Too Much Blue

October 4th, 2017

One of several horrendous photos in Joe’s camera

The elephant in the room Sunday at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway was more like a thousand thundering herds.

What the hell was that?

Winning head coach Dirk Koetter says he doesn’t like or want opposing team’s jerseys in the lower bowl.

Dirk, the local fans aren’t listening. And it’s going to take more than 5,000 loud Stick Carriers to fix this mess.

Anyone who attended the Buccaneers’ last playoff game saw more tame version of the horror that was seen Sunday, when blue was the color of the day and the Bucs enjoyed a road atmosphere on their home turf against the Giants.

Joe thinks the blame should go a bit to the Buccaneers. Eliminating paper tickets is NOT helping make it easy for season ticket holders to give tickets to fellow fans. The Bucs may scream otherwise, but the average Joe can’t hand tickets to a friend at work, or give them away at church, or sell them on the street to a Bucs fan looking for an extra on the street. But that situation is just a sliver of the problem.

Yes, Tampa is a destination for fans looking for a cheap and fun road game experience, and the Bay area is filled with transplants who are more annoying than warm beer in July. It’s a combination that is ruining the fan experience for legions of Bucs fans.

If Team Glazer and Bucs management thinks it’s a fun an exhilarating experience to be a Bucs fan and sit among all the gear-wearing Giants fans, then they’re conning themselves.

To say there is no fix is, well, short-sighted. If Joe were running the Bucs, Joe would host Town Hall-style meetings immediately to garner ideas from fans and the community on how to mitigate the road atmosphere at Bucs games. To not attack the problem is to be like the Rays, who sit around convincing themselves they’ve done all they can to sell corporate tickets at the FruitDome.

The Patriots and their legions of fans will be out in full force Thursday.

Next season, in come the Steelers and Browns and Eagles and Redskins.

Go Bucs!

71 Responses to “Too Much Blue”

  1. Dave Says:

    We live in a transient area.

    There will always be a ton of New York and Ohio and Chicago and Boston fans around here.

    It’s just an unfortunate reality. The way to solve that is for the Bucs to kick all their butts over the next several years

  2. John Says:

    Bandwagon will be bandwagon, nothing you can do about it unfortunately

  3. DB55 Says:

    Tampons are whack, second only to orlandoians. Consider this, the giants are 0-4 and their fans still pack the house same with the Mets and knicks.

    Bucs lose to minn and all the stick carriers jump off ship? You got Djax out there telling the “home crowd” to quiet down while they’re in the huttle. Lol, welcome to Tampa djax.

    And you have the nerve to call yourselves “real fans”. What a joke!

  4. Buc50 Says:

    It was ridiculous. The section right near the ship was about 80-90% blue. That is not transplant, that is people selling their tickets.

  5. Bird Says:

    Was at game. There were more Giants fans. 55 to 45 percent is prediction. And yes just talking so much junk. Glad we got last laugh

  6. Bird Says:

    Db55

    I am from Orlando and still make the drive

  7. Stud Says:

    WIN!!!! WIN!!!! And win some more!!!

    This area and other transient areas need the “bandwagon” fans to fill the stands and get onboard with the team. Before the Pats had Brady they were a baseball town and didn’t have a national fanbase. Seahawks 12th man hasn’t been around forever, I remember going to the Kingdome in 1999 with my Dad and walking up to the stadium and buying tickets.

    Fanbases are built by winning, outside of Cleveland because, those people are stupid loyal no matter what.

    Giants come from the largest metro area in the country and have multiple titles in recent memory. While the Bucs have been a joke for quote some time. Fans are a reflection of their team. You want more fans, win and don’t get blown out in primetime.

  8. Blake_Bucsfan Says:

    @DB55

    on point with that synopsis of how whack and disloyal some of these so called “fans” are in this area.

    But I’d say it also has something to do with the recent string of protests, and Tampa being a military town, and a little bit of people still feeling the financial hit from Irma.

    The one thing that we “Tampons” do have going for us, is that the actual stick carriers that attend games, like myself and my pops, we sell out in them stands for this team.

    We’ll eventually get back to the 97-05 glory days of Ray Jay being a mad house.

