The Nation Gives A Finger To The Bucs
October 12th, 2016
Joe is just going to guess Disney executives will want to jump out a skyscraper window next spring when the NFL announces its 2017 schedule, if the BSPN outfit is forced to broadcast another Bucs game.
Bucs fans often bark at their bartenders because the Bucs are never on national TV. Well, sadly, here is why: The nation, as a whole, has no use for the Bucs.
Not even with America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. That’s how irrelevant the Bucs are to the masses.
Monday night in Charlotte facing the Cam Newton-less, Stinking Panthers, both teams were 1-3. America voted in droves with their remotes they had no use for the game, Twittered Andy Karp of SportsBusiness Daily.
ESPN’s 6.5 overnight for Buccaneers-Panthers last night is network’s lowest Week 5 “MNF” rating since acquiring rights prior to 2006 season
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) October 11, 2016
To put this into perspective, BSPN/Mouse Outfit shelled out $1.9 billion to the NFL for Monday Night Football rights (and use of NFL properties). The current contract runs through 2021.
So, until the Bucs start winning, and winning big, it is safe to assume BSPN/Disney wants no part of the Bucs in any way.
On the other hand, BSPN is more than willing to force its hand and assault innocent local morning drivetime radio listeners with non-stop Yankees/Red Sox/Belicheats/Jets/NBA/international kickball/WNBA/David Ortiz verbal fellatio.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:05 am
The day is coming when the Bucs will be getting national attention again. Just stay patient. The future seems to be looking good. Hopefully we can get to 8-8 or 9-7 this season. 2017 should be a playoff year.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:06 am
The Bucs are a losing organization and have become the Browns of the south. The nation as a whole could care less about the Bucs. But also, Cam Newton being out was a huge factor in the ratings drop. He is the sole viewership draw for people outside the Tampa Bay and Carolina TV markets.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:06 am
“International kickball” is the most popular sport in the world just open your eyes a little bit and get out of the “Murrica” ignorance
October 12th, 2016 at 11:11 am
Joe doesn’t live overseas. Joe lives in ‘Merica and when it comes to sports, Joe is very much a jingoist and certainly not a globalist.
It is also very safe to assume the vast majority of locals (read: Tampa Bay area residents) would much rather listen to Bucs chatter in the mornings than, say, pick some kickball team in Great Britian or Spain or Italy.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:12 am
America likes winners and entertaining games the Bucs are neither and don’t seem to be on the right track
This is year 8 of the Glazers post Chucky rebuilding plan. The Vikings, Texans, Raiders, Cardinals, and Seahawks all have been rebuilt to be competitive in that same timeframe
Sucks to be a fan of this team
October 12th, 2016 at 11:13 am
That also shows he is NOT ” America’s Quarterback.” Even if the team was having a bad season people would still watch Tom Brady play.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:14 am
Should come as no surprise seeing how the Bucs and Kitties are both “small market” teams with no real national following.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:18 am
As I said before the game, thank God for the baseball playoffs. No one want to watch the LAUGHINGSTOCK of the NFL play football.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:20 am
Just wait for it. Play well and win then watch the media flock to Tampa.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:21 am
This site was losing me anyways. Love Ira but the rest of the site doesn’t keep me like it used to.
Why the need to hate on soccer?
Lastly, why do we get pro Trump links here everyday? I come here for Bucs football. We read sites like these to stay away from the stupid political b.s. in this country.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:23 am
FWIW: I abhor nearly everything ESPN does.
I use football as an escape from much of life and the swirling poopstorm of it.
ESPN has injected political opinions and bias, as well as political correctness into sports.
I get sick of that crap being injected into a the game.
ESPN needs to look into a mirror and quit pretending their clothes are so awesome.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:24 am
Just curious (not sure if you are a resident of the Tampa Bay area), as a local resident, what would you prefer to listen to in the mornings? News and talking points about the Bucs or some kickball team overseas?
Significant and overwhelming data shows it is the Bucs.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:24 am
To me, this is more an indictment of the Panthers. They’re the Superbowl team that the nation would theoretically want to see. It shouldn’t be a shock that no one outside Tampa cares about the Bucs. This is the Panthers minus Cam being a complete non-interest to anyone.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:24 am
This site was losing me anyways. Love Ira but the rest of the site doesn’t keep me like it used to.
