Tampa Bay Bucs Coach Raheem Morris Takes Issue With “Average Fans”. Is He Right To Call Them Out?

Posted by By Sports Session at 12 August, at 06 : 10 AM Print

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris has never been one to mince words, he speaks his mind even if at times he might say the wrong thing.  Morris has made several comments recently that have puzzled some, pissed off others, and have some agreeing with his statements.

While they’re sorting out the equipment, lining the fields, and generally getting things ready for Saturday’s opening of training camp, Morris, in all his wisdom, some feel Morris already gone and punted his foot directly into his mouth.

In a recent Tampa Tribune article Bucs beat writer Anwar Richardson, Morris blatantly commented:

“The support is not going to come from the average fan. The support is going to come from the Buccaneer Lover. The 3-13 will help us thrive. The 3-13 is what’s going to make us. The 3-13 is what we’re going to look at, set examples for, and go out and really punish people for it. ”

That was Morris’s response to Richardson recently when Anwar inquired about fan support.  Has Raheem gone mad, or were his comments spot on?  He commonly makes references to the 3-13 season last year. The one that had even “Buccaneer Lovers” looking for some answers while the team struggled.

Could John Gruden have been correct when on his way out the door he commented that, Morris is in over his head?  Morris is a young coach who is going to make mistakes, but needs a chance to grow into the job.

Raheem needs to understand that 3-13 will not make these 2010 Buccaneers thrive. What will make them thrive is unexpected great performances from quarterback Josh Freeman, a resurgence in the offensive line, some form of running game to emerge, and a defense that can rush the passer.

You gotta love the part where Morris says “and go out and really punish people for it.”  Punish is fine, but I believe that Morris is overplaying the revenge card here a bit too much.  His players aren’t going to line up every play and have 3 – 13 in the back of their minds as they fire off the ball, he needs to use other thigns to motivate them as well since some players were not on the team last year.

As for totally disrespecting “the average fan,” I agree with Morris here a bit.  When the Buccaneers were in the Orange jerseys and finishing at the bottom of the league, I could walk up on gameday and buy a ticket without a problem.  I sat on the 50 yard line in seats fairly close to the field, it as a great experience to watch NFL games for a cheap price and hardly any crowds.

But, when Tony Dungy came on board and this team turned around the team proudly boasted a billboard on Dale Mabry displaying the number of people on the season ticket waiting list.  At one point the list allegedly reached 100,000, and every game sold out for years.  Now the fans are slowly getting lethargic again because the team has not been winning as much in recent years.  These fair weather fans ruin sports and franchises, nobody wins every single year at least not in the NFL.

There are many hardcore Buccaneer fans who don’t miss a game regardless off the teams record, but the average fan is the one who screams the loudest when the team is doing bad.  They are the quickest to pull their support from the team, and not spend any money unless the team is doing well.  Ultimately Morris is taking issue with these people, and his comments was a veiled challenge to their behavior.  In a nutshell Morris is saying the team will get better and win despite the average fan who only shows up when things are going well.

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