The Bucs And Their Fans
July 19th, 2017
Things have been going on in the NFL recently that have Joe thinking out loud here.
Once upon a time, the Bucs used to have “FanFest.” Folks gathered at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway to take part in all sorts of fun and happenings: walk the field, ask questions of the coach, get autographs, buy season tickets, and generally have a fun evening.
It was a cool event, albeit a hot event, as it usually took place in June. Then, the Bucs started to have a training camp practice at the stadium and shortly thereafter did away with FanFest claiming the night practice was essentially the FanFest, sans fans walking on the grass, asking the coach questions or mingling on the field.
It wasn’t the same.
Then, beginning in 2015, the Bucs dumped the night practice, saying fans could come watch practice at One Buc Palace. But anyone who went to the night practice knows tens of thousands more fans showed up than at any practice held at One Buc Palace. Fans loved the night practice.
Joe guesses there were several reasons to do away with FanFest and subsequently the night practice.
There may have been scheduling issues, for one. And Joe guesses coaches hated it because there simply wasn’t enough room for all 90 players to do their normal practice activities. Shoot, there’s almost too little room at One Buc Palace when there are 90 players jockeying for room on two fields.
The reason Joe brings this up is because while the Bucs are in some ways cutting back, other teams are doing more. Just this week, the 49ers are having an open practice at their crib, Levi’s Stadium. And the team will offer free food and drink at the practice.
(To be fair, the Bucs slashed prices on concessions at their FanFest and at the night practice at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.)
Also, the Dixie Chicks just announced concessions prices at home games. And the new prices are virtual giveaways based on standards of concession prices throughout the nation at major league and college sporting events.
(Last week a Bucs fan went bananas on Joe via Twitter screaming about concession prices at Bucs games. Joe told the reader that the prices aren’t much different — if at all — than at other NFL venues. In some cases, maybe they’re a shade cheaper. The reader would have none of it and Joe scolded him for unfairly singling out Team Glazer when they were doing nothing different than roughly 120 other major league teams across North America.)
Now before Joe’s readers get worked up, Team Glazer will soon have something for fans that to Joe’s knowledge no other NFL team offers outside of the Cowboys. Beginning next summer, fans will get to enjoy practices in the air conditioning of the new indoor practice facility when the Bucs opt to practice there.
Even now, Bucs fans at training camp have it better than most. There are covered bleachers. Neither Jacksonville nor Houston, with similar climates as Tampa, offer covered seating for the majority of fans, much less air conditioning. Go watch the Texans or Jags, and you get to broil under the brutal summer sun just like the players and coaches.
That new indoor facility will certainly be a luxury next summer. And yes, Joe can understand why the team may have done away with the carnival-like night practice at the stadium.
But doing away with FanFast? Well, the decision seemed at the time, and still does, a bit onerous if not haughty.
July 19th, 2017 at 6:43 am
Missing my morning cup of joe Joe – what gives?
July 19th, 2017 at 6:51 am
For me …it’s the $8 beer…I know it’s booze and alcohol handled differently etc etc. but , man $6 sounds so much better. That way you can get 3 beers with a 20 spot anot not 2
July 19th, 2017 at 7:03 am
Maybe only one of the Joes does the morning cup of Joe and he’s on vacation.
July 19th, 2017 at 7:09 am
Whew,,! Thanks Phil.
July 19th, 2017 at 7:28 am
Simple solution here…. New trend…. No longer will we settle for simple Tail Gating…. NO NO NO…. Bucs Fan will now be Whaling in the parking lot and surrounding neighborhood….
July 19th, 2017 at 7:39 am
I do most my drinking at the Tailgate, cheaper. Besides, I’m there to watch the game. I know some people spend 1/2 of the game at the food & drink stands.
July 19th, 2017 at 7:41 am
How about it Joe? What’s the reason for no cup of Joe lately?
July 19th, 2017 at 7:41 am
I have a graphic at home on my computer that I saved that says the Bucs are in the bottom 5 in the NFL based on overall price which includes ticket cost, concessions and parking. That guy on twitter is nuts and the numbers back you up Joe. He can disagree all he wants – he’s wrong.
You know at Foxboro, lots close to the stadium are $60 a game to park?
July 19th, 2017 at 7:49 am
I got my Michael Clayton jersey signed by him one year at Fanfest. I later donated it to the local kennel so dogs could lay on it.
July 19th, 2017 at 8:20 am
So it’s ok to practice on 1 field of a indoor with 90 guys, but it’s not for a outdoor night practice on 1 field at the stadium?? You just said coaches didn’t like the limited space but that’s exactly what they will be doing by going inside.
July 19th, 2017 at 8:40 am
Things have been going on at JBF recently that have Harry thinking out loud here.
Once upon a time, the Joes used to have “Morning Cup of Joe.” Folks gathered at their computers each morning to ogle that morning’s selection and read all sorts of crazy stories from around the world: ppl having sex with gators, drug dealers taunting the cops on the internet only to get popped later, family members shooting each other over beer and all the latest updates from our Prez.
It was a cool event.
Then, beginning in July, 2017, the Joes dumped the Morning Cup of Joe, saying it’s readers would have to look elsewhere for such lovelies and lovely tidbits of news. No farewell. No explanation.
