The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 50th anniversary season is already off to a weird start. As the full NFL schedule for each team was released on Wednesday, there was some confusion beforehand with leaks getting out as usual.
One part of the confusion came from Buccaneers sources, as some thought they’d be playing in prime-time on Thanksgiving, which is always a huge showcase for NFL teams.
The Buccaneers aren't getting the showcase game they were hoping for
Come to find out, the game in question is a Week 12 matchup (on NBC) in Los Angeles against the Rams. The game will actually take place on Sunday Night Football, Nov 23, which could easily be mistaken for turkey day at a glance since that holiday floats from year to year. At a glance, it might be mistaken for Thanksgiving Thursday, which, in this case, the source was just a few days off since it falls on Nov. 27 this year.
For players, this is likely a relief, but most fans love watching their team play in primetime on Thanksgiving. Getting one of those spots that day is almost like a reward. In a sport where most games are played on one day of the week (although the NFL has expanded quite a bit), it’s a big deal to be the only game going, as is the case for all three games played on Thanksgiving Day.
Due to this being Tampa Bay’s 50th year of existence, it would’ve been a nice gesture by the league to award them this type of honor. But since the Bucs aren’t an NFL heavyweight, they don’t often get these opportunities. While the league has spread national TV and primetime games more evenly in recent years, still, a franchise like Tampa Bay isn’t held in as high regard as Dallas, Pittsburgh or San Francisco.
No, it doesn’t sound fair, especially since the Bucs have won a Super Bowl more recently than any of those teams. However, these decisions usually come down to which teams will draw the largest viewership, which translates into larger earnings. Minus the Tom Brady years, Tampa Bay can’t compete in drawing power next to those organizations that have been around much longer and have larger fan bases.