Why the need to hate on soccer?
Lastly, why do we get pro Trump links here everyday? I come here for Bucs football. I come to sites like this one to stay away from the stupid political b.s. in this country. One is a turd, the other is a douche, let other websites cover that.
Peace out JBF
October 12th, 2016 at 11:25 am
Hear, hear!
October 12th, 2016 at 11:32 am
Bucs have never really had the respect of the corporate media sports blowhards. That includes the SB year. I saw one talking head blow a gasket when the Bucs won the game and the NFL Championship. Doesn’t affect me as I know the talking heads are mostly overpaid boobs. Go Bucs!! Thank gawd for a bye week!! 🙂
October 12th, 2016 at 11:37 am
@Bugs … “To me, this is more an indictment of the Panthers. ” Sorry, but reality is that both teams were 1-3 prior to the game and playing horrible football. Plus as Cobraboy said, both Tampa & Charlotte are small markets. Put that together and why should anyone outside of Tampa or Charlotte spend from 8:30-11:30 PM on a Monday night watching those 2 losing teams play?
October 12th, 2016 at 11:50 am
Defense Rules:
And the Panthers without their one marquee superstar player in Cam Newton? People don’t have any interest in a Derek Anderson led team and understandably so.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:50 am
Speaking of winning big since 2013 the Bucs have only had four wins where the margin of victory exceeded seven points.
The only draw for the country in this game was Cam Newton. The numbers would have been higher if he was playing.
October 12th, 2016 at 11:57 am
Bug has a great point. The game would have, should have, garnered viewers because of the panthers..It didn’t..
Also, Florida has 3 NFL teams. A transient state and that will mean less fans, of course..
Now if Florida only had the TB Bucs, we would be a larger market..Like Patriots who have like 7 states?…
October 12th, 2016 at 12:04 pm
The game should have been flexed back to Sunday.
It was bad football.
October 12th, 2016 at 12:11 pm
Ratings for the NFL continue to dive for many reasons:
1.) Too many damn commercials. In addition, the commercials are annoying and insult the viewers intelligence.
2.) The over politicization of the four letter network. I don’t want to hear a bumper for Obama while watching football. I am sick and tired of the four letter network kissing his ass (or any politicians ass for that matter). It represents a huge conflict of interest.
3.) More and more of the players are showing their disdain and out and out hatred for the fans. More and more players think we need them. Wrong. It is the other way around.
4.) People are sick and tired of the NFL treating them ATM machines and the “upsell” of every damn thing they touch. The NFL needs the people, not the other way around.
5.) Last – and certainly not least – the players refusing to stand for the National Anthem. People are sick of this crap coming into what used to be their oasis away from that sort of stuff and they are finally dumping it cold turkey and not looking back.
Sadly, the NFL has become a glorified prison work release program from August-January…
October 12th, 2016 at 12:12 pm
I know a lot of people in NC who were unable to watch the game because they were without electricity and/or cable due to Hurricane Matthew. I believe that played a part in the low numbers.
October 12th, 2016 at 12:14 pm
“ESPN has injected political opinions and bias, as well as political correctness into sports.”
So very right Cobra. I grew up with ESPN. (literally went to high school with Bob Ley) and can’t watch it anymore. The agenda is so obvious.
NFL Network and MLB network for me. I like ESPN for 30 for 30 that is about it.
As for the Bucs I could tell that win or lose the story would be Cats lose, not Bucs win. WFAN lambasted the game as horrible, and garbage in the NY market yesterday. That is OK, two road division victories has me pretty stoked right now.
Keep winning and the perception will change. Ratings are never gonna compete with big market cities or legacy franchises like Pitt and GB.
October 12th, 2016 at 12:17 pm
Who cares what Disney thinks? Nobody! What gripes my ass is the decades long shoving the Miami Dolphins down the Tampa Bay areas TV screens. Is this Miami north? I’d rather watch Jacksonville any day. To hell with Miami!
