My Trip to the US: The Review

So, back this morning and I haven't had a great deal of sleep, so excuse any errors.

I think we all know what I thought of my team's performances in the games I witnessed; the losses to the Panthers and Jags, so let's start with the good bits.

Arrived on the afternoon of the Saturday and headed straight from Orlando to Tampa, which is about an hour and fifteen minute's drive. Checked in at the hotel and headed straight for Selmon's Restaurant. This was the place that was founded by the late, great Lee Roy Selmon, Tampa Bay's only Hall of Famer and all-round swell guy. The place was awesome, delicious food that had a real homely feel to it, great service and Buccaneers memorabilia everywhere. Lots of TVs showing the college games and one of the biggest steaks I've ever eaten.

The next day was a scorcher. We headed to the stadium after breakfast to crack on with some tailgating. I picked up the tickets and "Pirate Passes" from will call and headed into the vast parking area to mingle with the fans. It was a real experience. The people were so friendly and every American loves talking to a British football fan. All were impressed that I'd travelled to far to see the Bucs and spirits were high.

I had some insider info from some of the Bucs UK lot and stood outside a particular entrance outside the ground and then promptly welcomed the Bucs players as they arrived at the stadium. I got to meet loads of players including Josh Freeman (great guy, really friendly but gutted he wasn't playing), LeGarette Blount who I got a photo with and who must have stayed signing autographs and chatting with fans for about half an hour, Aqib Talib, Michael Bennett who was a great laugh, DaQuan Bowers, Adrian Clayborn and Mike Williams. They were all happy to talk with the fans and sign autographs, good to see.

Went into the stadium and was then dismayed that alcoholic beverages were not allowed on the pirate ship. I promptly finished my beer, got on the ship, found it to be a huge disappointment and then returned to my allocated seat with a fresh beer for some better atmosphere with some real fans. Before the game started, we had the usual national anthem and soldier love-in and then commenced one of the worst team displays I have seen, ever. Da'Quan Bowers was our only good player (7.5 tackles, five for loss and 1.5 sacks on your first start is quite something...). The rest of them were total garbage. The offensive playcalling was predictable and benign. The defence was all-out awful. Talib was injured on the first play of the game and didn't return. Quincy Black was woeful as usual and still hasn't learned how to shed a block, despite being given a hugely over-inflated contract in the summer and Sean Jones continues to miss tackles all over the field. Good job the sun was out.

So, back to the hotel in a foul mood to get some rest and then back out for drinks and dinner.

Monday was immense and just what I needed. We did Busch Gardens in the morning, which was the best park I went to, purely because of the coasters, they were unreal.

In the afternoon at four, I went to One Buccaneers Place for my tour. That place is SERIOUSLY impressive. In the car park the have the USA's biggest flag flying the Bucs logo and the lobby has a five-story-high glass and steel football in front of it. Inside the lobby are bronze sculptures of John Gruden, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, John Lynch and Shelton Quarles all celebrating the Superbowl victory. I was taken round by one of the executive assitants and got access to all areas (too bad the players had already left for the day). I got the see the practice fields where the turf is actually like carpet, the gym, the dining room, the rec room and all of the player meeting rooms. There was a huge auditorium where the teams sits together to watch tape of their most recent thrashing and the press room where I stood at the lectern that Raheem stands at every Sunday evening when trying to explain just how bad his team is. It really is a must for any Bucs fan. It's the biggest team facility of any sports franchise in America and it's a stone's throw away from the stadium.

That week, we did the standard theme park fest where I found out that Disney World is a huge disappointment and that Universal resort is far superior. I also had my camera stolen while at Islands of Adventure, which meant that all of my photos with the players were gone forever. Seriously gutted about that and it really put a downer on the whole holiday.

