Sleepy Lenny
September 6th, 2022
This story from Leonard Fournette served as a reminder of in-person disagreements Joe’s had with Bucs coaches and executives through 14-plus years covering the team.
Joe has always maintained that hardcore fans care more about the Bucs than players, coaches and suits. That statement seems to infuriate the Bucs types. They typically maintain it’s impossible and dammit Joe, you don’t understand the commitment at One Buc Palace, you A-hole.
Joe always counters by stating true fans would never abandon the team, and legions spend money on the club that they simply can’t afford. Few if any at One Buc Palace can say that, Joe believes. Mr. Coach, executive, player would run to a new team in a heartbeat when his/her big-money job expires. Heck, he/she might even try to negotiate a new deal out of town during football season.
It’s a fun argument.
Enter Leonard “Lombardi Lenny” Fournette and his chat on Bussin’ With The Boys last month.
Fournette told the hosts that he didn’t watch the critical Bucs-Jets game in January, a key fourth-quarter comeback for Tampa Bay that featured the Antonio Brown meltdown.
That’s right, Fournette didn’t watch it. Lombardi Lenny said he was sleeping and if you have an issue with that, call his doctor who prescribed lots of rest for his then-bad hamstring.
And Lombardi Lenny gave another reason he didn’t watch. “Because we’re playing the Jets.”
Don’t misunderstand. Joe doesn’t think less of Fournette and he’s one of Joe’s favorite Bucs. This story just illustrates fans and players often operate in very different worlds.
September 6th, 2022 at 11:24 am
He was right to assume it should be a cakewalk. It wasn’t, obviously, thanks to Todd’s defense not being able to contain Hall of Famer Braxton Berrios. Oh and AB deciding before the game that he was going to try to cause his own team to lose.
Good thing he didn’t watch it. His TV would have been thrown through a window like mine would have been if I hadn’t been in the car.
September 6th, 2022 at 11:25 am
Lenny did one thing TBBF has never done……missed a game!!!
Players, coaches & suits will change……sometimes even names of teams…..but the team remains…..if you root for the team there is consistency…..
I actually feel sorry for some of the posters who are obsessed with certain players or coaches…positive or negative….because what do they have after they depart?
September 6th, 2022 at 11:33 am
Renowned Sleep Specialist Dr. $troud reported Fournette was “One nap short of being in a coma.”
September 6th, 2022 at 11:38 am
TBBF, I’m with you. I’ll be no less of a fan once Tom departs as I am today. And was just as much of a fan when Freeman was steering the offense, or whatever adjective could be used. Same with JW. He was my quarterback. Until he wasn’t. Now I have zero interest in his performance or career. All about the team. So many who post here don’t have that kind of allegiance. And I’m not even talking about the obvious mass holes.
September 6th, 2022 at 11:39 am
Yes, and us true Fans pay big money for Beer at the Stadium, even when we have Cold Bromosa at home!
Speaking of Fans, it took me awhile to get used to Tampa Football Fans.
Some of these so called football fans are still rooting for their old home teams, despite the fact they have lived here for over 20 years!
September 6th, 2022 at 11:40 am
The typical “employee” of an organization, whether retail, professional, technical, industrial, etc. will not spend their sick days or vacation days in constant contact with their employers. There are, of course, exceptions to this norm.
Lenny’s “job” is to play a game well enough to be entertaining to us (winning is the most entertaining). To do his job well he needs to be healthy, so, he was actually doing his job by resting up.
As for the “Jets” game… Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that to be very entertaining either. That didn’t stop me from watching for the win. And anyone who anticipated the AB meltdown, I need to talk to you about tonights numbers
September 6th, 2022 at 11:54 am
No game should be presumed to be a cakewalk. Anybody that thinks any NFL team is simply going to roll over and play dead has never played sports and shouldn’t be able to comment on it.
September 6th, 2022 at 11:57 am
Bucs Win – hilarious!!!
September 6th, 2022 at 12:04 pm
The “Fan” experience is a little different. True fans follow their “team”, not the individuals on the team. That does not mean that they don’t know those individuals, but if they put a different uniform on next year, they’re far less important to our lives.
“Team” could be an individual for certain sports.
The “fans” mindset is that their team deserves to win. All other teams should be beaten by “our” team.
Fans feel a level of ownership with their team and wins and losses feel personal even though the only investment is at an emotional level.
It’s almost a form of entitlement.
September 6th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
Just following doctor’s orders….no biggie
September 6th, 2022 at 12:11 pm
Lights Out Lenny
September 6th, 2022 at 12:13 pm
Steven007…most of the posters here are pretty big Buc fans though…..
Especially the ones that post every single day.
I mean who would take the time out of their day every day to comment on our traditionally losing franchise? Apparently a bunch of us. I’ve been posting since 2013. Many more posters have been here before me.
September 6th, 2022 at 12:15 pm
Check that though…I don’t comment nearly as much as I used to.
