More NFL Disrespect for Tampa – JoeBucsFan.com

BY IRA KAUFMAN

The Bucs are victims of this Schedule-Gate fiasco, but the organization is not irreproachable.

The slate of the 2019 regular season is out and the NFL has not favored Tampa Bay, although the Bucs will be playing a first-week home game for the first time since 2015.

The question, which is not insignificant, concerns a period of 7 weeks that keeps the Bucs Raymond James Stadium.

Between the time the Bucs and Giants face the Giants in Week 3 until their game against the Cardinals on November 10, Tampa Bay fans will have no chance to see their home team play. – unless they fly to London to see the Bucs face the Panthers on Oct. 13 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The NFL does not like to admit its mistakes, but Michael North, the league's vice president for planning and emissions planning, said United States today that the Bucs were packed with jobs.

"This is a project the NFL would like to find," North said. "It's certainly not unusual for an NFL team to have a home game in six weeks, but if this game is not really at home, it's probably something the NFL will try to do. avoid in the future. "

This lame mea culpa will not help the Bucs this fall.

Why did this happen? It's Tampa.

Bias put forward

That would not have happened to the Cowboys. That would not have happened to the Giants, not in a minute in New York. That would not happen to the Patriots.

The Bucs are another story.

From the perspective of the NFL, the Bucs have been an afterthought since the opening season of 0 to 14 years. No one in the Park Avenue office is wondering how things are going to be in Tampa.

Even when the Bucs were filled with stars, the league set the tone for the organization by scheduling the opening of the reigning Super Bowl champions.

It's a lack of respect.

It was the first time since 1996 that a defending NFL champion was denied the opportunity to open the following season at home. Thus, a hacked Buc team went to Philadelphia in the fall of 2003 and opened the Lincoln Financial Field with a 17-0 win, eight months after the vet closed.

The 2013 Ravens, who had just won the Super Bowl, were also invited to open on the road, but that's only because there was a parking conflict on that date with the Orioles.

So now we have another insult thrown in our direction. Is it too much to ask league officials to finalize the final program schedule one last time to ensure fairness before making it official?

Apparently yes.

"I'd love a reflection on this one," North said of the imposing Tampa Bay slate. He feels so guilty that North admits that he will commit to the Bucs until October.

New mascot

It's a bad look for the NFL shield. The Raiders also have a lot to do because they will not be playing in Oakland between the 3rd week and November 3rd.

Guess what Bucs and Raiders have in common?

They are founders of the NFL. The Bucs have spent 11 years without appearances in the playoffs, but the Raiders have had only one winning season since the 2002 team was beaten by Tampa Bay at the Super Bowl.

The mascot of the Tampa Bay team should be Rodney Dangerfield. This franchise gets no respect – and the only way to change is to become a major player on the NFL.

Become a perennial playoff club and you could catch the league's attention. Could. This league will never treat the Bucs as a glamorous team, but winning helps to level the playing field.

Michael North feels bad about the Tampa Bay agenda. Boo-hoo.

That would not have happened to Big D. It should not have happened here.

Ira Kaufman began covering the NFL as a New York-based journalist beating in 1979. He arrived on the beat of the Buccaneers in 1985. The leash of business was finally removed when he joined JoeBucsFan .com in July Kaufman Podcast is broadcast twice a week and Ira columns appear three times a week, except when Ira is on special mission. The only voter in the Tampa Bay Hall of Fame is also a popular guest on national radio and local television.