Bucs Night Practice More Like A Carnival
August 7th, 2010
It wasn’t really a fanfest because there was no meet-and-greet of any Bucs players, coaches or staffers.
It really wasn’t practice because half the time there was no practice.
No, the exhibition the Bucs had for their final (unless otherwise announced) open practice of 2010 training camp at the CITS Saturday night had more the feel of a carnival. A football carnival.
There was Mean Gene Deckerhoff on the jumbotron talking about how he has barked “touchdown Tampa Bay!” into the radio microphone 641 times over 21 years as a Bucs play-by-play announcer.
There was Connor Barth kicking field goals from the sidelines in a game of “BUC,” a place kicking version of the basketball challenge “HORSE.”
There was Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson throwing at moving golf carts with monster targets placed upon them in a quarterback skills competition, which Johnson won in “overtime,” to the protest of Raheem the Dream, who was calling the play-by-play of the event.
In all, it was a great time and Joe raises his glass to compliment Team Glazer, Mark Dominik and whoever thought this up.
The players seemed to have fun. Raheem the Dream seemed to have fun. The fans had a blast.
Nice touch by Dominik to acknowledge Iraqi war veterans who are still recovering from injuries sustained in battle who were VIPs at the practice. Dominik got the crowd to rise as one with a standing-O for the vets. Even a World War II former POW was in attendance Dominik said.
When the Bucs did practice, position coaches spoke on the jumbotron explaining the drills and what they hoped to accomplish with them, sort of a tutorial for fans.
The fireworks after the practice was a nice touch to a very comfortable evening which started just an hour before the festivities began with a nasty downpour.
Though the Bucs had a night practice at the CITS last year, this was much more fun for all involved.
Joe hopes it’s a start of a tradition.
August 8th, 2010 at 12:31 am
Like a pep rally, pro style! Alot of fun, and unique! Haven’t heard of anything quite like it anywhere else! You gotta admit, these guys are fan friendly, and think outside the box!
August 8th, 2010 at 1:56 am
yeah the fam and me had fun…but it took us mad long to get out of the parking lot
August 8th, 2010 at 2:04 am
yes lets absolutely make this a tradition….good stuff no great stuff..
August 8th, 2010 at 7:24 am
Glad to see that Dom and Rah are good at putting on a carnival.
Did they have a “dunk the laughing clown” tank?
August 8th, 2010 at 9:40 am
No, eric, they didn’t. They said they asked, but you refused to show up for the “clown” part.
August 8th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Damn good show !!! Call it what you want the MGMT did a great job of letting the real fans know they care about them. Great touch by Mark with the VETS ! He has always been a supporter of our troops. Their sacrifice to our country give “clowns” like eric a chance to open their yaps. Lets do it again next year (eric you do not have to come)
August 8th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
If you don’t have a good team, I suppose a carnival is an excellent idea.
I like a good carnival, if they have good cinnimon buns and racing pigs.
Perhaps Rah and Dom can get work at the Strawberry Festival next year.
August 9th, 2010 at 8:32 am
But there in lies the problem, Eric! What if they do have agood team? Not 3 years from now, but this Year! What are you going to do if they are still in the playoff hunt late into the season, and match yer boys record of 9-7 this year! Then you have a young and rising team that is competitive already! I think it is very possible. Then you are gonna look like a racing pig, running around backtracking all this trash you’ve been tossing around! You better hope you are right, and the Bucs suck this year. Otherwise, that’s one big chunk of Humble pie ta choke down!
August 9th, 2010 at 8:37 am
As a matter of fact, we’ll both look like racing pigs! Cause I’ll be chasing you from post to post, making sure you don’t run outta humble pie til next season starts! Ah, football- it brings out the best in us all 🙂