TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS' NEW LOGO AND HELMET

I've been slacking on these blog entries since college resumed. To make that up, here's a breakdown of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' new logo and helmet.

Here's a comparison. First, the former helmet and logo worn from 1997 to 2013:

And now, the new ones:

That is one big ass flag. Too big for my tastes. But the logo looks good. I like the design with a meaner, more detailed skull. I don't know what that slash is on the left side of the flag (I guess it could be a tear, but why is there one tear on a pirate flag?).

One neat aspect of the helmet is that it can change colors! Here's a look-see:

It can look black, pewter and even silver. I like it. It's not terribly intrusive. It's not, for example, the Jaguars' helmet:

As always, it sucks to be the Jaguars.

If you like the rest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' uniform, then fret not! Any other changes to the uniform should be more subtle. Personally, I think the current Bucs uniforms are so beloved because they won in them (the majority of the last decade notwithstanding). I mean, look at them:

These are objectively ugly uniforms. Red and black, maybe. It's a bit overdone, but it's overdone for a reason- it works. Red and pewter? Bleh. Though I will concede that the road uniforms are good (for whatever reason, the pewter pants really compliment the road unis):

To me (and I'm very likely in the minority on this), I like the creamsicle uniforms more. Here, take a gander:

Okay, I'll grant you- the orange pants might be a bit much. But look at the other ones! For better or worse, these uniforms didn't look like any other ones in the NFL, past or present. You see these uniforms, you immediately think of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Plus, Florida can get away with some truly garish uniforms. Would the Dolphins' uniforms work in, say, Pittsburgh? Or Dallas? Or Kansas City?

The Bucs went 100-223-1 from 1976 to 1996 with the creamsicle uniforms as their primary duds. When they changed the uniforms, they went 60-36 from 1997 to 2002. Included in that mix are five playoff appearances, two NFC championship games and the franchise's lone Super Bowl win. Yeah, they won a lot in the red and pewter. They also had Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Simeon Rice, Ronde Barber, Mike Alstott, etc. Tony Dungy was their coach for most of that run. The Bucs uniforms "improved" at the same time the team did.

So don't look down at Bucco Bruce and the creamsicle uniforms. You hate them because the team sucked, not because they were bad uniforms.

(And since this article was about the new helmet and logo, my verdict is that I like them both.)