Bucs think they'll duck a blackout

The Buccaneers, one of the teams about which there has been concern regarding possible local blackouts, aren’t worried about their regular-season opener not being televised in the Tampa area.

According to Pewter Report, the Bucs expect to sell out Sunday’s home game.

That said, a sellout has not yet been declared.

Moreover, the visiting team is America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys.

So even with the ability of the ‘Boys to draw fans to road games, the fact that tickets still remain to be sold doesn’t bode well for some of the other games on the home schedule.

The Bucs have only seven regular-season home games this year, because one of the games that otherwise would have been played at Raymond James Stadium will instead be played in London.

25 responses to “Bucs think they'll duck a blackout

  1. Funny how times change; I waited three years on the waiting list to finally get Buccaneers season tickets. It’s very surprising to me that Cowboys didn’t come through to buy the tickets quicker.

  2. I went to the playoff game versus the Giants and it seemed Giants fans almost outnumbered the Bucs fans almost 2 years ago so it’s no surprise that there’s the possibility it might not sellout-and that was when the Bucs were a decent team and in the playoffs!
    With the current state of the economy and the that fact that the Bucs suck (6 1/2 point dogs at home!) it doesn’t surprise me on bit.
    Horrible season coming up, I remember when the Green Bay fans would outnumber Buc fans back in the day…. funny how things come back around.. good season to be wearing Bucco Bruce and the orange uniforms….
    Bucs 5-11 this season, if that.

  3. Just goes to show ya about the Tampa sports fan: If you ain’t winning, they ain’t going.
    Oh thats right…it’s the ECONOMY
    Always something. I hope they black out the whole year so I dont have to be subjected to them.

  4. @Jaydub
    You might want to check the unemployment rate in Florida as in comparison with the Nation as a whole. The state is hurting! Mostly due to the outrageous amount of foreclosures- you have have heard about that, right?
    And to top it off, Tampa Bay is not a large market to begin with. So, you have the middle-class fan that can’t attend the games AND the team sucks….
    Seems like simple math to me.
    I am a casual fan of the Bucs, but I am more upset with them than anything. I believe Raheem Morris is an idiot, I think Mark Domink is an idiot.
    The only reason why we drafted the 6th best Quarterback out of the Big 12 last year was the GM and Coach’s ties to Kansas State.
    It’s utterly ridiculous.
    OH yeah not to mention, NFL ticket prices have gone UP over the years….
    I hope you will now go into BlackOut mode since I just dropped some knowledge on you!

  5. Now if they had signed TO it wouldn’t be a problem. Buffalo is selling out in northern serbia.

  6. I will buy tickets to a game again as soon as the Bucs FO apologizes for the complete debacle they made out of Will Call for the Redskins/Bucs wildcard game in 05…

  7. They’ll sell out when the Packers come to town. Who doesn’t want to see those creamsicle jerseys again?!?

  8. Well a quick check of ticketmaster showed 6 seats to gether in sections 303, 226 (not club seats) and 134! 134 for is LL on or about the 30 YL. So in less than 5 minutes of searching (mostly because of TM’s delay) I found 18 seats for sale, with seats in all 3 sections of the stadium.
    Maybe the Glaziers or some business will buy up the remaining seats but 6 together in the 100’s…not so good.

  9. John says:
    “AND the team sucks….”
    Thank you for proving my point. You know what sucks? Spineless fairweather fans with a book full of excuses. You clowns have no idea what it means to be a real fan of a team.
    You’ve educated no one, because I’ve been living in this area for 20 years, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice a simple trend. When any local team is losing or not playing up to Tampa’s fairweather standards, that team suffers severe attendance problems. The economy has been in the tank for several years, yet just last year, the Rays made the playoffs. Up until the week before the playoffs, they were lucky to have 10k people. As soon as those playoffs started, no one had a problem with parking, location, traffic, or spending money to go to the games. Before that, all of those things were a major problem and weren’t worth putting up with.
    Tampa fans are the ultimate gutless chumps. On 9/27, you’ll see how real fans show up, just like we did in the ’07 playoffs. You’ll see how you’re supposed to support your team, good or bad, and we’ll be doing it in your house. Better just stay home and balance your checkbook.