October 12th, 2016 at 12:18 pm
It is a self fulfilling prophecy as in all ESPN does is shove the same 4-5 teams down their viewers throats and then bemoan the fact that no one watches these teams that no one knows anything about. If people could relate or know anything about theses teams maybe they would watch but as soon as the only player they talk about on either team (Cam) went down this game was doomed to fail.
October 12th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
Uh, you do, otherwise you would not have commented.
October 12th, 2016 at 12:20 pm
No Cam Newton, two 1-3 teams, and good baseball playoffs. Not so farfetched
October 12th, 2016 at 12:21 pm
You and Joe are like-minded.
Aside from live games and the 30 for 30 features, the outfit is a waste of electricity.
October 12th, 2016 at 12:22 pm
If it makes them feel any better I’m usually asleep when Monday night football is on but I stayed up and watch the Bucs.
October 12th, 2016 at 12:37 pm
I was at a local bar in the DC area. The game came on after the Nats playoff game and the bartender was content to let the evening news play on the TV rather than put on the only football game that was on that night. So, that tells you what the national picture is on the Bucs. They’d rather hear about downed power lines and local legislature than watch the only football option available
October 12th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
you mean people don’t like watching bad football?? what a shock
October 12th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
Please someone, anyone, bring local sports talk back on in the am. Feel free to cancel lunchtime, but the morning drive needs a local sports talk show. My hour long commute needs it.
October 12th, 2016 at 12:52 pm
@Brandon Bob – There are a number of Bucs related podcasts out there. There is Bucs Uncensored, which comes through this site, but there are a number of others like Greg Auman’s daily podcast, the What the Buc podcast, among others. Download them and play them through bluetooth in your car or on headphones. You don’t have to deal with commercials and you don’t have to worry about sports that you’re not interested in. If you want some Rays or Lightning talk in there, download those podcasts and work them in to your playlist. There are options.
October 12th, 2016 at 1:03 pm
The BUCS have been mediocre to downright awful for so long not even people in TAMPA really care that much. There are literally kids in high school right now that have NEVER seen the BUCS be anything but bad. They’ve had good seasons here and there but for the most part terrible. Add that to the fact that most of the residents with money in this town are from up north and refuse to let go of those teams this is what we’re left with now. Until this team starts winning consistently and develops some stars the rest of the country will lump us in with the BROWNS, BILLS, and LIONS. Most of the country is full of bandwagon fans that jump on the hot team at the moment and to them the BUCS are losers.
October 12th, 2016 at 1:21 pm
Tampa has never gotten respect from that national media, even when we won the superbowl. But we’ve been so bad the last 10 years, what do you expect? I’m sure a game between the Browns and Dolphins would rate about the same.
Plus, there are 2 of the smallest market teams in the league, and both have losing records. Did anyone really expect anything different?
October 12th, 2016 at 1:55 pm
What would the ratings be if it were Jax/Tenn?
October 12th, 2016 at 2:02 pm
Everybody loves a winner. I guarantee you if you lived elsewhere in the country and had a choice of watching two 1-3 teams play vs going to a great movie or Whatever. You would do the..whatever. Bucs are a small team market which means they have always gotta be winners to get viewed. Hell, I cut that Broncos game off at the half and went to see a movie with my wife.
Start winning consistently and you get recognition. At 2-3? The nations gonna drop you and ignore you….like a bad habit.
October 12th, 2016 at 2:08 pm
Boy…those losing Panthers sure killed the ratings!
October 12th, 2016 at 2:13 pm
Bucs suck right now who wants attention. I’d rather lay low and build my team.
October 12th, 2016 at 2:30 pm
Even as a fan, I can’t stand to watch them, so I understand why the nation doesn’t want to watch. Don’t care. MNF is a distraction anyway.
October 12th, 2016 at 2:42 pm
If they aren’t here when we’re 2-14, I don’t want them here when we’re 14-2. If anything, I would hope the Bucs could DECLINE MNF in the future. Screw them.
October 12th, 2016 at 2:46 pm
So this ‘news’ is not news. NFL ratings have been terrible this year. I’m not positive why, but I have some ideas:
– The National Anthem thing has actually made a difference. People getting tired of spoiled brat, low-IQ, high paid athletes making political stands. The networks also shove this down our throats instead of just ignoring it.
