Buc, you insist on putting words in my mouth when all I said was “who was that guy coaching the team”. The video was about the 2002 Bucs, and Gruden in prominently on display in the video.
I thought a small Kudos his way was appropriate, thats all, along with others on the team.
As for the disrespecting posts, they speak for themselves. I don’t think you have read very carefully.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:20 am
Ok, so I guess the video really was fuzzy then, huh? Maybe you should get a better computer, because I’m sure you meant that literally. And yes, he does get credit. I rarely hear anyone not give him credit. Those who say he won with Dungy’s team are wrong. I’ve heard Joe correct them too. The majority of those people probably weren’t big fans of the Bucs at the time. Again, I will always respect Gruden, even though I think it was time for him to go. And yes, I didn’t read every single post, but I do know that it never would have started had you and Thomas not joined in and started bashing Raheem, like you always do.
But here, just for you: KUDOS TO MR. JON GRUDEN, THE GREATEST COACH THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS HAVE EVER HAD AND OUR ONLY SUPER BOWL WINNING COACH EVER. THANK YOU JON GRUDEN FOR WINNING ALL THOSE DIVISION TITLES FOR THE BUCS. WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU. YOU MY BOY JON!!!
January 27th, 2011 at 4:23 am
But please Jon, please quit MNF. You make me actually miss Dennis Miller.
January 27th, 2011 at 9:52 am
BTW – Who was head coach when Caddy had a record setting rookie year and won ROY? Didnt essentially the same thing happen for Clayton (not sure if he was roy but he was close)?
So get over this Gruden didnt like rookies thing. He liked rookies who could play. He didn’t force rookies that werent ready to play like GMC.
I agree they drafted poorly, had some bad breaks, and that is why they are gone.
January 27th, 2011 at 10:01 am
The “Dungy’s team” thing is old and wrong? I’m sorry, but does anybody really think we would have won the SuperBowl that year with Marvin Lewis(remember McKay’s #1 choice, oh thank goodness!) or Mariaucci (McKay’s other choice, again thank goodness!)? Cause, had the Glazers not stepped in and went behind McKay and traded for Gruden, one of those two would have been our head coach.
January 27th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Don’t forget Bill Parcells. The Bucs tried to make a push to get him to be the HC but he turned it down knowing that the Bucs were about to enter salary cap hell. He was right on that one.