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CB Ronde Barber considers the Bucs' trip to London a wonderful opportunity to play to an enthralled audience

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The Perfect Stage

Oct 24, 2009 - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers conducted their Saturday afternoon walkthrough – originally planned for Wembley Stadium – in an expansive ballroom at their downtown London hotel.

That’s not quite as limiting as it sounds, given that walk-throughs don’t require high-arcing passes or full-speed collisions. Now, if there were pads, another team and a goal-line to defend, that would be another matter.

Even so, as long as the conditions were equal…

“If we have to play the game in a ballroom tomorrow that’s what we’ll do,” said Buccaneers Head Coach Raheem Morris with a wide smile, just before gathering his team for that final bit of active preparation on Sunday. “As long as we’re all playing on the same field and the same surface tomorrow, we’ll go out there and play. We’ll try to get our best talent out there. The field doesn’t really matter. As long as we’re playing the same spot we’re playing on, none of that stuff matters. It’s about preparation, it’s about pad level, it’s about physical play, it’s about toughness.”

Of course, the game will go on at Wembley Stadium on Sunday no matter how wet it might be. The Bucs were unable to use the field on Saturday because there is an NFL rule that, regardless of the site, the playing field must be covered the day before if there is the threat of rain. That policy will only help conditions on Sunday when the Buccaneers and Patriots finally play out this much-anticipated game.

Veteran defensive tackle Chris Hovan said it would have been nice to check out the game surroundings on Saturday but, in the end, “grass is grass.” In the bigger picture, Sunday’s game is just as exciting for the team, no matter what came the day before.

"We’ll embrace what we have here, being the only game in town, and just have fun with it. We know it’s a regular season game, but at the same time it’s a great opportunity."

“It’s really a privilege to come over here and play a team the caliber of the New England Patriots and to play in this stadium,” said Hovan. “When I look back on my career and know I was afforded the opportunity to play at Wembley Stadium, I’ll have to pinch myself. We’re going against the best in one of the best stadiums in the world, and as a player, who could ask for anything more?”

Obviously, the Buccaneers won’t be lacking for motivation, as they expect the Patriots to bring out the best in them on Sunday. That’s true despite Tampa Bay’s 0-6 record, which makes them decided underdogs to the 4-2 Patriots in the court of public opinion. NFL players take a lot of pride with them to the field, in terms of both their team’s outcome and their own individual performances. Doing so on a different stage where they are essentially the only game in town, in terms of their own particular sport, only increases that motivation.

“It’s always an opportunity to prove yourself,” said linebacker Barrett Ruud. “You’re always on the line in the NFL, too. Your resume’s out there every week, so if you don’t play well it could keep you out of a job. There’s always a lot of individual pressure on yourself to play well.”

And thus, when the elements wouldn’t allow their original plan for Saturday to come to fruition, the Buccaneers took the news without complaint and continued to prepare for that rare opportunity.

“You deal and you adjust,” said Morris. “We’re not going to provide any excuses for ourselves. Our job is to win a football game. We’re going to practice in this ballroom, we’re going to get our walk-through in, get everything done that we need to get done, and then we’re going to move on. There are no excuses, no matter where you practice or what surface you play on.”

And there is no weather that will dampen the Buccaneers enthusiasm for this game.

“I think we’ve got to look at it as a positive experience,” said cornerback Ronde Barber. “We have an opportunity to play in front of a crowd that doesn’t necessarily get to see live [American] football. It should be exciting for us, and I think it is. We’ll embrace what we have here, being the only game in town, and just have fun with it. We know it’s a regular season game, but at the same time it’s a great opportunity.”