Harry guesses there were good reasons to do away with Morning Cup of Joe. But cannot fathom what they are…
The reason Harry brings this up is because while the Joes are in some ways cutting back, other websites are doing more to get readers…
July 19th, 2017 at 8:47 am
Lol harry. Good one.
July 19th, 2017 at 8:50 am
I feel like I’m probably in the vast minority here based on comments, and I like cute girls as much as any guy but I don’t miss Morning Cup of Joe. First, I frequent the gym so I see cute, fit, relatively scantily clad women on a daily basis. Second, I come to JBF exclusively for football news. Not girls. Not politics. Not crazy Jerry Springer stuff. But here’s some free advice for some. Try this nifty Google search: ‘cute+girls+in+bikinis’. My guess is that you’ll come up with troves of pics of cute girls in bikinis, far more than Joe can ever post. As for the politics and other craziness, this is not Joe DC.com or Joe TMZ.com. So let’s enjoy the best local Bucs coverage and stop lamenting the one girly pic per day. Just a thought.
July 19th, 2017 at 9:31 am
Well said Steven007 it’s like they’ve never heard of Porn Hub..
July 19th, 2017 at 9:47 am
ROTFLMAO!!!
July 19th, 2017 at 9:52 am
Like Steven I don’t really care about the bikini pics for largely the same reasons he and zwak.
While I certainly didn’t agree with all the selections and some of the posters use that thread to reveal their manifest ignorance…it didn’t bother me and I always read a couple links and the comments. Some of the links were very good.
So Joe perhaps a poll..since it’s you guys who have to do the work. LMAO
I’ll go first…I vote for the return of the Morning Cup of Joe.
July 19th, 2017 at 9:54 am
Didnt actually write they did. Guessed they did.
You are right about the facility. Only room for one field there.
July 19th, 2017 at 9:57 am
Trooper:
Good point. Forgot about parking. Bucs are actually pretty cheap with parking compared to rest of NFL.
July 19th, 2017 at 10:30 am
Steven007 … boom. Nicely put.
July 19th, 2017 at 10:46 am
If you go to the practices at obp don’t forget to bring ferbreeze.
July 19th, 2017 at 11:24 am
Those prices in ATL have to be the cheapest concessions I’ve seen at any sports game or concert in at least 15 years…
July 19th, 2017 at 2:40 pm
Several points to add here. The Bucs have an unprecedented number of public practices at One Buc Place each year now, plus more “private practices” for Bucs members. So fand can better pick and choose from more, and with each practice, there is free bottled water, up close autographs (more access really), popsicles, beads, photos (all free). Not to mention a private practice for “military appreciation day.” The last night practice they did was on a Friday (after a work week, not on a Saturday) a few years back, and it just dragged on and on because of planned fireworks…which are not that big of a deal given 4th of July right around the same time. In the very old days, the Bucs did their camps out of town, so there were limited opportunities–FanFest made sense. Not so much anymore with them training right here. Next, much of the concession cost is because charitable organizations are required to work them, so they get a big cut, with just a few Aramark (paid) employees supervising. So, many proceeds go to charity. I say with experience, the Bucs concessions are no more expensive than others, and no worse than airports. A member with a 15% discount can get an entree (like chicken tenders, pork sandwich, Cuban sandwich, nachos, etc) plus fries and drink for about $16. Not a bargain, but not unfair, and you can aways get Golden Corral on the way home or just stay at home and see the game. Years ago, people said if they put the games on TV, they’d go to more games. Yeah, right. My only gripe is they should allow at least one bottle of water to be brought in from outside, since it costs about $7 inside. The NFL should reconsider this one. I also hate full price for pre-season games. I’d love to see one home pre-season game, one away pre-season game, and a home and away “scrimmage” where the public could go out to One Buc. But at the end of the day, it’s business, the demand is there, and when stuff is free there are still people who complain. So enjoy what you can. It’s football season. It’s the NFL.
July 19th, 2017 at 2:46 pm
That makes no sense.
July 19th, 2017 at 4:43 pm
Zwak…What is this Horn Pub you speak of?
July 19th, 2017 at 5:17 pm
Joe Says:
July 19th, 2017 at 2:46 pm
“Years ago, people said if they put the games on TV, they’d go to more games.
That makes no sense.” (my quote).
Yes, that makes no sense. But “fans” (not really fans though) said if the Bucs lifted the blackouts (which as you know was NFL, not Bucs), they’d watch more on TV, and want to go to games. But they said since the Bucs weren’t doing it, they’d do something else. Same thing on ticket prices. They said if the Bucs lowered them, they’d go. BS there too. Remember in (I think) 2012 when they announced kids half price and adults $35, and they when about six or eight years with NO increases? Again, the naysayers didn’t produce. Just saying this is the kind of garbage you heard around the bay from people who wouldn’t go no matter what.
July 19th, 2017 at 5:21 pm
There is one thing I’d like to see from the old night practices….the kicking competition. Oh yeah. Let’s put 30,000 hot and sweaty fans in a stadium on Saturday night and watch Roberto Aguayo and Nick Folk play “H-O-R-S-E” field goals Let’s see how Roberto does doing that…
July 19th, 2017 at 8:44 pm
LOL That has all sorts of possibilities!