Tampa Bay Bucs’ historic win drives fan and business interest in Super Bowl 55
Michael Walding, 44, was shooting pool with a buddy Monday at The Bamboozer, a bar and pool hall on Bradenton’s Old Main Street.
Walding paused from his game to talk about the Tampa Bay Bucs’ 31-26 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, which earned them a berth in the Super Bowl, Feb. 7 in Tampa.
Walding doesn’t have tickets for the big game, but he plans to tailgate in the parking lot outside Raymond James Stadium when the Bucs and Kansas City Chiefs play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“It’s history, it’s never happened before,” Walding said of a Super Bowl host city also fielding the home team. “Tom Brady is the greatest of all time, and he will be playing in his 10th Super Bowl. So many people play their whole careers and never get to the Super Bowl once.”
And then he let it sink in that Brady is 43 years old, just a year younger than himself, and still playing at a Hall of Fame level.
Given the fact that the Bucs are headed to the Super Bowl, fans are sure to be snapping up Bucs apparel, flags and other memorabilia as they, like Walding, try to grab a piece of football history.
John Petrovic, owner of Legends in Sports, a sports memorabilia store in the DeSoto Square mall, recalled the 2003 Super Bowl when the Bucs beat the Oakland Raiders.
Back then, Bradenton fans were most hungry for items related to four players: cornerback Ronde Barber, strong safety John Lynch, fullback Mike Alstott, and linebacker Derrick Brooks.
Today’s fans are most likely to want Tom Brady items.
“Tom Brady stuff is almost impossible to to get right now,” Petrovic said.
Petrovic doesn’t carry sports apparel — jerseys, hats, and T-shirts — which is what most fans want. He does have cards and a Tom Brady signed Patriots football. Ruefully, he notes, Bucs fans would rather have a Brady signature on a Bucs football.
Bradenton-based Bealls was among the companies that felt the market move with the Bucs’ run toward the Super Bowl.
“It was exciting to see another fantastic win from our Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Over the last few weeks, our Bucs merchandise has been in high demand, with some stores completely selling out of the product,” Karen Filips, Bealls’ director of communications and community affairs, said.
“Now that the team has secured their spot in the Super Bowl, we are excited to have new merchandise arriving the end of this week to our Bealls Stores in the greater Tampa Bay area. We will have Super Bowl championship tees landing in our stores a few days after the Bucs win the big game. The product will be available in store and online at Beallsflorida.com,” Filips said.
Barry Grooms, owner of Florida Suncoast Real Estate, watched the game on Sunday and came away impressed that the Bucs were able to hang on for the win, and how generous Brady was, asking TV interviewers to also talk to his teammates.
Grooms said he will be looking for Bucs flags and other items to decorate his house and yard for a Super Bowl watch party.
“It will be like Christmas,” Grooms said of his idea for decorating for the game.
Thomas and Dawn Stephenson were finishing up their lunch under an umbrella on the sidewalk in front of O’Bricks on Old Main Street.
Thomas Stephenson said it was the first NFL game he has watched in three years.
“The Bucs did surprisingly well at Lambeau Field. It was fun to watch,” he said.
Hanging over the game this year is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has sharply curbed attendance. Raymond James Stadium, with a capacity of about 66,000, is expected to have only about 23,000 in attendance, including about 7,500 health care workers who have been vaccinated for the coronavirus. The health care workers will be given free tickets.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital announced that a patient care team for one of its busiest COVID-19 units, is among those invited by the NFL to Super Bowl LV.
The team sent a video to the host committee asking for tickets. Last week they got on a Zoom call expecting to speak to hospital CEO David Verinder and instead were surprised by an interruption and invitation from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. All of the invited health care workers will have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at least two weeks before the game.
Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that while the reduced attendance means fewer fans will be staying in Manatee County, the game benefits the area in other ways.
“The region will be on a global stage for people who can’t wait to come to Florida for a vacation,” Falcione said.
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport will likely not receive a big boost in passenger traffic because of the Super Bowl, but it could see more private jet activity, Rick Piccolo, airport president and CEO, said.
