August 30, 2003

YO HO, YO HO,
A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME

Since I wasn't taken up on my offer to sell my overpriced tickets to Thursday night's Buccaneers preseason game against the Houston Texans, I decided to relieve myself of the responsibility of commerce and just use the damn things. It was the second Bucs game in five days for me. Arduous doesn't begin to address how difficult it is to stomach eight quarters of football by your favorite team, but I knew that if I pushed past my boundaries of personal comfort, I could achieve my goal.



I asked my buddy Drew to come along. Drew had just gotten back into town the day before after an extended trip to the "-Stans," as he puts it. (Kurdistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, etc.) Considering the distance he traveled and the airport security bullshit he had to deal with at every stop, I doubt there was anyone who needed football and beer more than Drew that evening. Still, he had to deflect some heavy surface-to-surface artillery from his lovely wife, Susan, who accurately pointed out that it was his first full night back in the States with she and their three sons. You've got to respect a man who knows how to make the hard choices.



We got there a bit late, but we did see the first defensive series of the game for the Bucs. It was clear that the Texans were overmatched, but it was great to see the defense clamp down on them just the same. Since most of the first and second quarters consisted of a chain of three-and-out series for them, our offense got a lot of work that night.



The scoreboard at halftime says it all: Bucs 27, Texans 0. About half the fans streamed out at this point, since it was a school night and work beckoned for most the next day. The rest of us stayed because, you know, there was beer and cheerleaders and cannons and human collisions and stuff.

To see more photos from the game and from earlier in preseason and training camp, click on my link to an online photo gallery.

Posted by Jeff at August 30, 2003 12:38 PM | TrackBack
Comments