The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ignited a social media wildfire Wednesday when they released a video teasing new uniforms.
In the video, a bandana-clad street artist is seen tearing up old, local newspaper articles and plastering them to a wall in a mosaic-like arrangement.
The video begins with the artist pulling up to Raymond James Stadium before dawn with the skull and crossed swords logo clearly, brightly displayed on a jumbotron in the background. He then raises a warehouse-style, manual chain door, turns on a small spotlight, and begins to unload supplies from his backpack.
First, he is seen pulling out a stack of old newspapers. A paint-brush and bottles of paint are seen still in the sack. Behind him, in the background, a colorless template of the current pirate ship logo leans against the wall. He then begins tearing past headlines from the newspapers with the headlines clearly being displayed to the viewer.
First comes “Uniform effort”, followed by “Return to glory”, then “Tampa Gets NFL Franchise For ’76”. While the latter is pasted to the canvas, “It’s time to be excited about the Bucs” is glimpsed on the wall beside it.
“Happy Returns” and “Believe It” follow. Both are headlines that were related to the Buccaneers’ 2002 Super Bowl victory. “Super” and then an article photo of Buccaneer-legend Derrick Brooks quickly shuffled by afterward.
The headline that followed summed up all of these breadcrumbs in one succinct phrase: “Bucs’ new uniforms mix old with new”. The project then shifts to the coloring phase starting with Buccaneer red being applied over the skull and crossed swords template that has been duck-taped over the canvas.
Bucs Extra: 2007 NFC South Division Champs is then seen in an intercut frame. Another clear indicator that the new design will lean heavily on the Super Bowl era blueprint. The artist then grabs another can of spray-paint and begins to apply another color. This one appears to be a more conventional version of pewter. It’s more gun-metal grey than bronze.
Finally, the artist steps away from his masterpiece revealing the final product. The pirate ship logo is tagged in the center primarily exhibiting the red and aforementioned alternate take on pewter. However, a hint of the classic, creamsicle-orange is also revealed near the ship’s hull. Additional headlines “A Bold New Era” and “Wait No Mo” can be seen in the upper-right quadrant of the work. The shot holds for several seconds then cuts to black.
This teaser video clearly indicates the Buccaneers could be unveiling new uniforms before the coming NFL season. In recent years, teams typically have unveiled new uniform designs in the weeks leading up to the draft.
The New York Jets were the most recent team to make major uniform changes revealing their new apparel on April 4, 2019. The Detroit Lions released their re-imagined design on April 13, 2017. The Cleveland Browns disclosed their changes on April 14, 2015. All three teams reverted to classic looks that were based on previous iterations of their look. Tampa Bay certainly seems to be divulging a similar approach.
Based on the teaser video they will rely heavily on the Super Bowl era design while also incorporating elements of the throwback creamsicle-orange kits that the franchise donned for the first 19 years of its existence.
So, we are likely two months away from seeing any potential final product. Until then, eager fans can rewatch the teaser video and rejoice that they may never have to see the alarm-clock font ever again.
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 12, 2020
