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Fan Of The Week: Nov. 11

Dan Bettan, TBO.com's Fan of the Week, and his expectant wife, Nicole.

By Bill Ward, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 10, 2007

Video: How He Became The Ultimate Bucs Fan

Test Your Knowledge: Take Dan Bettan's Bucs Quiz

How big of a Bucs fan is Dan Bettan? Well, how many other so-called ''Bucs Fanatics'' would choose their future wife based on their knowledge of Tampa Bay's NFL team, as well as general football knowledge?

Bettan was inspired by the 1982 movie ''Diner,'' where actor Steve Guttenburg is about to marry his fiancée - but only if she passes a trivia test based on football and the Baltimore Colts. So, Bettan decided he would ask permission to marry Nicole Katz from her father, Arnie, if Nicole could pass a quiz about football and the Bucs.

Now this wouldn't be all that far-fetched if Bettan was a resident of the Tampa Bay area. We have loads of Bucs nuts in the around here capable of such loyalty. But this was dreamed up by a guy living in Port Washington, N.Y., where folks tend to be Giants or Jets fans.

But the 34-year-old Bettan became a Bucs fan as a 5-year-old boy in Glen Gove, N.Y., when Pop Tarts had a promotion featuring NFL team helmets stickers. Despite his older brothers, Rick and Gary, telling him ''You can't like the Bucs, they're the worst team in football,'' Bettan fell in love with the old Bucs logo and decided that was the club he would support.

That year - 1979 -- the Bucs went 10-6 and won the division. They beat the Eagles in the first round and lost to the Rams in the conference finals. Bettan was hooked and has always followed the team from afar in New York.

When it came time to pop the question to his future wife in the fall of 2002, Bettan figured she would need to understand his Bucs fanaticism to be a happy spouse. With ''Diner'' as his model, he set up a 20-minute quiz featuring Bucs trivia and general football knowledge. The quiz had a possible high score of 110. Nicole studied hard and scored 100. A year later, they were married.

''She would've scored bonus points if she had worn face paint,'' Bettan said. ''Otherwise, she pretty much aced it. It was sort of like the 1980 Super Bowl - it was over even before it started.''

Why agree to such a test? Why not just agree to get married or tell him ''no?''

''I love him,'' Nicole said. ''He's a huge football fan and an even bigger Tampa Bay fan. I didn't need any more reasons than that.''

They have now been happily married four years and are expecting their first child later this month. If it's a boy, Bettan wanted the middle name to be ''Alstott.'' But that was shot down by Nicole. Hey, every woman has her limits. So if it's a boy, it will be Charlie Matthew. If it's a girl, they've agreed on Samara Alexis. Either way, Bucs baby bottles and other Bucs paraphernalia are already in the nursery.

Are you the loudest fan in your section? Do you have a season's supply of face paint, and have an artistic way of displaying your loyalty to the Bucs? Is your car - or bus, or RV - decked out in red and pewter?

If so, TBO.com is looking for you. Each week during the season, we will be on the lookout for a Fan Of The Week – someone who's not afraid of showing their true Bucs colors, and would like to be featured on TBO.com.

E-mail us if you'd like to be featured, and be sure to share your photos with other Bucs fans by uploading them to our Snap! fan photo gallery.

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