Buccaneers add another flavor of 'Creamsicle,' bring back original road jersey
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bringing back another flavor of their famous/infamous uniforms featuring 'Florida Orange' and the winking pirate, 'Bucco Bruce,' that they featured for the first 21 seasons of their existence, beginning in 1976. However, in honor of their upcoming 50th anniversary campaign, the Bucs will also wear their white creamsicle road jerseys, which had not seen the light of day in any form since 1996.
The uniforms are among the most notable in league history, the Buccaneers losing their first 26 games while being widely ridiculed for their appearance – both sartorially and from a football perspective. They only won one postseason game in Creamsicle before becoming something of a routine playoff entry in their current garb, which features red, pewter, a pirate flag helmet logo and a ship on the sleeve. Both of the organization's Super Bowl triumphs have come with the contemporary look.
However the "Bucco Bruce" insignia − a winking pirate emblem calling back swashbuckling actor Errol Flynn − and the Florida Orange have taken on a nostalgic feel in recent decades, serving as a delightful throwback option from the 2009 through '12 seasons and returning anew in 2023 and '24 now that the NFL has relaxed its rules by permitting teams to use multiple helmet shells.
'If (Bucco Bruce) is the guy who's in charge of losing, let's get rid of him,' John McKay, the club's original coach, cracked when the logo was first retired in 1997.
Since returning, Creamsicle and Bruce have been appreciated for breaking the mold of the NFL's fairly traditional uniforms when they were introduced. Bucco Bruce even occasionally took on the visage of Tom Brady, who quarterbacked Tampa Bay from 2020 to '22 and led the Bucs to victory in Super Bowl 55.
Like their 1976 expansion brethren Bucs, the Seattle Seahawks are similarly expected to resurface their classic white road uniforms to celebrate their 50th season in 2025.
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