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Devoted Bucs Fans Want Playoff Gear

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By NEIL JOHNSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2007

TAMPA - Just minutes after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinched their playoff spot Sunday, fans were calling Bucs & Bulls Heaven for the Bay area's most sought-after sports garment of the week.

The caps and T-shirts were in such demand that a woman called from a hospital bed to place an order, said Gerry D'Angelo, executive director of the sportswear merchandiser on North Florida Avenue.

There's still no decision on whether fans will be able to score another new Bucs shirt: a replica of Micheal Spurlock's jersey. On Sunday, he became the first Buccaneer to return a kickoff for a touchdown.

Reebok, which prints individual player jerseys, needs orders of at least 300 from fan shops before it will crank one out, D'Angelo said.

It's not there yet.

The company does intend to issue regular T-shirts to mark the kick return by the come-from-nowhere player who ended the team's three-decade drought.

Joey Bruce of Tampa, who describes himself as "probably the greatest Bucs fan," would be interested in a Spurlock jersey.

D'Angelo said that minutes after Spurlock's return Sunday afternoon, someone phoned in an order for a $300 custom authentic jersey.

Like many in the store, Butch Arenal said his interest in team apparel isn't driven by the ups and downs of the season.

Arenal took a day off from his job as deputy chief of police in Punta Gorda to bring his family about 100 miles each way for Christmas shopping trip.

"We're not fair weather fans," he said.

No one in Bucs & Bulls Heaven admitted to noticing a spike in demand for Bucs stuff with the division championship, but it's there whenever a team begins to win more than it loses, said Michael Johnson, head of marketing for VF Imagewear, a Tampa company that makes NFL-licensed items.

When the Bucs won the Super Bowl in 2003, the plant ran two 12-hour shifts of 100 workers each day for a week to print more than 500,000 shirts.

The demand now is far from the level of a Super Bowl, Johnson said.

"We're seeing some increases as the season goes on. It's not a bad market for the Bucs, but it's been a cautious one," he said. "No one wants to be sitting on boulders of shirts."

An example might be the Chris Simms jerseys still hanging on racks. Last year's starting quarterback is out for the season.

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at njohnson@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7731.

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