Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional football team headquartered in Tampa, Florida. They play in the National Football Conference, Southern Division. Both the conference and division are a part of the National Football League. The team has not been around as long as other football franchises; they were founded in 1976 and became a part of the NFL that same year, at a time in which the NFL was expanding. For many of the years leading up to the 1990s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not a successful team. They lost many of the games in their first season and kept losing in several seasons after. They have enjoyed success in recent years and won the Super Bowl in 2002.
Before their second season of play, the only team that the Buccaneers had played successfully was the Atlanta Falcons. The successful game was not, however, a season game. The first time they actually won an in-season game was in 1977, in an away game against the New Orleans Saints. It would seem that the 1977 win bolstered the confidence of the team. In 1978, their playing got better and they began to win more games. Unfortunately, some team members were injured during the season and the team did not do as well as they had hoped. Though the Buccaneers had victories after 1978, the early 1980s would bring a period of disappointment to the team as they continued a long line of unsuccessful seasons. Despite being technically profitable because the players were not paid as much as other professional players, the team failed to draw crowds, and unfortunately they were not able to broadcast any home games for several seasons, due to a rule that prevented broadcast if the stands were not completely full. Despite struggles during the 80s and 90s, the team was able to get a victory in 2002 in the Super Bowl, defeating the Oakland Raiders. Their record in football has been someone dismal ever since. The 2009 season left them with their worst record since 1991.
The Buccaneers are named after the parts that plagued the East Coast especially Florida. Their logo has changed significantly since the first logo was drawn. The first logo consisted of this phase of a man dressed as a pirate and holding a dagger in his teeth. The current logo is an allusion to the famous Jolly Roger flag before but the flight is red instead of black and features a skull and crossed swords with a football. The name of the mascot is Captain Fear.
Some notable players Earnest Graham started his NFL career with the Buccaneers in 2003. Warrick Dunn was drafted to the Buccaneers in 1997 and moved to the Falcons, playing until 2008. Chris Simms played from 2004-2009 for the Buccaneers. Brad Johnson played professional football from 1994-2008, spending part of his career with the Buccaneers.