Hello, old friend.
It has been a long time. Judging by the standings, maybe too long.
A stadium has been torn down, and the original owner has long since passed. A half-dozen coaches have come and gone, and plenty of quarterbacks have departed, too.
And now, almost 28 years later, the NFL's No. 1 draft pick has finally returned to Tampa Bay. So let me be the first to say welcome back.
And, um, let's try not to screw this one up.
There was a time, you know, when Tampa Bay was the draft's best customer. By the mid 1980s, no franchise had ever had so many shots at the No. 1 pick in the modern NFL.
Six times in 12 years the Buccaneers were in line for the first pick. Their very first attempt — a gentleman named Lee Roy Selmon in 1976 — was pure gold.
And the Bucs have been vainly chasing that standard ever since.
In back-to-back years they passed on the opportunity to select eventual Hall of Fame running backs Tony Dorsett and Earl Campbell.
They once traded their first-round selection a year before realizing it would be the No. 1 pick. In return, they got a quarterback who would win three games the rest of his career.
They selected baseball player Bo Jackson in 1986, and he never played a down in Tampa Bay. A year later they selected Vinny Testaverde, who would go 24-48 as a starter with the Bucs. Even worse, picking Testaverde led the Bucs to trade Steve Young, who would go on to win Super Bowls and have a Hall of Fame career in San Francisco.
So, yes, no one knows better than Bucs fans that No. 1 picks do not come with receipts or guarantees.
Now, having dispensed with the disclaimer, you should be thrilled the Bucs bungled their way into the top pick by blowing a big lead against New Orleans on Sunday.
Because, the truth is, franchise quarterbacks are rare breeds. And even though two college players, Florida State's Jameis Winston and Oregon's Marcus Mariota, appear to have that potential, the odds say one of them will probably be a disappointment.
That has less to do with Winston and Mariota, and more to do with draft history.
Though there are rare years when multiple franchise quarterbacks arrive together (John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly in 1983; Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger in 2004), the great majority of drafts produce far fewer star passers.
For instance, Jeff George was the No. 1 pick and Andre Ware followed soon after in 1990. David Carr and Joey Harrington were the first and third picks of 2002. And it wasn't like there were any sleepers in later rounds.
Five times in the Super Bowl era quarterbacks have gone 1-2 at the top of the draft. The good news is at least one good quarterback was in each class. The bad news is a bust usually was involved, too.
For every Peyton Manning, there was a Ryan Leaf. For every Donovan McNabb, there was a Tim Couch. For every Drew Bledsoe, there was a Rick Mirer.
The jury is still out on the Andrew Luck/Robert Griffin III picks, so it's possible the Colts and Redskins both hit jackpots. If not, you have to go back to 1971, with Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning, to find the only case of two solid starters going back-to-back at the top of the draft.
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Explore all your optionsAgain, this doesn't mean Winston and Mariota won't both be stars in the NFL.
It just means you should feel safer knowing the Bucs will get their choice.
(Well, as safe as a Bucs fan has a right to be.)