September 6th, 2022 at 12:22 pm
Steven determines who the real Buc fans are. Steven, do you have season tickets. Will you be there every home game spending your hard earned money and cheering on your team through the season and into the playoffs. If not maybe you aren’t the one we should have judging the fans allegiance to the team.
September 6th, 2022 at 12:30 pm
For 4 years I woke up at 2am on a Monday morning to watch or listen to Bucs games while living in Korea and Japan and then drag my disappointed but into work.
Shoot, I used to track the game for 3 1/2 hours on NFL.com game tracker huddled around my desktop (pre-stream days) for 4 years in Italy because AFN rarely showed Bucs games…that’s what us fans endure! Coaches, players, and personnel do not share the same intensity and loyalty we do PERIOD! /debate
September 6th, 2022 at 12:32 pm
O don’t blame him. Lots of Jets players don’t pay attention whenever the Jets play.
September 6th, 2022 at 12:34 pm
@Passing
LMAO!!! Got a few buddies at work that’ll agree, and would probably want to include the front office and ownership
September 6th, 2022 at 12:40 pm
Panhandle Buc…most home games were blacked out when I became a fan back in 1987. So I listened to a lot of Gene Deckerhoff. We had no internet. The away games.. my parents were too cheap to get cable, so I used to have to run all these crazy wires from my TV out the window to try and tune in channel 13 to watch my Bucs.
The antennae on the roof never picked up 13 very well compared to my crazy wire concoction. 🙂
Go Bucs!!!
September 6th, 2022 at 1:12 pm
Buc1987, But did you wake up at 2am on a Monday morning and iron man it for 19 hours straight (typically after a heart breaking loss)? J/K
Tough times either way…
September 6th, 2022 at 1:13 pm
Hold on now…isn’t it “Sleepy Joe”?
September 6th, 2022 at 1:20 pm
Makes sense. It’s our (the fans) escape. For them the escape is no football.
September 6th, 2022 at 1:28 pm
It’s a job they do for money. Most players, running backs especially, don’t get to just ride out an entire career on one roster. Fournette isn’t a “Buc”, he just cashes a Buccaneers pay check right now. He happily cashed Jaguar paychecks before, and he’ll happily cash someone else’s paycheck in another year or so.
September 6th, 2022 at 2:10 pm
Thats why we love guys love guys like Brooks and Barber.
There is a big list of these type guys. Current players included.
So, the argument is sometimes true and sometimes false.
Not every player gets to stay where they love to play.
Sapp and McCoy come to mind.
September 6th, 2022 at 2:45 pm
and lynch
September 6th, 2022 at 3:07 pm
Been a bucs fan since Warren Sapp and brooks joined the team.
I was a big college football fan as a kid.
I liked the cowboys because of Jimmy Johnson Emmitt the goat Smith and Irving all were Florida n the U players.
I was never big on the pros tho at that point in my life I just liked watch players I use to watch in college continue to play.
Once I seen Warrick Dunn Brad Johnson and so many local guys I met on the team I had no choice but to root for the bucs.
I fell in love with the Tampa 2 and that dominate defense.
Mike alstott running the ball.
If you ever been in a argument defending the bucs then your a real fan.
September 6th, 2022 at 3:44 pm
The “you live here now” argument is an interesting one I’ve used on transplants to the area, however, it wouldn’t matter where in the world I move, I’m a Buccaneer for life. If I’ve suffered loving this team since 1978 I’m not changing with a mailing address.
September 6th, 2022 at 4:19 pm
I’ve been a Bucs fan my whole life. We got season tickets again this year. I’m going to drive 2 hours each way for the games. This is going to be history that we’re watching. Just imagine the whole season being on NFL films. Anyone who doesn’t see the Bucs playing in the Super Bowl this year doesn’t have a clue.
September 6th, 2022 at 5:36 pm
Why would Lenny want to watch the TV version of the game? He knew the next day he would see the All-22 and go from there. Through the last 4 decades or so, I’ve heard quite a few NFL players say that watching the game on TV is not near the same.
September 6th, 2022 at 5:50 pm
Lol nice Bucs Win, made me laugh thanks. I’ve been Dabbed like that, er, umm.. Medicated like that, on occasion myself. “One nap short of being in a coma.”
September 6th, 2022 at 6:26 pm
Navy boot camp Sept 15, 1986 – listened to the game on a Walkman radio during chapel time Sunday afternoon’s in Orlando
We had zero national games
Aircrew candidate school in Pensacola went to the enlisted mess hall and they had a 27” sylvania crackling out the Bears whipping our arse
It’s a Bucs life and why every win now, every article, every national feature is all the more sweet 👍
September 6th, 2022 at 9:46 pm
I don’t think that ownership, the execs, etc. even have a valid argument. Maybe Licht, since me, looking in from the outside can tell that he has a butt load of passion for our team. The glazers treat us fans and our community as nothing more than a wallet to be drained dry of every last cent.