Why Do They Call It That: Tampa Bay Bandits

Here is a link to the WTSP-Channel 10 feature "Why Do They Call It That?" on the Tampa Bay Bandits. I offer my own two cents throughout the segment.

http://www.wtsp.com/callitthat/article/268406/260/Why-do-they-call-it-that-Tampa-Bays-favorite-football-team

The End of "Banditball," 6/15/85

On March 6, 1983, football fans in the Tampa Bay area were officially introduced to a new product. The Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL were brash, exciting, and advertised as “All the Fun the Law Allows.”

In their first regular season game, the Bandits defeated the Boston Breakers 21-17 in front of a crowd of 42,437 at Tampa Stadium. The era of “Banditball” had begun. Just slightly over two years later, this enjoyable era of spring football was about to come to a premature end.

As the 1985 season drew to a close, the Bandits were a franchise in a state of disarray. Its managing general partner, John Bassett, had been waging a losing battle against inoperable brain tumors and no longer had day-to-day involvement with the franchise. In fact, Bassett had no intention of owning the team beyond the 1985 season.

Even the Bandits -- a model franchise on and off the field -- were not immune to the financial difficulties facing the troubled USFL. On June 12, Bandit management had to call in letters of credit from its limited partners for $200,000 each. Still, the team was better off financially than any other team in the league. As general manager Ralph Campbell described them, they were the best of the worst.

No one was quite sure, however, what would happen to the team after the season. Numerous options were on the table for the franchise. The team could be sold and moved to another market, merged with an existing team, or remain in Tampa under new ownership and play again in the fall of 1986. Due to Bassett’s failing health, his idea to form a new spring league was simply no longer on the table.

On the field, the Bandits had once owned a league-leading 9-3 record and seemed to be the class of the USFL. After a franchise-worst four-game losing streak, however, a trip to the playoffs was no longer even a foregone conclusion.

Injuries and locker room disruptions also played a part in the team’s sudden demise.
The Bandits, never a dominant team on defense, could not overcome injuries to key defensive players such as Fred Nordgren and Kelly Kirchbaum.

On the other side of the ball, Eric Truvillion, the team’s all-time leading receiver, became the star of an ongoing drama between himself and head coach Steve Spurrier. It finally came to a head on June 13 when the Bandits deactivated Truvillion from the roster, effectively ending his career in Tampa Bay.

“If you feel like you have a player who is disruptive,” Spurrier said, “you remove him, and that’s what has happened. Something that had been going on for a long time finally came to a head.”

Remarkably, the Bandits could still lose their two remaining games, and with one loss by the Jacksonville Bulls, sneak into the playoffs. Even more remarkably, the Bandits were still in a position to host a playoff game based on the USFL’s prerogative to award home-field advantage based on attendance. The Bandits ranked second in the entire league, trailing only Jacksonville.

The Birmingham Stallions, with a league-best 12-4 mark, came riding into Tampa for the last regular season game – and potentially final ever Bandits game -- at Tampa Stadium on June 15, 1985.

On “Fan Appreciation Night,” the Bandits gave the roughly 24,000 who showed up some positives lasting images to remember, although the team struggled to put up any points for most of the first half.

An 11-play, 92 yard drive culminated in a three-yard touchdown toss from Birmingham’s Cliff Stoudt to Jim Smith midway through the first quarter. This accounted for the only scoring until the final minute of a half which had featured an assortment of turnovers, missed field goals, punts, and stalled drives.

Trailing 7-0 with 1:51 left, Bandit quarterback John Reaves engineered a perfect two-minute drill, taking his team seven plays for a game-tying touchdown. Reaves found receiver Spencer Jackson in the end zone from five yards out to send the Bandits into the locker tied 7-7 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Bandits intercepted Stoudt three times, and were able to convert the second pick into go-ahead points. A 34-yard field goal by Zenon Andrusyshyn at 7:18 of the third quarter gave Tampa Bay a 10-7 lead.