  9. R.O. Says:

    This is one of the only topics I agree with you on. It is the Ticket policy of the team. I was at the Giants game and will be going to the Patriots game on Thursday. The team is well aware of what goes on with Ticket Brokers gobbling up tickets to games. I could not buy single game tickets for either game I had to pay a premium on the Resale market. Home teams in the NFL do not care they transfer the risk off themselves to the Brokers and the only ones who suffer are the fans who pay Bull$hit prices and handling fees. I emailed the team and spoke to the Ticket sales. They did not respond to my email and it fell on deaf ears.

  10. Buc1987 Says:

    It’s why I talk so much trash when I go to the games. I don’t like them there. So I let them know about it. I can’t stop them from coming, but I damn sure ain’t making their experience a fun one. Whether the Bucs win or lose I smack talk all game long.

    Go Bucs!

  11. Capt.Tim Says:

    This is a military town.
    Stand for the National Anthem.
    Otherwise, Many Tampa fans wont come

    Its that simple.

    They all stood last game, which I and many others, did not attend or watch.
    I will watch only the Bucs
    I wont attend in person, or buy gear- as long as Any NFL players are Kneeling.
    That’s just my personal response.
    But I know many others, who are also responding in similar fashion.
    The NFL is a product. Like any business- you cater to your customers.
    If you allow your employees to offend some of your customers- you lose business.

  12. Desert Bucs Fan Says:

    This has been the case since 1976 and will always be an issue.

    The best solution: Just Win Baby! Bucs fans will load the stadium.

  13. BFFL Says:

    Be curious to see Metlife stadium next giants game. My guess there will be lots of empty seats.

  14. Mexican Buc Says:

    The bucs doesn’t have a national fanbase, they are a local team. you can’t compete with the giants, dallas, steelers and patriots. they hava a national fan base 10 times larger than the bucs at least.
    that happens in every sport around the worls where there’s always couple of teams that have a national fan base.

  15. DBS Says:

    Not that many original Tampa people left. I moved away from the garbage that place has become because of NY and the others taking over that city and county.
    I live in the Tallahassee area and believe me what a difference. Not a bunch of ….. Well you get the message. I can cheer for the Bucs from here.

  16. BFFL Says:

    People having freedom to kneel is what makes this country the best and what our military fights to protect. If you prescribe to falling in line with nationalism with no regard to oppression then you probably prefer a system like Nazi Germany.

  17. Negative Jeff Says:

    This team has been pure garbage since the SB. Firing the SB winning coach without a plan made this situation much worse. Winning season for the next 3-5 years will fix this issue. Need some buzz around Bucs games. Used to be a big deal to go to the games. Has not been for years.

  18. Dylan Says:

    Other then California, Florida is the biggest retirement state. This is no suprise- and this will
    Never be stopped. Shout out to all the bucs fans there with me escorting them sorry SOB giants fans out the stadium with polite wording

  19. Joel Says:

    Tampa is a transient town. Can’t change that.

    Winning will change those transient fans from their home town to the Bucs.

    It happened during the dominant years of the late 90s and early 2000s.

    Do you think those fans disappeared or left? No, they just went with a different team.

    Face it, most fans are bandwagon fans. Especially if you didn’t grow up in Tampa.

    If the Bucs win a Super Bowl soon, do you think there will really be that many fans from opposing teams? No.

    Its not like all those people traveled from out of town to see the Giants. Most of them live in the area.

  20. InJameisWeTrust Says:

    We can’t help that people from other parts of the country actually wonna move here. As a result, that crap happens. Nothing you can do….

  21. orlbucfan Says:

    DB55 is trying to get a flame war going starring the 2 towns on I-4: Tampa and O-ville. Well, I’ve been a diehard Bucs fanatic for 38 years, and I live in Tragic Kingdom-ville. I attended games back when so few people showed up, the rest of us drank beer and worked on our tans. At least, the unis weren’t a horror show. Know all about the ticket broker ripoffs–21st century version. Central Florida has always been filled with snowbirds so just go with the flow. Bucs win tomorrow night and fans will show up in spite of the ticket broker thieves! Go Bucs!!

  22. DB55 Says:

    Blake

    And what a glorious time it was, the stadium would literally shake.

    I only attend night games, I can’t take the heat during the day and Tickrdr still hasn’t invited me into his suite. Where’s the love Tick?

