You have been here before, haven't you? You grew up here. You know the neighborhood.
The Post Office is still on the corner. That big tree is still in the park. There is a 7-11 down the street.
Yeah, this is Loserville, all right.
You know it well.
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The Bucs are 2-5, and the most remarkable thing about it is that it isn't remarkable at all. The Bucs are always 2-5, except in those wondrous seasons when they somehow are 3-4. People are always mad at the quarterback. The coach is a lot like the previous coach. There are defensive backs who chase receivers across the goal lines.
And we watch, and we curse it all, especially the part where we were fooled into thinking that, this time, there was something different about it all.
But there isn't.
Is there ever?
It is a staggering consistency. The Bucs have played 44 seasons, and this will be the 31st time they've had a losing record. After seven games, they have had two wins eight times. They have three wins 13 times. (They have four seasons with one win at this point, and six seasons with zero).
What a horror show. They have nine fifth-place finishes, and 10 when they were fourth of four teams. There were three more years when they were fourth of five teams.
That's an awful lot of lousy. They have had Vinny Testaverde and Trent Dilfer, Josh Freeman and Jameis Winston. They have Toast Jones and Sabby Piscitelli, Booker Reese and Eric Curry, Alvin Harper and Dexter Jackson. They have had Leeman Bennett and Ray Perkins and Raheem Morris. (And Lovie and Sam and Richard). They have had the gang that couldn't kick straight.
They drafted the wrong guy. They didn't sign their No. 1 pick. They kept try to sign Bill Parcells (and sometimes succeeding, not that it counted)d. They cut off a receiver's finger. They wasted millions in free agency.
Every year, fans are talking about the draft by November. They complain about the officials, and injuries, and bad bounces.
And they lose.
And lose again.
You wonder: How in heaven did this franchise ever win a Super Bowl?
Only Cleveland can match this level of ineptitude. Not Detroit. Not Buffalo. Not even Jacksonville.
By this time, the Bucs should send every one of their season-ticket holders a pizza and a six-pack.
And here they are again. Did you really think they would be better? What stars did they bring in in the off-season? Except for the receivers, who scares the opposing team?
And so they muddle along, snatching defeat from victory, making the essential mistakes in losing their latest game.
But it will be better tomorrow?
Right?
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