It has been 13 seasons since the Buccaneers last made the playoffs, led by coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Jeff Garcia. It's safe to say that Tampa Bay fans haven't had much to cheer about since then, with the Bucs compiling a 71-121 record during their post-2007 playoff drought. But it looks like that all could change very soon with the imminent arrival of Tom Brady.
Brady, unlike the Bucs' franchise, has a history of winning unlike any quarterback in NFL history. In 19 seasons as a starter with the Patriots, he amassed a 219-64 record, meaning he could lose 283 more games and still have a better winning percentage than Tampa Bay over its 44-year history (267-424-1,.387).
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It's that winning resume, paired with Tampa Bay's already talented roster, that has rejuvenated Bucs fans. So much so that they were all clamoring to buy season tickets on Tuesday night.
At about 7 p.m. ET there were nearly 1,000 people virtually in line for tickets on Ticketmaster. That's a pretty healthy number for the team that ranked 30th in average home attendance (51,898) last year.
Current #Bucs website to buy season tickets...and growing 😂 pic.twitter.com/zf50tGnyyJ
— Anthony Becht (@Anthony_Becht) March 17, 2020
Less than three hours later, that number climbed well over 5,000. That's more than 10 percent of the Bucs' average attendance in 2019.
This is what the line looks like for Bucs season tickets right now. Keep in mind, this organization averaged under 52,000 per game last season in attendance. pic.twitter.com/3mpqpvg9Oe
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) March 18, 2020
It's worth reiterating: Brady hasn't officially signed the contract yet. But that's how excited Tampa Bay fans are to get back to winning football.