  23. CautiousOptimism Says:

    Start hitting Desean Jackson down the field and sack the QB once in a while you will see the tide start to change. This fanbase has put up with some real bad football for a long time. That is why you see this kind of turnout. I was at the last playoff game against the Giants and was totally surrounded by blue and that was when we were doing some winning prior to the disaster of the last decade. Win and they will come.

  24. DB55 Says:

    If it wasn’t for people like Capt Tim Kaep wouldn’t have to take a knee. Lol, if you’re pissed now Tim you should see what Kaep is doing with his foundation. That’s really gonna piss you off. Lmao

  25. Mikadeemas Says:

    Yeah, it always gets me when fellow season ticket holders, that you cheer with every week, show up in the opposing team’s jersey. SUCKS! GO BUCS!!

  26. Lamarcus Says:

    Blow outs don’t help

  27. DB55 Says:

    I’ll brb I have to go help a vet get educated. While I’m at it I’ll ask him if he disagrees with Kaep. Still waiting to find one vet who disagrees.

  28. Volbuc2 Says:

    It just sad and ridiculous! If your such a big NY, Pittsburgh, Dallas, or whoever then why do you live in Tampa??? Support your local team!! Idiotic to me not too. There are a lot of transits people everywhere now a days, so that’s not an excuse. Most are Bandwagoners!

  29. Mikadeemas Says:

    DBS. Yeah, as a lifelong Manatees County resident, I couldn’t take the rat race it had become. Had to head south to North Florida. I was calling Manatee/Sarasota New York south!

  30. Patrickbucs Says:

    @DB55 lol the Mets always sell out? The Knicks? They have 7 million people that can get to MSG in minutes for the same size arena as the Lightning have. The Yankees don’t even sell out on a regular basis if you watch any games. They would have to play in a park that sits 6 times the Rays size for a rational comparison. Name calling usually helps solve problems, especially without any potential solutions though.

    I’ve had season tickets since Ray Jay opened. We have pretty much always had a number of opposing fans from major cities. News flash: so does Dallas, Miami, Arizona, etc. etc. and then some. You cannot control people selling their tickets obviously now. My section is going for 3-4 times per game rate per seat. I’m personally not selling mine, however if people do and watch at home they are paying for a good chunk for the annual season ticket fees. This is not always the case.

    A lot has changed with stadium and at home game day experiences. Hopefully more and more Bucs fans will start to prefer the stadium experience more. It’s been tough for a number of years to go when you constantly lose. We are making a turn for the better so maybe we will have more Bucs fans come. Either way if you continue to hold serve the opposing fans walk out sour and that’s priceless.

  31. AlteredEgo Says:

    I’ll be the same tomorrow night….still have the flags from the SF playoff game SB year……that was the high point in Ray Jay history

  32. Dusthty Rhothdes Says:

    Like stated above being this is a transient state and some of the northeasterners cannot lose their allegiances even after being here for 20 years to some of their teams and then you have the success of the pats and everyone that has a grandmother from that region became a brady fan….place will be packed with the chowdah heads thursday just hope the bucs can change their national spotlight trend of late

  33. UK Buc Says:

    I was at the Giants game with 14 other Bucs UK members, and there will be 26 at the Pats game. If we can save up all year, take vacation from work and travel 4000 miles to support our team, so can you. Get off your backsides, and go support the team.

  34. DBS Says:

    @ Mikadeemas
    It was not just the rat race. It was the attitude of mostly New Yorkers. They will even try to run you over in parking lot. Riverview is building 25,000 homes. Yet these these people buying these homes knowing about the mobile homes across the street will now call in …. Well you know the rest. They are not snowbirds. They came to stay. I just could not take it any longer.

  35. Mikadeemas Says:

    Yeah, one of my best memories was sending Packers fans home as losers, after a Monday Night “Bay of Pigs” game. Man that a fun night! And I’ve still got SF game flag too(the red one).

  36. OneBucPerson Says:

    New flash, A LOT of people from New York live down here so it doesn’t surprise that they came out in bunches for this game.