Stoudt’s third interception – and second of the game by Dwayne Anderson – led to a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Gary Anderson at the 1:09 mark of the third quarter. Heading into the final quarter of USFL football at Tampa Stadium, the Bandits held a 17-7 lead.

The defense, which had given up 132 points during the team’s four-game losing streak, had somehow held Birmingham to just seven points despite losing battles in time of possession, total yardage, and first downs. Turnovers proved the difference, as Tampa Bay produced five interceptions and made other critical stops to snuff out Birmingham drives. The Stallions would not get on the board again until the waning seconds of the game, an ultimately meaningless touchdown pass that narrowed the final score to 17-14.

This game marked the only time in team history that the Bandits won at Tampa Stadium by scoring fewer than 19 points.

“It was the first time in three years we beat a good team and really didn’t play well on offense,” Spurrier said after the game. “Obviously the name ‘Banditball’ turned into defense tonight.”

With a playoff berth assured through victory and a Jacksonville loss, the Bandits closed out the regular season the following weekend with a disheartening loss on the road to the Baltimore Stars. Turnovers on their first four possessions – and six overall – doomed the Bandits to a 38-10 defeat.

Tampa Bay finished the season with a 10-8 mark, the worst of any qualifying playoff team. Despite their stellar home attendance marks, the league sent the Bandits to the west coast for their first-round playoff game against the Oakland Invaders.

A crowd of just under 20,000 fans watched the Bandits play valiantly, but ultimately fall to the top-ranked Invaders, 30-27.

Out of the playoffs and with an ultimately doomed future, the curtain had finally come down on the memorable three-year run of “Banditball.”

Catching Up With Jim McVay

From 1982-1986, Jim McVay served as the Director of Marketing for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. During that time, he devised the marketing strategies for the most innovative and fan-friendly product in the entire league. Today, McVay serves as the President/CEO of the Outback Bowl, one of the most popular and successful games of the college bowl season. McVay recently sat down to reflect on the era of good times and fun known around these parts as “Banditball.”

Q. What were the challenges of introducing a new football team into this market?

A. The Bucs were not successful when we started out. They were getting ready to go on strike. Nobody liked Hugh Culverhouse. He was not universally accepted. The guy wouldn’t spend any money on the team. Then the labor strike during the 1982 season enabled us to get the door open.

Then along came John Bassett hiring good-looking Steve Spurrier, a Heisman Trophy-winner from Florida with a great reputation. You had John Reaves, Jimmie Jordan, Florida, Florida State, Miami kids with local connections. Then you had Burt Reynolds, the number one box office draw. Back then was bigger than Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, all these guys combined. He was number one by far. Jerry Reed did our in-stadium music.

So here comes this fun, show-bizzy atmosphere built around Steve Spurrier and his wide-open offense. You talk about putting it together with a marketing blueprint. We had all the elements lined up. You have to have the right product, you have to have the right promotion, you have to have the right packaging, and you have to have the right pricing. It was a wonderful combination, and that’s why the Bandits did so well. It’s the other teams in the USFL that struggled a little. Not everybody was as well-managed as the Bandits and had the same organizational philosophy as John Bassett.

Q. Why is it that the Bandits seemed to have figured out the secret to succeeding, but so many other markets struggled?

A. If everybody would have followed John’s blueprint, the league would have had a chance. What really caused the problems was losing control of the salary parameters that had been established for the players. You don’t need to pay the players a ton of money. You hire a couple of high-priced guys and pay them some glamour money. When you start competing with the NFL, position by position, salary for salary when their revenues dwarf ours, sooner or later owners are going to say, “Why are we taking these losses?” That’s where the league got in trouble. Too many owners were spending money they didn’t have.

