WHAT WERE THE BUCS OWNERS THINKING?

Just when we think Tampa has attained a world class image, whoooomp.  Something comes along which leaves people shaking their heads and muttering 'what a bunch of roobs they must think we all are.'

'They being all of those people in world class cities who actually have some sense of how important it is for the perception of an ability to field world class sports teams, and leave them to the experienced managers to whom they pay millions of dollars for that yearly huff of a sense of pride which is inhaled when a local team is off to the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, the NBA finals, et al.

This writer is from Chicago, a city known not only for the legions of dead people who vote in every election, but for legendary sports teams and owners and managers of those teams.

Well, ok, being a long time Cubs fan I, too understand the humiliation suffered at the end of a woulda, shoulda, coulda year....we just had one thank you but I digress.

Here's a better example.

Papa Bear George Halas, the inventor of pro football ( you may disagree, but I dont care), and splendid coach who would never have let the McKaskey family (owner of Da Bears ) or players kick his butt or tell him what to do, and about whom one time legendary Bears player and then Bears coach Mike Ditka once opined,"George Halas throws nickels around like they're man hole covers."

A reference to Halas's long time resistance to large salaries ( a better description would be skinflint) for his players who were firmly under his thumb, and who mostly had to have part time jobs in the off season.

Those days of the "Black and Blue" league (a reference to the roughness of play back in the day in the NFC west conference) are long gone and now we are met with players who make enough dough to probably buy what back in the day most major league football teams were worth.

Ditto for the coaches of major league league football teams.

And when Luvie was hired just two years ago to coach the forlorn Bucs, this reporter was thrilled to learn that he would be coaching the football team from my now home town...and I actually started to take interest in the Bucs.

Imagine my surprise when yesterday I saw the headline FIRED on one of the local papers.

Surprise and shock that a team could make a decision to fire a guy who was in the early stages of shaping a world class team, and in the shabby way it was done.

Yeah, I can see why a lot of people around the country are shaking their heads and saying 'What a bunch of roobs.'

In face, down in Gaslight Park, I found myself in the position of being interviewed by another reporter while I was interviewing him, and both of us saying, in effect, what a bunch of roobs' or words to that effect and those words cannot be printed here.

Well, it's a new day, and a new coach is in the offing and a new year for the Bucs, and I have one thing to say about the next Bucs season.

Da Bears.