  37. AlteredEgo Says:

    The local sports media needs to come up with a derogatory term for these obnoxious transplants the crowd to roads ,beaches and waters enjoying Florida to the fullest get are so rude to flaunt their other team allegiances…back in the NFC Central days in the Ole Sombrero the Detroit Lions fans really bugged me…they were only a little better than the Bucs but the toothless drunks acted like they had won every previous SB in NFL history……grrrrr

  38. Mikadeemas Says:

    DBS. I’m with ya brother. And as long as the Bucs can stay competitive, Tally Fox 41 will keep putting their games on. The weather guy Mike McCall is a big Bucs fan and he said the station manager is too, plus the JW3 connection.

  39. Evolvingbucfan Says:

    Don’t you worry I’ll be there all decked out in my new Bucs jersey and hat, at least that’s one lest annoying Pats fan that will be in the lower bowl.

    I hope we win this game, what a turning point it will be!!

    GO BUCS!!!!!!!!!

  40. JimBuc2 Says:

    @BFFL
    What a vile suggestion. You should post elsewhere, or perhaps move to a more ‘egalitarian’ progressive society. May I suggest Cuba, or Venezuela? Take a basic civics class dude; nationalism does not equal fascism. Much of the freedom in the world, and virtually all American freedom was purchased with the blood of America’s best. Nationalism and patriotism go hand in hand. To claim a patriot’s righteous indignation at crybaby millionaire’s misguided indulgence somehow equates with history’s murderous Nazi regime only serves to reveal your lack of understanding and appreciation for the gift of freedom extended to you at the very highest personal sacrifice others before you have paid for. Shame on you.

  41. DBS Says:

    Mike is the Best up here. I count on him. I count on This station to see the games.
    Go Bucs!!!!

  42. 813bucboi Says:

    The section right near the ship was about 80-90% blue…

    tell me about it….im a season ticket holder and im in section 140 row S seats 1 and 2…..its brutal….every game….there were so many giants fans it was a shame….

    the only good thing about it is singing,” nah nah nah nah….nah nah nah nah…hey hey hey…good bye!!!!!

    I’ve had those seats for 3 yrs now….the worst games were green bay and dallas….new Orleans can get tough too!!!…luckily we got the “w” vs dallas(10-9), but I had to leave in the middle of the 3rd quarter vs green bay….I was disgusted…

    but I don’t think there’s anything the bucs themselves can do….I know a bunch of giants, green bay, patriots and dallas fans personally, and I’ve known them for years….they’re diehard fans that go to the game every time their team is in town….somebody hit the nail on the head….WINNING CURES ALL….we start winning, they’ll stop coming…or at least sit in the 3rd level….GO BUCS!!!

  43. AlteredEgo Says:

    Green Bay fans in my experience are good natured visitors …

  44. Defense Rules Says:

    @Joe … “If Joe were running the Bucs, Joe would host Town Hall-style meetings immediately to garner ideas from fans and the community on how to mitigate the road atmosphere at Bucs games.” GRRREAT idea Joe! Over the years I’ve heard about every rationale for why we do so poorly filling up our own stadium … and I see them all again in the comments above.

    How about one other perspective Bucs fans. If we ONLY allowed Bucs fans into the stadium, Bucs would’ve moved a long time ago. Up until last season I had season tickets for many years. And just about every season opponents’ fans filled a BUNCH of seats. Interestingly, as ticket prices increased (significantly) after 2002 it seemed to get worse & worse. And so did the ‘game-day experience’ (lousy teams & piss-poor marketing will do that I guess).

    Contrary to what many seem to think, Tampa Bay is a very spread-out area, and not all that big (population-wise) or wealthy compared to many other NFL cities. Quite a few folks I knew who had season tickets had to sell some just to be able to afford the cost. So don’t blame the Bucs’ fans … blame Bucs’ owners & management for the situation. But at the same time thank them for keeping the Bucs in Tampa Bay.

  45. Tom Edrington Says:

    You won’t see any jersey colors unless they are see-through ponchos…..anyone looked at the weather report??? Huge storms rolling in Thursday and Thursday night! Ouch.

  46. Do it Says:

    It stunk hearing all the ‘Lets go Giants’ chants entering RJ. I was sweet seeing the blue shirts with mouths shut leaving the stadium.