Q. Was this a league-wide problem or just a few rogue owners?

A. There were a few rogue owners, but it’s tough to tell guys who are multi-millionaires or billionaires how to run their business. They’ll do what they want to do. But what needed to be done was to get everyone to agree to stay within a certain financial parameter that met our television revenue and projected gates so that we could sustain ourselves and build an audience year after year. Then you get your larger television ratings and then your gate grows. Guys got ahead of themselves, didn’t like the idea of losing games, so they started throwing money at different players and positions that really didn’t make sense in our league. There is a market and there is a need for spring football. We really could have made that thing work, but guys got a little anxious, got a little spendy, and that’s how we got in trouble.

Q. The Bandits were known for their creative promotions. What were some of your favorites?

A. We did a little of everything. We had a Miss Tampa Bay bikini contest, we had a Krazy Karat contest where we gave away diamonds, we had mortgage burnings, we gave away a million dollar deferred annuity, we had car giveaways. We had seven automobiles out on the field for one game. We gave away seven brand new beautiful Dodge cars, and as the cars were being taken off the field, one of the cars disappeared. It was gone. Somebody got in the car, drove out the stadium and kept going. The police said what happened, were there any witnesses? I said, “yeah, there were 50,000 witnesses!” We never did find that car.

We did enough things around the game to add an element of entertainment and pizzazz to a product that people wanted. You can’t have a bad product and do all this fun, gimmicky marketing stuff. People want to watch football, and if they’re treated properly with the right promotions, packaging, pricing, then you’ve got a chance. John and the group were smart enough to give it a local flair with guys who had local ties, and then you do all the fun stuff. We used to get complaints from the concessionaire during our games. They’d tell us to stop doing all this halftime stuff because nobody was coming down to buy popcorn or hot dogs.
Everybody was staying in the stands at halftime!

You’ve got 100 beautiful girls on the field in bikinis or Jack Harris standing out there in a fireman’s suit burning mortgages and the table catches on fire, or we’re giving away diamonds. We made the fans feel like we respected them and weren’t going to take advantage of them. These things worked because they were wrapped around professional football. You’ve got to have the right product.

Q. What do you remember about the Smokey and the Bandit saga of 1985?

A. This was great. In the beginning, we developed an idea to have a black horse named Smokey, and a man dressed in black with a red bandana who was The Bandit. This became our logo. We thought it would be appropriate to have guy ride out onto the field to the “Banditball” theme song by Jerry Reed. It was really a great entrance.

So we’re doing some promotion, engaging and activating local sponsors. Kash n’ Karry was one of our big sponsors, and the horse and rider were part of the marketing and promotional concept with the store.

Before the 1985 season, the rider – who also owned the horse -- came to us and said because we are using their likenesses in advertisements that he wants to be paid “x” amount of dollars more. So I sat down with John Bassett in his office and I told him that the guy who rides the horse wants some more money or he’s not going to do it. Bassett, in his quick-witted and clear-thinking way, looks at me and says, “You think that’s the only black horse in Florida?”
I think the guy ended up coming around, but the brand had been built with a lot of money invested in advertising and promotions. There were a lot of moving parts that made us successful.

Unfortunately, the strength of who we were, and our model, couldn’t carry over to every team in the league to build the continuity and sustainability to make the league work. All we could do from our perspective is run our franchise the best that we could, and we did. We were called the model franchise of the USFL. The logos, the colors, the music, the atmosphere, everything was first class.

Grudge Match at Tampa Stadium, 5/26/85

Due to the brief history of the league, few rivalries were truly able to take hold in the USFL. Between expansion, relocation, and owners swapping franchises, the familiarity between teams that breeds contempt was hard to find.

There were two teams, however, who were exceptions to the rule: the Tampa Bay Bandits and the New Jersey Generals.

New Jersey running back Herschel Walker explained it as such: “There is no love lost between these two teams. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because they’re from the South, and we’re from the North. Plus, the owners don’t like each other.”

In 1983, the Bandits won the first USFL game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a 32-9 victory over the Generals. The Bandits were able to hold Walker to 39 yards on 19 carries. A year later Tampa Bay again defeated New Jersey, this time 40-14 in a laugher at Tampa Stadium.

