IF I HAD A HAMMER

There are three FaceBook Buccaneers fan pages I frequent. 1) The Tompa Bay Buccaneers  2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fans  3) Tampa Bay Bucs Fans. Each one has its own collective flavor. The Tompa Bay FB page is all Tom Brady 24/7. The posters are excited, happy, and upbeat. They can’t get enough of praising Tom Brady, all the Tampa Bay players, and the Buccaneer organization. The posts are short and sweet, with a Tom Brady allusion usually accompanied by hearts and love memes. Here is an example.  -“Let’s go Tom Brady u got y’all got to work together as a team. Teamwork, dreamwork. We have to so come together as a team so we can get to the top. I believe in you, Tom Brady. U the man the best QB let’s Go Tampa Bay.”- Yes. However inane, OPTIMISM rules in Tompa Bay. 

The Tampa Bay Bucs Fans FB page is on the other spectrum. These fans like to label themselves as ‘Die-hard Bucs fans. In order to be deserving of that label. One has to hate Tom Brady and anyone or anything associated with him. The sentiment is that Tom Brady despite leading the Bucs to the 2nd Super Bowl and owning nearly every passing record in the NFL is really not that good. Neither is AB, Fournette, Gronk or Sherman because they are perceived as associates of Brady. Even the TB12 diet, which keeps Brady playing in the NFL at age 44,  is just hype. Here are some examples. “If Y’all really think we are doing bad because AB & Gronk aren’t playing. You guys really are delusional”.  “Sherman is literally receiving a paycheck for nothing.” There is a lot of doom and gloom, the sky is falling and scary pirate visuals.  But let’s be real. No one wants the Buccaneers to be repped by a dancing, laughing, or smiley pirate. So in this sense, the negative is a positive. What I do find disheartening is the separation. Many members of the group pride themselves on separating themselves from other Buccaneer fans. They base it on the number of years as a Bucs fan. Whether or not other fans like Tom Brady. The regions other Buc fans hail from. Etc. It makes for many disagreements of course and nothing is solved in the argument.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan Club is a mixture of the two with an added element of humor. They poke fun at themselves and others. They post creative introspective memes. They poke fun at the offense and defense. There are no sacred cows collectively. Anyone and everyone can get criticized. From players to commenting fans. Some of the best rebuttals, retorts, and repartees come from fans critiquing other fans. Here is one -” 2017-2018 NFL season. TB Buccaneers 5-9. If you weren’t here during these times we don’t want you.. Win or Lose im always rooting for the Buccs..” One of the retorts to this post was “It doesn’t matter what you want. You are a nobody who speaks only for yourself. Don’t pretend to be anything more than the broke azz nobody you are and will always be. Hating makes you a LoSer. ” 

Riddle me this. How can humans find more things to separate themselves from than they can find to unite themselves on. Even when it comes to liking something in common. Such as a football team. I would like to see Buc fans at least unite over the Buccaneers. I would like to see more accommodation. More acceptance. More enjoyment in one another. More love. Heck. If we can’t find common ground in “FAN’ groups. The human race is in big trouble. Let try. It won’t hurt. I promise.

There was a song ‘If I had A Hammer’  in which this was part of the lyrics

 If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning

I’d hammer in the evening, All over this land

I’d hammer out danger

I’d hammer out a warning

I’d hammer out love between

My brothers and my sisters, ah-ah

All over this land.