History

The Yucks, the creamsicle years, Tampa 2, Super Bowl XXXVII, the Brady years: the stories that explain why this fanbase is the way it is.

John McKay, seen here coaching USC in 1961, before he became the Buccaneers' first head coach and presided over the winless 0-26 expansion seasons.
History1976-1979

The Yucks: 0-26 and the birth of a franchise

An expansion team lost 26 straight games and became a national punchline. Here is how that losing streak still shapes what it means to be a Bucs fan.

By Tim Looten · September 4, 2026
Tampa Stadium, "the Big Sombrero," home of the Buccaneers through the creamsicle era.
History1976-1996

The creamsicle years, 1976 to 1996: why fans still love the orange

For two decades the Buccaneers wore orange and lost constantly. Two decades later fans begged for those uniforms back. Here is the story of the creamsicle era.

By Tim Looten · September 4, 2026
Tom Brady in Buccaneers uniform, moments after becoming the NFL's all-time completions leader in 2021.
History2020 to 2022

Tom Brady in Tampa: the years that rewrote the record book

Three seasons, one Super Bowl won at home, a franchise-record 13 wins and an ending nobody in Tampa wanted to see coming quite the way it did.

By Tim Looten · September 4, 2026
Raymond James Stadium and its pirate ship, the Buccaneers' home since the 1998 rebrand.
History1997

From Bucco Bruce to the flag: the 1997 rebrand that changed everything

In one Tampa afternoon, the Buccaneers buried a cartoon pirate that had watched two decades of losing and put a skull and swords on the helmet instead.

By Tim Looten · September 4, 2026
Ronde Barber, a cornerstone of the Tampa 2 defense, speaking at his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.
HistoryFilm room

Tampa 2: the defense that conquered the league, explained

A four-man rush, two deep safeties and one linebacker running backward. Here is how a modest zone coverage became the most copied defense in the NFL.

By Tim Looten · September 4, 2026
Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, host of Super Bowl XXXVII.
History2002

Super Bowl XXXVII, play by play, more than two decades later

How a $8 million trade for a coach, a defense built over a decade and one bad night for Rich Gannon turned into the most lopsided Super Bowl a Buccaneers team ever played.

By Tim Looten · September 4, 2026