THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510150171
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA
LENGTH: Long : 132 lines
Success is not a many-splendored thing in Tampa Bay.
Despite a 4-2 record and first-place standing in the NFC Central, attendance has dropped dramatically since a sellout crowd of 71,507 watched the Buccaneers play their worst game of the season (a 25-6 loss to Chicago) in their Sept. 17 home opener.
Only 49,234 showed for a game against Washington the following week, and just 41,732 watched last week's 19-16 victory over Cincinnati, one that gave Tampa Bay a half-game lead in the division over Chicago, Green Bay and Minnesota.
Today, they host the Vikings in what should be one of the big games of the day. As of late Friday afternoon, plenty of tickets remained.
``I don't have an answer for you on the attendance,'' said coach Sam Wyche, who has been critical of the way the team has been portrayed during its three-game winning streak.
The Bucs have played only two teams with winning records - Cleveland and Chicago - and have lost to both. They've beaten the Redskins, Panthers and Bengals the past three weeks but haven't looked good doing it.
The Bucs' offense ranks 28th among 30 teams and has scored just five touchdowns during their streak. Trent Dilfer, the starting quarterback, hasn't finished three of the past four games and has thrown for just three touchdowns in six weeks.
``Every week we go in saying, `The `D' has been great; now it's our turn,' '' said center Tony Mayberry. ``And every week we don't do it.''
Meanwhile, Wyche thinks his team should be judged by its overall effort - not the shortcoming of one component.
``We were in three tough, pressure, can't-make-a-mistake-at-the-end situations, and we won all three,'' he said, reflecting on the past three weeks. ``We outplayed everybody we went into the tough, tight situation with. That's a lot of character, a lot of heart. That's a good football team that can win in the clutch back-to-back-to-back like that.''
HUDDLING WITH . . . 49ERS QB STEVE YOUNG
Reporters seem amazed every time they talk to you that you're the type of person you are. They search for an ounce of ego, an iota of insincerity. They wonder what you're doing in the violent, greedy, brutal world of the NFL.
Is that what people think of the NFL? I don't see it that way at all. I see the NFL as the greatest laboratory in the world for learning about myself and getting people to come together and do something in the most stressful of circumstances. Game day is an amazing thing. Big companies should study us as a model for crisis management. The only difference is, we don't have back rooms, we have to resolve our problems on national television.
What kind of unique test does playing in the NFL present you?
Through football, I've been able to test myself and others in ways I never could in any other arena. I earn a minor in psychology every week. But when it comes right down to it, the real reason I play football is that I'm a jock. I'm hyper-competitive. I'm made for the NFL.
People forget that before you were backup to Joe Montana, you were backup to Jim McMahon at Brigham Young, so you had some experience sitting and waiting.
It was a hard go for me to follow Jim because I was expected to win by 70 and set records. I never had the luxury of learning, or letting an offense jell. That's probably why I started running all over the field like a madman, doing anything I possibly could to win the game. People said I was a quarterback with a linebacker mentality. I was just a quarterback under tremendous pressure to win.
And following Montana?
I knew if I stayed and faced the music, I'd find out one day how good I could really be. I'd never have to wonder, ``What if?'' In a way, I'm really grateful for what happened to me. It was another great, brutal experience.
Not to be morose, but what do you want your tombstone to read?
``He did this, he did this, he did this - and he played football, too.''
NOW, THAT'S A GRAND OPENING: The Hall of Fame's most ambitious expansion to date, the addition of a fifth building that opened to the public Saturday, increases the Hall's size by about 39 percent, adds 31,850 square feet and brings display space to 82,307 square feet.
The $8.6 million expansion offers new exhibits and houses a rotating ``GameDay Stadium Theatre,'' intended to give fans an insider's look at game-day preparations. The 20-minute ``100-Yard Universe'' film - trimmed from 68 hours of shooting by NFL Films - is shown in Cinemascope on a high-definition television screen measuring 9 by 16 feet.
The film includes clips from 14 regular-season games in 1994, all '94 playoff games, the NFC and AFC Championship Games and Super Bowl XXIX. It shows every aspect of game day - outdoor grills ablaze in parking lots, the arrival of players' buses, the hustle and bustle of equipment personnel and stadium custodians, and teams filing into locker rooms.
As the teams leave the locker rooms for the walk to the playing field, fans also take the journey - without ever leaving the comfort of their seats. The 96-seat theater rotates as viewers follow the players.
Going down the runway to the field, fans hear the pounding of cleated shoes. In the distance, thousands of fans are shouting.
The digital, eight-channel sound system blares at 93 decibels. Airplane jet engines rev to 105 decibels.
TRIVIA: Name the six teams that have no players in the Hall of Fame. Hint: Yes, Jacksonville and Carolina are among them. Answer at bottom.
BLUE DARTS: Rod Bernstine, who was waived after failing to make it as a running back with Denver, says he probably will only come back as a tight end, his original position. . . . Rice record of the week: Jerry Rice can set a record for career receiving yardage today when the 49ers visit the Colts. Rice, in his 11th season, needs only 137 yards to surpass James Lofton's record of 14,004. Lofton amassed his total in 16 seasons with the Packers, Raiders, Bills, Rams and Eagles. . . . With 41 catches after five games, Rice is off to his best start. . . . Some ``expansion'' team: The Panthers are among the youngest and oldest teams in the NFL. Youngest, because the Panthers are in their first season as a franchise. Oldest, because their roster includes 16 players in their 30s. The average age on Carolina's 53-player roster is 27.47 years, which makes the Panthers the third-oldest team in the league. Only the Broncos and Falcons are older. Meanwhile, the Jaguars, the other expansion team, are among the youngest teams in the NFL with an average age of 25.79 years. . . . Expect Bengals backup quarterback David Klingler to explore the free-agent market after this season. Bengals general manager Mike Brown wants Klingler back, but only if he takes a pay cut from his 1995 salary of $1.1 million. . . . In case you were wondering, that 76-yard touchdown jaunt against the Cardinals by Chiefs quarterback Steve Bono a couple of weeks ago took 13 seconds. . . . The Colts already have played three overtime games. Four OT games on Sunday tied the record for the most for one weekend and brings the NFL's six-week total to 11. There were 16 all last year. . . . The Jaguars are not the first expansion team to win back-to-back games. The '66 Dolphins, '67 Falcons and '68 Bengals all did it. No first-year team has ever won three straight. The Jags have a shot against the Bears at home. Chicago needed a touchdown with 38 seconds left to beat Carolina last week at Soldier Field. . . . No expansion team has ever won more than three games in a season. Jags fans were chanting ``wildcard, wildcard,'' as Jax beat the Steelers. . . Manning, who endured 11 losing seasons and is now a Saints radio analyst. As he was walking out of the Saints' locker room last week, he said: ``I gotta get out of here. I'm getting flashbacks.''
TRIVIA ANSWER: Teams that have no players enshrined in the hall are Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver and New Orleans (Saints president Jim Finks was inducted this summer) as well as the Jaguars and Panthers. MEMO: Compiled from Virginian-Pilot wire-service reports. by CNB