  47. sorryitriggeredyou Says:

    I wish Tampa media would just stop with this non-sense. RayJay will NEVER be filled with hard core fans. 80% of people in Tampa come from somewhere else and 79% are from NY. LOL not exact but not far off, you get the gist. Stop trying to make RayJay this bastion of hard core local team supporters. It’s not going to happen, EVER. That’s why the Stick Carriers is such a hit. Lots of us been wanting that kind of fan participation and enthusiasm for a long time.

    @Tom Edrington good, advantage BUCS!

  48. sorryitriggeredyou Says:

    @Do it HEHEHEHE SWEEET REVENGE. SUCK IT NY FAN.

  49. Cannon Says:

    Just win.

    Win, and we will see more red jersey’s.

    Think back to when Sapp, Lynch and Brooks patrolled the field.

    That stadium was swathed in red jerseys.

    Win, and they will come.

  50. Pickgrin Says:

    Tom – according to the current hourly weather forecast for Tampa on weather.com – there’s a 50% chance of rain Thursday afternoon – 35% at 6pm – but its down to 15% by 8pm and the chance stays at 15% from 8>midnight.

  51. Buc1987 Says:

    Volbuc2 Says:

    “It just sad and ridiculous! If your such a big NY, Pittsburgh, Dallas, or whoever then why do you live in Tampa??? Support your local team!”

    I lived in San Diego for 2 years back in the late 80’s. I wore my creamsicle proud. Should I have just dropped the Bucs and became a Chargers fan? I lived in Raleigh for 6 years too. Should I have became a Panthers fan?

    I THINK NOT!

    My team goes with me where I go or I’m really not much of a fan am I?

    Can’t blame transplants for doing the same thing. Abandon your team? Hell no. It’s why I’m still a Red Sox fan. Can’t stand the Pats for many reasons though.

  52. Seminole Bill Says:

    Having been a season ticket holder since 2004, I can attest to there being little to no opposing team colors at RayJay, when the team was going 10-6/11-5, and regularly making the playoffs. A few years later, attendance took a nosedive, the economy went in the tank, and people stayed away. It takes a long, long time to build fan loyalty, and the Bucs have lost many loyal fans over these recent lean years. Jameis has been a superb team leader, and it is starting to show on the field, but the entire team has to make sure fans have a reason to go to the games.

  53. DB55 Says:

    The worst part about the win is that I can’t even rub it in my friends faces cuz the g-men are 0-4. But after losing to the Bucs they now plan to wear brown paper bags to games which I find completely insulting. Damn Yankees, lol, gotta love them.

  54. Capt.Tim Says:

    Db55( again, you dont deserve that name)

    Dont care what Kap is doing. He has plenty of time on his hands! Lmao
    The guys taking a knee dont even know what they are protesting. Nor do they have a solution to any problems.

    Thousand ways to get bring attention to an issue. Disrespecting the Flag isnt one of them.
    Judging by viewership,Attendance, and merchandise sales- a few others are finding a better way to spend their Sundays.

  55. BucTrooper Says:

    I’ve been a STH since 05. When they said that they were doing away with the PDF tickets I called my ticket guy at the Bucs and he told me that there wasn’t a week that went by where their office was inundated with phone calls about someone on the street getting a bogus ticket that was sold on the street (photocopies of the same ticket). I accepted this at face value.

    Two weeks later there was a story in the TBT about how some STH had their tickets revoked because they sold too many of them for the team’s liking. Apparently there is some kind of “trigger” that rings a bat-phone at OneBuc when you sell your tickets too many times. So I’m thinking the fraud story is just BS.

    Let me say this: the way you get fans into your stadium is NOT to treat them like sh!t. Earlier this season at the Browns preseason game, they REFUSED to let me and my family INTO the stadium during a lightning storm. They cited “NFL rules.” The Bucs have a problem keeping fans in the seats (especially those that wear red). I find it odd that their strategy is to upset those that want to come for the whole season.

  56. Mark Says:

    Several reasons at play here. People selling their tickets and brokers in the mix. Electronic ticketing and easy to use online resale options a big factor. Also the fact that PSL’s expired 10 years ago allowing fans to opt out of having to buy every year.

    Not worried about fan support, we keep winning and provided we aren’t playing NY or Boston teams it will be largely Bucs fans. I can tell you this, we had at least 20k Bucs fans in Atlanta last season. The fan base and diaspora are growing!

