‘We’re about to become title town,’ says lifelong Tampa Bay super fan
Reuters
Published Feb 06, 2021 04:27PM ET
Updated Feb 06, 2021 07:35PM ET
By Nathan Frandino
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - To call Anne Copeland a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan would be an understatement.
The Tampa, Florida, native has been cheering for the home team ever since the Bucs joined the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion franchise in 1976.
"It's been a wild ride. We start out with 0 (wins) and 26 (losses) and now here we are in our second Super Bowl, which is the first one in our hometown, so it spans just about every emotion you can imagine," Copeland told Reuters on Saturday at her home in Tampa, where she has an entire room dedicated to her beloved Bucs.
From bobble heads to stuffed dolls to flags to signed helmets, there are few if any Bucs items missing in Copeland's shrine.
The retired educator, who taught special needs children for 41 years, has acquired the items from friends, family, colleagues, students and more.
Copeland’s wild ride of fandom has taken her to every NFL host city in the country, except Las Vegas, where the Raiders moved this past season after departing Oakland.
She reached that milestone in 2018 when she saw the Bucs play at M&T Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, against the Baltimore Ravens.
"The weather wasn't so great and we lost the game but it was still great," Copeland recalled, holding a photo from that day.
She traveled to San Diego, California, by herself - without a ticket or a place to stay - to watch the Bucs clinch their sole Super Bowl title in 2003.
Now she has a chance to see them win again.
Her son, using some money won in a 50-50 raffle at a game this season, bought two tickets to Sunday’s Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium, just 10 minutes down the road from their home.
They will be among a limited crowd of just 22,000 fans allowed inside the game, due to attendance limits the NFL imposed because of the pandemic.
"We're about to become title town ourselves," said Copeland. "It's just super exciting that they're back in the Super Bowl because you never know if that's going to be a once in a lifetime thing or if you'll get to experience it again."
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.