As you probably know, the Buccaneers are finally reviving their creamsicle throwback uniforms this fall. You may also think you know everything you need to know about this uni set, but do you really? For this week’s Premium article over on Substack, I’ve done a deep dive on the creamsicles (similar to the treatment I gave the Broncos’ 1997 set a few weeks ago), and I even learned something new myself along the way!
You can read the first part of the article here. In order to read the entire thing, you’ll need to become a paying subscriber to my Substack (which will also give you full access to my Substack/Bulletin archives). My thanks, as always, for your consideration.
Just as a codicil to this for non-Floridians who can’t understand why many of us of a certain age hold these unis in such high regard, even though to outsiders they mean bad football and Neil O’Donoghue awkwardly trying to kick that loose football and Yakety Sax and all that:
Yes, except for 1979, 1980 and 1982, the Bucs were bad. Mostly really bad. Cringeworthy.
But that’s not what many of us see when we see Bucco Bruce. We don’t see 0-26 or 13 straight seasons of double-digit losses. That’s what YOU see. That’s why you wonder why we would want anything that conjures up memories of those days.
But we see a time when many of us were just starting on a journey as fans of a pro sports team. We not only grew up with them, we grew up alongside them. Winning (on the rare occasion when it happened) was exciting and fun. We knew they weren’t very good, but they were ours. It wasn’t a circumstance where your season is a disaster if you don’t win the Super Bowl, like it is for some fanbases. We were just young and digging the ride, and all the emotions that went along with it.
Johnny Carson be damned, our corner of the world was in the big leagues.
And, oh, by the way…these are gorgeous uniforms. Simple, vibrant, look great on a bright sunshiney day on grass. They’re unique, and they were ours, and we will always love them.
Great description of why this uniform matters to me as well. It is one of the most upbeat, optimistic and sunny uniforms I know. I am also the proud owner of a Bucco Bruce pin. And I am not even a Bucs fan.
Great points, Kenn.
A few years back I wrote about the phenomenon of good teams wearing bad unis (and vice versa), and while the Pats were my primary example in football, I also included the Bucs creamsicles. I ALWAYS loved the creamsicles and can’t wait to see them back on the field.
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hands down the best bucco look from this era is the all white. brings me back, I thought Doug Williams was the greatest ever when I was a kid.
Only the first-year orange trimmed in red numbers all-white jerseys.
They were the best.
The Bucs were in the Bears’ division, so I hated them with all the rest. But I’ve always believed that distinctiveness is the single most important quality in a uniform. And these were that.
The helmet, in particular, is one of the best ever.
Great synopsis…I fondly remember going to the Repus Bowl(Super spelled backwards) vs the Colts between 2 3 win teams on an unusually cold day at the Big Sombrero. I also fondly remember Throw Ray in the Bay, and Vinny’s “colorblindness”. Those were the days
The original Repus Bowl was actually between the Bucs and Oilers, both 1-11 coming into their matchup at Tampa Stadium in 1983.
The 1991 game saw the 2-13 Bucs beat the 1-14 Colts 17-3.
Not unlike growing up a Pats fan in the Pat Patriot era. Although I guess those unis DO remind me of losing and bad football. But hey, they brought those things back last season anyway.
I first saw the BUCS play in a playoff game against the Cowboys and the lost 38-0. I was a Cowboy fan, but those uniforms just stood out against the Cowboys in Texas Stadium. I loved it.
I have never been one to associate a uniform with wins and losses. A uniform either looks good or it doesn’t. I don’t care what the team record is in that uniform and it irks me when people do. I loved KT’s comment. If you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s then these mean a lot to you.
These are some of the best, and like another commenter said, most *distinct* uniforms in all of American pro sports. What the Bucs changed to in 1997 also looks great, so it’s kind of an embarrassment of riches, but this will still forever be what I think of first when I think of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
These were absolutely magnificent uniforms to be honest. Granted they did not have a whole lot of success in them but, aesthetically the Bucs rarely were in a bad uni matchup. I collect old games and have quite a few Bucs games in my collection. They looked great matched up against the entire NFC East and NFC West. Some of the best looking games are when they went with the orange tops against just about anyone. If you like orange checkout when they hosted the Browns in 1980 and the Browns wore their orange pants.
The road whites weren’t bad either and switching to the orange pants wasn’t a horrible move. There’s a story floating around they were going to go mono-creamsicle for a game and had even laid it out in the locker room. The players said no and it was orange over white. This is similar to the Broncos once pulling out all blue only to have John Elway say no, we’re not wearing that.