  57. SOEbuc Says:

    I think there will be a lot less NE fans than NY last week. New Yorkers have been coming down to the Tampa Bay area like a tsunami to steal our sun ray’s and go to Legends Field. I see tons of New York license plates every day, not so much other north eastern states. And I’m thinking Bucs season ticket holders won’t be giving these tickets away or selling them.

  58. DB55 Says:

    Viewership is down 10% with TX and FL out of power for the first 2 weeks of the season. How will the nfl survive?

    Tim don’t you have an arsenal of automatic weapons you need to lubricate? Or is now not the time and place to discuss that either? Lol, you people are a disgrace to humanity as a whole.

  59. Ben Says:

    There is no easy way for a fan to determine who buys their tickets on the NFL Ticket exchange, or any other online ticket broker.

    The sites should at least ask for the name of your favorite team and allow sellers to choose who to make their tickets available to.

    People can lie, but better than nothing.

  60. 813bucboi Says:

    another reason why its out of the bucs hand is because of money….sad news…my friend just sold his tickets to a pats fan for $450 each…he has seats in sect 140 row R seats 1-3….I said damn, I don’t blame you…that’s a nice chunk of change….especially with x-mas around the corner…GO BUCS!!!

  61. buccochris Says:

    I LOVED seeing the NYG fans leaving RayJay shaking their heads in disbelief while muttering to themselves. We Buc fans were nice enough to serenade them with chants of “0 and 4”! Got to beat the Patsies tomorrow and send their fans back to the “cah pahk” with their heads in their hands!

  62. BartButtplug Says:

    Start winning games/playoff games again and this won’t be an issue. Last playoff win was 15 years ago. Pretty lame.

  63. Capt.Tim Says:

    dbIQ55

    My “arsenal” is always well tended, thank you.
    And “Us People”( I assume you are referring to Conservatives) are the majority of Americans. Havent you been watching?

    Or did “us People” refer to some other defining term?

    If you feel real disgraced, you can join the lil celebrity snowflakes- and go to some country where you feel less constricted.

    Planes leave everyday!

  64. Buccanr1 Says:

    What a bunch of aholes Giants fans are. There is a certain class of people from a certain hurricane ravaged island that act like they have never been in public before. Certainly turned me off from going back to Ray Jay.

  65. Doctor Stroud Says:

    @Joe: you should share the other “horrendous photos” that you mentioned. We, as fans, need to be reminded of this! A lot of so-called Bucs fans wanted to sell their tickets at inflated prices. A few days before the game, the lowest price that I saw on the ticket exchange sites was $100 per ticket. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

  66. JabooBuc Says:

    I got news for you Joe. This is starting to happen all over the NFL with the exception of a few markets. The game experience (and the NFL) is losing fans for a whole host of reasons. If it were not for gambling and fantasy this sport would be really struggling. The funny thing is that many of the players don’t seem to get it.

  67. Ryan Says:

    So much for the “Stick Carriers”

  68. Larry Edwards Says:

    My wife & I flew down from Michgan for the Gians & Pats games. We bought the Giants tickets through Ticketmaster and decided to get Premier VIP parking passes. When we arrived we showed our receipt for the parking and they said we needed the barcodes – what barcodes? We ended up paying another $25 to park on top of the $35 we paid. We decided to forego the Pats game.

  69. DrT1006 Says:

    In honor of Mike Evans taking a knee I sold my Bucs tickets

  70. DislocatedBucsFan Says:

    @DB55

    I disagree with kap.

    Active duty army

  71. RealityCheck Says:

    All of you people talking about the anthem as if that’s the issue are delusional. This has been the case for a decade. Prominent road teams always have a huge showing.

    We’ve had tickets since 1978. The experience sucks now. Instead of parking in somebody’s yard and eating street food and tailgating like the good ole days, you get to park in a $25 lot and go inside to buy two hot dogs and a drink for $24.

    Then you get to sit in the rain, thunderstorms, or oppressive heat and usually watch the Bucs lose (hopefully this year is different). Also, our ticket prices have increased 25% in just the last couple years. It all starts to add up and you wonder why you’re not just watching at home from the comfort of your house with $300+ more dollars in your wallet.

    Even the half time shows they don’t do a damn thing. It’s a bad game experience.

    See everyone tonight lol.