– The game itself is less dangerous. Players like John Lynch would be considered dirty by today’s standards. This is a rough one. Player safety is indeed important, but it makes watching the game much more boring.
– Tampa itself. Tampa used to be a music town. Then everything shifted to sports. It seems that now local entertainment dollars are spent on brew pubs and foodie joints.
I can think of a bunch of other reasons, but my post is already tl;dr.
October 12th, 2016 at 3:19 pm
There was some good baseball games in though, I was actually flipping back and forth between games. But honestly that football game was hard to watch.
October 12th, 2016 at 4:23 pm
So the bucs are the sole reason that viewership was low? How about the fact the panthers suck too and we’re without their QB? How about playoff baseball? How about the boring ass game that it was.
We all know the nation gives 2 shlts about the bucs, that’s how it’s been the past decade. The browns get more talk than us, even if it is only to laugh and poke fun at how bad they are. The bucs are just an irrelevant team. We need to start winning consistently to at least start getting mentioned on the national shows.
October 12th, 2016 at 4:24 pm
When the product stinks like poop nobody watches…even Mickey Mouse customers. If I see another JW overthrow due to poor footing and mechanics….oh but yeah he is a “Pro Bowler”…what a bunch of crap. He is not even a top 20 QB right now. He needs to get on the field and out of the classroom to work on his game. Film study only gets you so far.
October 12th, 2016 at 5:11 pm
The Bucs are 2-3 and I’ll take it. The Falcons are hot and we could easily be 0-5. It looks like it’s going to take a couple years but stay the course. The defense is getting better and if we get a couple players back after the bye, we can win these games coming up. I hope we can go 8-8 which may be optimistic with the injuries but not ready to pull the plug yet. In another year or so Aguayo will be a great kicker, need to stick with him until he figures it out. I thought our O line played very well Minday night.
October 12th, 2016 at 5:19 pm
5.) Last – and certainly not least – the players refusing to stand for the National Anthem. People are sick of this crap coming into what used to be their oasis away from that sort of stuff and they are finally dumping it cold turkey and not looking back.
That’s me & my family. If a guy disrespects the flag and the National Anthem, I turn it off. We will not be watching the Bucs and the 49ers. More owners need to be like Jerry Jones!
October 12th, 2016 at 5:47 pm
Ratings are down across the board. To be honest I live out of market and only watched parts of it. Football is losing its luster. 3 seconds of action followed by 4 mins of commercials and 2 mins of referees talking…there’s better ways to spend the day.
October 12th, 2016 at 6:43 pm
@ KingMeatyHand
1) Or the opposite, clueless uneducated morons do not respect the first amendment of the US Constitution and make a mountain out of a mole-hill.
2) Yankee up north have no interest in watching red-neck southern teams play if Cam Newton is not on the field.
3) Tampa has not been a music town since Malfunction Junction destroyed the most cultural part of Tampa ever outside Ybor city. Where did that come from?
October 12th, 2016 at 10:26 pm
Well yeah. Our team is not good, now or historically. And pur market is the black sheep of the sports world to begin with. To be fair this matchup got little promotion leading up. But lets face it. No one wants yo watch the Cam-less panthers vs Tampa.
October 13th, 2016 at 12:07 am
Agree 100% with you guys about the commercials. I was so annoyed towards the bottom half of the first half, after about 9 minutes of football I figured out there had been more commercials than football plays. It’s over the top ridiculous.
October 13th, 2016 at 10:25 am
This can’t have anything to do with a hurricane hitting the Southeast coast of the country rendering people without power and greater things to deal with than watching football?
October 13th, 2016 at 7:50 pm
I don’t live in Tampa anymore but the effect this has on me is just as bad. I commute no less than 10 hrs. a week and live near Atlanta. I am finding it very difficult to find 10 hrs of Bucs chatter. I may have to resort to something drastic, though I don’t know what. I suppose the one good thing that comes out of this is now I can delete iHeart Radio from my phone; one less app to update.
#amiddlefingertowhomthisisressponsibleyoumothereffer