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History Lesson: Bucs' Greatness In The Past

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 2, 2007

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ...

It was 10 years ago.

It was a million years ago.

Vultures are drawing straws to see who gets what after this Bucs season. The Jon Gruden era is on the line.

Maybe it gets turned around. Nothing is written. Isn't that why they play the games? It's still hard to see anything better than 8-8, and that won't be enough.

But that's not the point. The point is that so much of what was good and happy about this franchise is already dead.

These Bucs aren't those Bucs.

It seems behind them.

Those days aren't coming back anytime soon.

Michael Vick will be a judge at the Westminster Kennel Club first.

OK, maybe it won't take that long.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ...

It was all in front.

No More Yucks

It was Aug. 31, 1997.

The Orange was gone.

The Bad Bucs were gone.

Wearing pewter for the first time, playing for second-year coach Tony Dungy, the Bucs opened the season at Houlihan's Stadium.

The opponents were Steve Young, Jerry Rice and the San Francisco 49ers.

The opponent was bad Bucs history.

And then it was gone.

In one afternoon, up became down, down became up.

And things were never quite the same again.

Steve Young was knocked silly, Jerry Rice was knocked from the season, and nobody was laughing about the Bucs anymore after they won 13-6.

They won more than that.

The quarterback was Trent Dilfer. His backup was Steve Walsh. Mike Alstott was joined in the backfield by Warrick Dunn.

On defense, there was Chidi Ahanotu and Brad Culpepper and Regan Upshaw.

There was Hardy Nickerson. There was Donnie Abraham.

There was Rufus Porter, too. And somebody named Tyrone Legette.

Oh, and Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch.

Football America knew the Bucs weren't the Yucks anymore.

There was attitude and there was talent and the road ahead beckoned. You just knew that there would be no going back.

It was 10 years ago.

'I think you'll see more of this out of us,' Dungy said.

Remember when there was more of this?

So Much For Dynasty

Remember when the Jon Gruden Bucs sealed the deal?

When the Super Bowl was won, people still pointed back to Aug. 31, 1997.

That's when it began.

There's hardly anything left with the Bucs.

It's all played out.

Any thoughts of dynasty died awhile back.

It's a desperate time, a cynical time.

Ten years ago, it was nothing like that.

Ten years ago, Warren Sapp was everywhere, bringing down Young, who then was knocked dizzy by Hardy Nickerson's knee.

And somebody named Tyrone Legette made a key interception.

Ten years ago, Sapp pulled Rice down and tore his knee.

Sapp tried to help Rice up, but Rice snapped at him. Sapp snapped back.

It went something like this: To hell with you, Jerry.

'Ain't no more ol' Bucs, baby,' Sapp said after the game. 'We gonna get it done.'

'This team grew up today,' Derrick Brooks said.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ...

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