  10. My friend and I have been going down there for the Saints game since the division started, and no matter if there winning or not its alway like a Superdome reunion, then again its so nice down there all year round why waste a beautiful Sunday when could on a boat in the Bay…

  11. “then again its so nice down there all year round why waste a beautiful Sunday when could on a boat in the Bay…”
    And therein lies the problem. 8 home games a year and it’s a “waste” to go to one of them?! You’ve got 44 other Sundays to spend on your tin rowboat. Spend a beautiful Sunday supporting your team. The sun DOES shine at Raymond James Stadium. It’s not a dome.
    *Add weather to the list of excuses

  12. @Jaydub
    I said I am a casual fan, it has nothing to do with how they are playing. I have had season tickets since 1991, and I have endured way more losing than winning, that’s for sure!
    My enthusiasm for the team has declined over the years, not so much for their winning or losing, but more because of my growing love for college football instead.
    Needless to say, I am a true fan, because I am willingly to be give objective criticism and not just be a simpleton and say, ‘oh, that’s our team, we have to support them’. I do support, but by showing my displeasure for incompetence.
    I am sorry but the NFL is a business, and if they are not going to show faith by hiring a quality coach, or invest in free agents when you have the most money under the cap, why should I spend my hard earned Bucks (no pun intended) on a second rate product. No thank you!
    I’ll sit at home and b*tch, and further show my displeasure on blogs such as this.

  13. @Jaydub
    Could you be any dumber? Comparing the Rays to the Bucs? That is like comparing hamburger to prime rib. It just doesn’t work!
    Are you sure you are not Florio in disguise? You are spouting bout the same stupid crap he does more often than not…….

  14. @Jaydub: It IS the economy, jackass. We’ve had 5-11 (2004) and 4-12 (2006) seasons this decade where we sold out every game, so it’s not like we’re bandwagon fans. But times are tough. I had four season tickets and had to give one up; I almost didn’t get any at all.

  15. “Could you be any dumber? Comparing the Rays to the Bucs? That is like comparing hamburger to prime rib. It just doesn’t work!”
    Really? Ok, but did you understand my intent, for arguments sake, that teams who lose pay the price with poor attendance? If you can’t even fathom that simple concept, don’t call someone else dumb. Can I throw the Lightning in there as well? They had no problem selling out….AFTER they won the Stanley Cup. As soon as that fun wore off and they weren’t hoisting anything in the air…..*poof*…attendance went back to near record lows, which they were used to BEFORE they won anything. The Bucs, pre 1998, well….was it the economy? Of course it wasn’t…
    Times are tough, yes. They aren’t that tough, and neither are fairweather Tampa fans who can’t handle their team(s) losing. Don’t be frauds. Grow a set and stick it out

  16. @Jaydub
    I thought you might get a clue, but I guess you missed that bus.
    The difference in the Rays (and Lightning since you brought them up as well) is the ticket prices are FAR lower than they are for the Bucs. Next you will say ppl should be going to those games cause of the lower prices, but that doesn’t work either. Why? Cause there are no blackouts in Baseball or Hockey. People can relax at home instead of spending a dime. How does that change things? Simple, the players are paid less. They don’t have players signing multi-gazillion dollar contracts. They don’t have to charge 200 bucks for nosebleed seats.
    Its pretty simple. Eliminate the blackout rule, get the owners to stop paying so much/charging sky high ticket prices, you fill up the stands, no matter how your team does.
    I wouldn’t have thought that concept needed explaining, but only proves I was right the first time. You are DUMB!

