Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 13 years and 7 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

I knew it was going to be a tough start to the 2010 NFL season because one of my two favorite teams was guaranteed to start with a loss. That’s because the Cleveland Browns were in town playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener. The last time these two teams played each other was in 2006 and this was the first time the teams had met in the opening game of the season.

In other firsts, this was the first time I had gone to a Bucs game in Raymond James Stadium and the first professional football game I took my daughter to. The last Bucs game I attended was back in 1995 when they lost to the Bears in the old Tampa Stadium. I didn’t even live in Florida at the time and the Bucs were still wearing the orange and white with the feather hat logo. In fact, that might have been the last NFL game I’d attended, which coincidentally was also the last year for the “old” Browns before Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore.

Going to the game was actually the only way to see it if you lived in the Tampa Bay area since it was blacked out locally (the first blacked out home game in 12 years). The stadium was pretty empty … I joked with my daughter that they should have let everyone move down into the better seats so the stadium would look more full on TV. Americal Idol finalist (and St. Pete resident) Michael Lynche sang the National Anthem and the F-16 flyover was fantastic … now it was time for some football!

It was hot during the first quarter (heat index of 105), but right before halftime our typical afternoon Florida rainstorms blew through and cooled it off for the second half. I was wearing a Browns jersey, so I was happy for most of the game as the Browns led 14-10. With about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, my daughter and I decided to leave so we could beat the crowds and traffic and the more serious weather we could see approaching. As we were walking in the parking lot, I heard the crowd and the cannons announce a Tampa Bay touchdown. We listened to the rest of the game on the radio driving home … the Browns had a good chance to still pull out a victory, but it wasn’t to be and the Bucs won their home opener 17-14. So it was a split decision for me seeing the Bucs win at the expense of my Browns losing, but my daughter and I still had a great time at the game so it was win-win for us.