Went to Jacksonville on the Sunday morning, checked in at the hotel and headed straight for the game. I was actually quite excited about this one, I really thought we might bounce back against the Jags who hadn't scored more than 20 points against anybody this season. I was in for a huge disappointment, yet again. We got off to a flyer, Blount was running all over them, Freeman didn't look too bad despite the injury and the Bucs had a 14 point lead. Then MJD got going and never looked back. He scored four TDs against our awful defence and at points we made Blaine Gabbert look like Jonny Unitas. And it rained. And it was cold. I ended up leaving before the game was over, I simply couldn't stomach any more. At least I got to see a Ronde Barber interception, though.

So at the end of it all, I was left thinking: Was it worth the money that I spent, the time that it took and the heartache that I suffered? The answer is unclear at this point. While some aspects of the trip were truly unforgettable, I was so utterly disappointed with my team's performance that I just felt empty at the end of it all. What was the point in going and spending all that money to watch a team that stinks and a coach who has completely lost control of his team? I big part of me is tempted to email Raheem and the Glazers demanding my money back.

Will I go again next year? If the Bucs are playing at Wembley, then no. I can't justify spending that much to watch such a stinky team. Hell, most of Tampa can't justify driving ten minuted to watch the game, why on Earth would I travel thousands of miles to watch a team that clearly hasn't been invested in by the ownership?

Over to you guys....

Cheers for the write-up Pr4wn, was a good read. Sounds like, apart from having your camera stolen and actually having to watch the the Buccaneers play , you had a good time. That totally sucks about the camera though and I know that stuff like that can put a whole downer on a holiday, hope it wasn't expensive. Last time I was in the states my gf had her bag nicked with her purse and digital camera in it by some ****. One Buccaneers Place sounded like a great experience though and getting to meet some of the players at the stadium before the game must have been awesome.

Pr4wn, I think going to Florida outweighs the negatives of seeing the current Bucs. I went on the stadium tour before I was a Bucs fan and it is impressive, would love to see One Buc Place. You will find Universal better if you're an adult. You have to be in touch with your kiddy side before Disney.

What was your favourite Busch Gardens Coaster? The new one is supposed to be class but Sheikra is unbelievable.

Cheetah Hunt was pretty awesome but Montu is the best coaster on Florida for me.

Pr4wn wrote:Went into the stadium and was then dismayed that alcoholic beverages were not allowed on the pirate ship. I promptly finished my beer, got on the ship, found it to be a huge disappointment and then returned to my allocated seat with a fresh beer for some better atmosphere with some real fans.

Apart from the booze ban ,what was the let down on the ship? Poor view or full of numpties?

Pretty good view but the atmosphere was very family oriented. I had a much better time drinking and swearing with the real fans in the normal seats.

lus, my seats were about six rows back behind the posts in the end zone.

I caught the Skins v Cards in '94 on a 3 week tour of the States and had the same feeling - the fans and stadium were great, but the team (well the O - Heath Shuler was our Ryan Leaf at the time) let me down. Coincidentally the only highlight on the day was seeing Darrel Green get a pick 6. We lost 13-10!

Like you I found the fans around me very welcoming to a foreign fan, but unlike you I never had a chance to meet the players. I should have been a bit more ballsy like you. Not jealous much...

Pr4wn - Sorry you had a bad time. If you were a Packers fan you could enjoy a great football team, but would dave to change your non-football activities to ice fishing and snowmobiling

Pr4wn wrote:
That week, we did the standard theme park fest where I found out that Disney World is a huge disappointment and that Universal resort is far superior. I also had my camera stolen while at Islands of Adventure, which meant that all of my photos with the players were gone forever.

My thoughts exactly... though I wouldn't go as far as saying Disney was disappointing... Magic Kingdom yes, holds no interest for a 23 year old, but the other three had some decent bits to them I thought.
Islands of Adventure is clearly the best park... loved the Hulk and the queues were only about 5 mins in May and I can't imagine they were longer for you!
You didn't get to see a Shuttle Launch though and I did
Bad luck about the camera... I cant imagine loosing one on a holiday, never mind one where you have got pics with celebs!