  17. I think it is a combination of the Bucs and the economy. The Bucs have been going down hill we all know that. The Tampa Bay area economy is being clobbered by our elected officials in that all of our fees have increased. For example our license tags increased upwards of 75%. Our driver license fees increased as well. Now we have to have a Permit to fish on shore. The list goes on and on and this all happened right during a recession. The billions in stimulus money stayed in government hands and has not trickled down as of yet. Heck a gallon of milk is $2.89 I bet your milk is under $2. So I suggest to you it is not only the Bucs, it is the overall economy and our counter productive state and local government officials that will cause “black outs”.

  18. It really is a three-fold problem in Tampa the way I see it.
    Economy – Keep in mind it has notoriously been corporate sponsors and local businesses that usually swoop in and buy chunks of season tickets – with these companies boot-strapped, the onus lies more on the individual fan to “sell-out” the stadium.
    Which leads us to:
    “Casual” Fans – Besides the typical weather, crummy play, and other stuff-to-do excuses – we’re now coming into a season where 80% of the franchise’s “fan-favorites” were unceremoniously kicked to the curb.
    and then the problem this year with:
    “Real” Fans – most of whom are entirely flummoxed by 95% of the team’s offseason moves and have extremely low expectations (especially due to the schedule) and/or have been affected by issue #1 and just can’t justify getting to all/many of the games… opposing fans who to RJS also fall in this category – no matter how die-hard some just cannot afford a vacation to Tampa right now.
    Them’s my 2 cents

  19. Im not gonna sit here and read all these posts attacking one another but to Twiz above, and maybe in defense of Jaydub, have you ever thought about the simple fact that the Bucs have 8 home games per year (7 this year) vs. say the Rays who have what 8,546 (81 to be fair)??? The reason for the high priced tickets would be to make up for the lack of home games so that they can pay these so called exorbitant salaries. Lets not even get started on sport specific payroll. So before you go calling people dumb think about what you are saying before you post.
    Go Bucs baby!!! Through think and thin, whether it be the economy, the dumb management, or a winless season, I will support them to the end.

  20. “America’s team?” lol, yeah right.
    the only people who think the cowboys are “America’s team” are the cowboys, cowboy fans, and Jerry Jones.

  21. “America’s team?” lol, yeah right.
    the only people who think the cowboys are “America’s team” are the cowboys, cowboy fans, and Jerry Jones.”
    Actually, you are correct PHIN. The Boys aren’t America’s Team anymore. Due to the number of fans world wide we should be called the “Worlds Team”!!!

  22. “The difference in the Rays (and Lightning since you brought them up as well) is the ticket prices are FAR lower than they are for the Bucs. Next you will say ppl should be going to those games cause of the lower prices, but that doesn’t work either. Why? Cause there are no blackouts in Baseball or Hockey. People can relax at home instead of spending a dime. How does that change things? Simple, the players are paid less. They don’t have players signing multi-gazillion dollar contracts. They don’t have to charge 200 bucks for nosebleed seats.”
    We’re talking about 8 games in Tampa(7 this year), as opposed to 81 for Rays home games and 41 for Lightning home games. Rays and Lightning are cheaper, but they also have a hell of a lot more games. I’ve been in this area for 20 years, and for 20 years, the trend hasn’t changed a bit. You can use whatever pathetic excuse your feeble mind can come up with, but the truth is that you and about 70% of other Tampa sports fans are fairweather cowards. When the local teams lose, attendance tanks in a big way. Google the stats. The numbers do NOT lie, and no excuse in the world is going to justify the weakness of 70% of the Tampa sports fans.
    If you’re concerned about paying high prices, ever think about hitting Ebay or sclaping in the parking lot?! I’ve never paid face value for a ticket in my life, but then again, I dont use money as an excuse. I support my team win or lose. Write that down
    “Go Bucs baby!!! Through think and thin, whether it be the economy, the dumb management, or a winless season, I will support them to the end.”
    There should be more of this instead of “the economy is bad and I’m not paying for a bad “product””
    Find a way to support your team instead of looking for excuses not to.

  23. Mike Florio be too bizzy wit his on-line chat thing. Gregg “Triple g” Rosenthal is engineering the train, so we’re on the way to Equationville!:
    Henway Brass Monkey
    Florio Jr.

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