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Wembley Stadium proved to be a very hospitable venue for a Buccaneers home game

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A Worthwhile Trip

Oct 26, 2009 - The definition of a successful road trip in the NFL is the same for every team and every destination. Every weekend away from home is a business trip, and the business is winning football games.

So, by that definition, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers return home to Tampa on Monday without having found success in London, the site of the first regular-season game in franchise history played on foreign soil. And, to be sure, the Buccaneers agree with that definition. Their 35-7 loss to the New England Patriots left them at 0-7 in 2009, and that’s certainly the bottom line.

However, it is possible to accept that evaluation of the trip and still appreciate the backdrop of the overall experience. The sting of defeat isn’t eased, but the trip was worthwhile in many other ways. The city of London proved to be a wonderful host and the NFL fans that thronged to Wembley Stadium were amazingly passionate about the game in general and the Bucs in particular.

“They did their best to simulate a home game for us, and it would have been easy for the fans to turn for New England but it was a pretty balanced crowd,” said Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber. “It was good. It was a nice experience.”

Indeed, while the crowd of nearly 85,000 was a mixture of Bucs and Patriots fans and a surprisingly varied sampling of jerseys from around the NFL, the pregame support for Tampa Bay’s introductions was impressive. The Buccaneers then surrendered a quick touchdown on an interception return and eventually fell behind 21-0 by the second quarter, but they never lost the crowd. Buccaneer Battle Flags had been distributed to the seats before the game, and they were still waving furiously in the second half.

"It was lot of fun out here in London. The people were excited. This was old-school fun football and it was good to be a part of it, despite the loss."

It was quite reminiscent of the Bucs’ recent playoff games at Raymond James Stadium, and that was in a way encouraging to a young team that is currently having difficulty finding a way to win.

“It was a great atmosphere, great atmosphere,” said Head Coach Raheem Morris. “I was really shocked. Seeing those Buccaneer flags waving at the beginning of the game gave you great feelings. That’s the thing we want to talk about generating back at the Buccaneers’ place. We’re going to go back to the playoffs one day and we’re going to be successful one day, and with this organization and the people I work with and the players we have and the ones we’re going to get, we’ll be back to winning and getting that type of atmosphere back in Tampa, and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”

Obviously, the home of the English national football club is one of the premier venues for athletes worldwide. It is the second-largest stadium in all of Europe and its distinctive arch curves over an immaculate facility that on Sunday was filled to the rafters. The Buccaneers were impressed.

“It's a great stadium,” said Barber. “I think we are all pretty excited about being here for sure. The turf to me was better than it's been in the past, even though it still was a little slick. But you know, it felt really like a northeast game for us. There are some turfs up north that feels like that. But the stadium and atmosphere were great.”

The game was kicked off by a pregame show that had a Super Bowl feel to it, complete with Toni Braxton singing the United States national anthem. The constant winks of light in the stands were an indication that the stadium inhabitants felt they were at an event. Though it was technically a home game for the Buccaneers, and Tampa Bay may have the most expansive London following of any NFL team, there were also plenty of Patriots fans on hand, no doubt drawn in by New England’s run of success in the 2000s.

New England players were as impressed by the atmosphere as the Buccaneers were.

“You don't get this opportunity too often, and I think all the guys really enjoyed it,” said Patriots QB Tom Brady. “All the flashbulbs were going out there before kickoff and everybody seemed excited. That went on for about 10 minutes, which you don't see in the States too often. I think it's a privilege for the players to come over here and get to enjoy this type of experience.”

Wes Welker, Brady’s favorite target on Sunday, considers himself a big soccer fan, so he was not surprised to see how passionate the Wembley Stadium fans could be.

“They were great, man,” said Welker. “I played soccer all growing up. So really getting to kind of feel that vibe and everything [was great]. You couldn't hear anything when they started to do the wave and things like that. So it was definitely a cool experience to see their energy and what they bring to the game.”

The Buccaneers arrived in London late Friday evening and were set to roll out of their team hotel early Monday morning, so it was a whirlwind trip. And, again, it failed to produce the specific result the Bucs were after. Nevertheless, it was an experience that neither team will soon forget, and another indication that the NFL is ripe to spread around the globe.

“The guys out here were great,” said Morris. “It was lot of fun out here in London. The people were excited. Whole bunch of chants I never heard before. We saw beach balls, we saw the wave…this was old-school fun football and it was good to be a part of it, despite the loss.”