Regardless of where folks stand on the great pewter shading debate, it's painfully clear that the 97-13 set was one of the best rebrands ever. Make no mistake, Bucco Bruce was NOT hugely popular amongst Bucs fans back then. The 1994 refresh, which cleaned-up and enlarged Bruce on the helmet and added the orange collar (to the white jerseys) and the dazzle-orange pants, was barely noticed. Sure, a huge part of that was a decade of double-digit losing seasons, but the colors weren't exactly flattering for merchandising purposes. The darkened red and pewter combo, with just a hint of orange, and pirate flag/ship logos were exactly with the Dr. ordered. All they had to do was some MINOR clean-up here/there to the logo, brighten the pewter on the helmets a little bit (which they did) and maybe thin out the black and/or modernize the pants striping and socks combo. A gentle refresh. But NOOOO. Instead the completely pooped the bed with the clown show costumes they're wearing today. It's embarrassing to watch the team play on the field week-in/out. It's downright humiliating to see my team look like complete turds when they play like complete turds. I've heard local talk/rumors about Bruce coming back in 2021...we'll see.
Frank Pillow joined the community