Tampa Bay is a great area for sports lovers. There’s professional baseball, football, hockey and even soccer teams that make the local fans proud. Then there are the college sports teams that are also in the area that are really fun to watch. The warm weather in the Tampa Bay area, which includes Clearwater, Bradenton and St. Petersburg, makes for great sports playing that the whole family can enjoy. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, called the Tampa Bay Bucs for short, is an American football team that calls the Tampa Bay region of Florida home. They are members of the National Football Conference (NFC), in the Southern Division of the National Football League (NFL). The Bucs’ team colors are white, red, black, pewter and orange.

The Tampa Bay Bucs joined the National Football League in 1976, as an expansion team with the Seattle Seahawks. Unfortunately, this team of highly hopeful athletes lost their first 26 games, right in a row. As you might imagine, hopes were crashed, jokes were made, and ticket sales were definitely down. Diehard fans kept the super bowl dreams alive and kept the team going. As the 1970s passed and the 80’s crept in, so did a few wins. But this was short lived. The Bucs found themselves in another horrible situation with 14 losing seasons in a row. At the end of the 1996 season, with a new coach at their lead, things really started to look hopeful. The team was doing better and they ever had.

The late 1990’s were hopeful years for the Tampa Bay Bucs. They made several appearances on the cover of Sports Illustrated, they were able to play in a couple playoff games and by 1998 they had a new home. The brand new Raymond James Stadium was completed and was a majestic venue. As the new millennium approached, the 1999 season for the Bucs was strong out of the gate. They had a great defense and rookie QB Shaun King brought them a respectable 15-5 record and the team’s third NFC Championship.

Finally, in 2002, The Tampa Bay Bucs were Super Bowl Champions! Dungy was let go and went to the Indianapolis Colts and Jon Gruden was in after a shrewd move by team owners, the Glazer brothers. This was the most successful season to date. The team beat the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXV11 with a score of 48-21.