Eight long months have passed with no regular season football in Tampa, Florida. An avid fan and club seating season ticket holder, I eagerly awaited the start of a new season. Sunday morning, after a hearty Cracker Barrel breakfast, my wife and I jumped into the 350Z and departed Fort Myers for the 2 hour plus drive to Tampa for the game. We pulled into the parking lot at Raymond James Stadium about an hour before kickoff. Tailgaters crowded the parking lot and excitement filled the air. We opted to skip tailgating and head into the stadium to enjoy the club area before it bacame too crowded.
Adrenaline and testoserone permeated the atmosphere as the first few bars of Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train reverberated through the stadium for the opening kickoff by the Buccaneers. Bucs rookie and first round draft pick Aqib Talib struck early in the first quarter picking off Atlanta rookie Matt Ryan at the 20 yard line and setting up a Brian Griese to John Gilmore pass for an early touchdown.
The Bucs struck two more times in the second quarter with a 17 yard Warrick Dunn touchdown run and a Matt Bryant 33 yard field goal before the Falcons had a chance to score with a 3 point Jason Elam kick from the 32 yard line. The Bucs stalled a little in the third and fourth quarters allowing two Elam field goals before Earnest Graham turned on the juice for a massive 68 yard touchdown run to clinch the win in spite of some seriously bad officiating. The 1-1 Buccaneers steam into Chicago next week to face the Bears and then return home to play the undefeated Packers and Aaron Rodgers on September 28th.
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