Was relatively disappointed in the Bucs loosing to the Jags cause I figure you'd be sitting there in the rain feeling pretty glum!

Yeah it wasn't the best...

I thought Busch Gardens was the best. Awesome coasters.

It was unfair to say that Disney was a total disappointment, I just expected more bang for my buck. Epcot was brilliant, Magic Kingdom was dated, MGM studios was nowhere near as good as Universal Studios and Animal Kingdom was pretty rubbish, Yeti ride aside.

But at Animal Kingdom you got to go on a Safari and they totally faked having a bridge buckle under the weight of your vehicle...

*I should add that I didnt get as far as Busch Gardens so I can't comment, but its rollercoasters certainly look great

In Busch Gardens, they have tons of animals too and have may places to interact with Keeprs of animals and such they have a new interactive experience with Cheetahs that is supposed to be the berries. Could you stop talkiong about Florida. Making me want to go back there!

That sucks about your camera -- unfortunately, the one group of people who are a constant wherever you go are the lazy ***holes who would rather nick your things than buy their own.

Feel for you buddy, having had my camera and phone stolen when on holiday I know it's not so much about what was stolen, it's more what is on them. Hopefully the good parts of your holiday outweighed the loss of the camera and the Buccs appalling performances

Sorry about your stuff being nicked , it's a pain

As for the Bucs ,your trip was a couple of weeks too early as my Cowboys are finding new ways to lose each week
Could be a painfull mistake ridden game with both teams looking in disarray

Pr4wn - good report.
Value for money ? Certainly not, flying 4 thousand miles to watch a football game and the costs attached to it can never be value for money, but you don't go all that way and spend £4-5k just to watch football, when you tack on the other holiday things you did the games cost you probably 100 quid.
I take it there was a Mrs Pr4wn with you (if not for the games) ? She would have loved every minute of it and no doubt you've built up a million brownie points so overall I'd say money well spent.
Just think, whilst you were sunning yourself watching dross I was freezing my arse off at metlife also watching dross !

Just had a chance to read this Pr4wn - with the obvious excpetions of watching what, for me, has been a surprisingly poor Bucs team this year and having your camera nicked (am fuming about that on your behalf !!!) it does sound like an awesome trip. I've been a Skins fan for 20-odd years now and have never made it over to see them in the flesh and the likelihood of it happening any time soon is as low as a snake's belly, so to me, your trip, however disappointing the Bucs were, sounds great. Like Grizz says though, if you're looking at a £4-£5k bill and only considering the ball games as whether it was value for money then prob not but with all the other stuff tacked on then yeah, it starts to look much better! The wife and I did a trip to the States a few years ago prior to the kids coming along and it cost us about £5k but if I hadn't spent that then I'd never have gotten to see the likes of NY, Vegas, San Fran and Hawaii so it was defo the best £5k I ever spent. We did it in June/July though so I was never in danger of my crappy Redskins putting a dampner on it! I did manage a tour of the old Meadowlands though which was a tad bitter/sweet for me. I wonder if Eli ever did find out who did that p*ss in his locker.....

Excellent read sounds like a great experience despite the lacklustre displays of the Bucs....

Why did you choose to support them though?

Prawn,

With the Jets taking on the Giants this weekend, I have been looking at the 'local derbies' in the NFL. The Jets v Giants and 49ers v Raiders are the only two real derbies in the NFL but I was just wondering what the atmosphere was like at the Jaguars v Buccaneers games (a Florida derby)?

Was there any real spice/ rivalry between the teams and fans? Did the game have a derby atmosphere?

Tons of Jags fans, not many Bucs fans. What one has to understand is that Tampa is a largely retiree city and that a lot of its residents already support another team. Jacksonville was passionate about the Jags in a way that Tampa wasn't about the Bucs.

I got a few amazing deals. The whole trip (flights which were from Jersey so include Jersey to Gatwick, park tickets, hotel and football tickets) cost be just over £800 i total.

The time of year, a BA sale and some bargain hunting helped out with that...