Bucs Play in London and ...
(October 26, 2009)

After the first six games of the 2009 NFL season there was not much for Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans to look forward too. The team had not won a game under first year head coach Raheem Morris, nor did the prospects for a victory in the near future look good. Playing a game in London, England, was at least an interesting quirk to the schedule.

The National Football League, like any business, is always looking for ways to make more money and expand markets. Preseason games have been played in places like Toyko and London for years, now for the third straight year a regular season game has been played in the British capital. Considering the game sold out in minutes, the NFL will be back.

League officials talk about holding games in other cities in the United Kingdom, along with other countries like Ireland and Germany. There is talk that in the very near future there will more than a single regular season game played overseas each year. While the NFL is cool to the idea of London hosting a Super Bowl, some have speculated a franchise could play there.

The Bucs have a British connection with the Glazers owning Manchester United. Without having a debate about how that ownership has effected the NFL team, the team did consult with the owners about the logistics for the trip to England. Raheen Morris down played the issues with traveling across the Atlantic, "It's like a long West Coast trip. When you go to Seattle, there isn't much difference in coming to London."

Tampa Bay and New England took different paths for the trip. The Patriots arrived the Thursday before the game and practiced at transformed cricket grounds on Friday. The Bucs arrived Friday night and saw a planned walk through at Wembley Stadium rained out on Saturday. The team did practice at the carpeted Inter-Continental Hotel ballroom.

Wembley Stadium looked a bit like Raymond James Stadium east. Since the Buccaneers had given up a home game, the stadium was adorned with predominantly Buccaneers colors. The stage was set, as Bucs linebacker Barrett Rudd commented, "I think everybody is very excited because it's definitely a new atmosphere, a soccer stadium, a little more of the chanting going on."

The game itself was not much to talk about. The fifth play of the game saw New England safety Brandon Meriweather intercept Josh Johnson and return the pick for the game's first score. The Patriots cruised to an easy 35-7 victory.

The most significant thing may have been the first NFL experience for the Bucs first round draft pick Josh Freeman. While it was only nine fourth quarter plays, this lead to speculation that the rookie would be the new starter. There would be a bye week before hosting Green Bay and the Packers game would be the first time the team would wear "throwback" uniforms. Freeman's first start could come in the old orange uniforms.

A trip to London didn't help the Bucs. After eleven consecutive losses, dating to last season, maybe its Bucco Bruce to the rescue.