Fans travel a long way to see Bucs

You can include Rich Mahoney and Ryan Larson of Tampa among those who will go just about anywhere to watch their beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers play football.

Decked out in Bucs gear that drew a few odd stares, a bleary-eyed Mahoney, 47, and a very weary Larson, 26, arrived in London early Thursday morning, eager to see the sights and even more eager to see the Bucs play the Patriots on Sunday.

"This is a place we've never been before, and it's a place the Bucs have never been before, so we decided we had to come," Mahoney said of their decision to travel to another continent to see an NFL game.

The matchup between the Bucs (0-6) and Patriots (4-2), coming off a 59-0 win against the Titans, leaves a bit to be desired. But Mahoney and Larson were not discouraged about the possibility of an 11th straight Bucs loss.

"You've got to be a true fan, whether they're 0-16 or 16-0; you've got to stick with 'em," said Larson, whose trip to London is his first out of the United States. "Hopefully, we can get a good surprise (Sunday)."

Mahoney and Larson each came with three friends and were greeted by typical London weather - heavily overcast, a little fog, temperatures in the mid- to upper 50s Fahrenheit.

Aside from the few fans such as Mahoney and Larson on the streets of London, there's little to suggest an "American football" game is about to be played at storied Wembley Stadium. During an hour-long train and taxi trip from the airport, there were no signs promoting the game. Few of the locals who were asked about the game seemed even to know it was going to happen.

"Bloody hate the sport," said one taxi driver. "I'm a real football fan. Fulham's my team."

Thursday's newspapers gave the event scant coverage. The Times of London had one short story on the game, an item about Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Page 91.

Then again, the teams were yet to arrive. The Patriots were due to depart Thursday, with the Bucs scheduled to leave Tampa early today.