Tampa Bay nearly pulled out a third win in their first of two meetings in 1985. Although quarterback John Reaves passed for 410 yards, the Bandits blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to the Generals, 28-24, behind a rushing touchdown by Walker with 24 seconds left.

"Of all the games we have lost in three yeas," head coach Steve Spurrier said, "that hurt the most because we gave it away."

By the time of the rematch on May 26, 1985, the Bandits had won two lopsided contests and suffered one heartbreaking defeat to the Generals. If the competition felt heated on the field, by this point some serious competition had already taken place off the field between New Jersey owner Donald Trump and Tampa Bay owner John Bassett.

It is well known that Trump garnered the most headlines and attracted the most attention during his two seasons as owner of the Generals. He led the charge among USFL owners to move from the spring to the fall and compete head-to-head against the NFL.

Standing in direct opposition to him was Bassett, who believed that the USFL could only succeed as a spring alternative to the NFL. When USFL owners decided on April 29 to officially move to the fall, Bassett announced his intention to break away from the USFL and form his own spring league.

The two clearly had major philosophical differences on the future of the USFL, and while many fans and media members might have liked to view the game as a grudge match between Bassett and Trump, in actuality neither owner even planned on attending in person. While Trump watched the game from his weekend home in Connecticut, Bassett recuperated in his Toronto-area home from radiation treatments for his brain tumors.

On the field, the Bandits would have their hands plenty full containing Herschel Walker without also having the weight of league matters on their shoulders. Walker came into the game having rushed for over 100 yards in seven consecutive games. If the Bandits could control Walker -- who happened to be both New Jersey's leading rusher and receiver -- they could force quarterback Doug Flutie to beat them, and Flutie had yet to become anything more than a deft scrambler and mediocre passer in his rookie season.

Without the services of star nose guard Fred Nordgren, who had been lost for the season due to a broken leg, the task of stopping Walker may have been too much to expect.

Still, anyone hoping to see a good game did not leave Tampa Stadium disappointed. In fact, the estimated crowd of 35,000 may have witnessed one of the most exciting games in Bandit history.

A first half duel between Walker, and Tampa Bay's own rushing star Gary Anderson, set the tone for the game.

Walker started the scoring late in the first quarter with a 12-yard rushing touchdown to give New Jersey a 7-0 lead. Anderson answered back less than three minutes later on an 8-yard pass from John Reaves to nod the game 7-7.

Both Walker and Anderson added second quarter rushing touchdowns and the teams headed into the locker room tied 14-14.

Midway through the third quarter, Reaves found tight end Marvin Harvey on a 21-yard strike to give the Bandits a seven-point lead. Walker and the Generals would not go away, however, and the running back notched his third rushing touchdown of the day early in the fourth quarter to once again even up the contest.

With the score tied and time winding down, the Bandits marched 63 yards on 11 plays to set up a potential game-winning field goal by Zenon Andrusyshyn with 1:36 left in the game. The kicker known as "Z" to his teammates nailed a 29-yarder to give Tampa Bay a 24-21 lead. Still, the fireworks in this game were just getting started.

A hallmark of his collegiate and 21-year professional career, staging late comebacks was simply Doug Flutie's specialty. Despite only pedestrian statistics to that point (5 completions for 68 yards), Flutie would go on to produce the finest comeback of his rookie season.

Working with no timeouts and the Bandits running a prevent defense, Flutie completed five passes for 44 yards while driving the Generals 51 yards in 1:32 to set up a game-tying field goal. With just four seconds left in regulation, Roger Ruzek split the uprights from 40 yards out to send the game into overtime.

Tampa Bay punted after their first possession of overtimes, setting the stage for Flutie to cap the comeback. It didn't take long, as he connected on a much-disputed 49-yard strike to receiver Clarence Collins.

One referee ruled offensive pass interference on the play, which would have nullified the catch. He then changed his mind, calling defensive pass interference on corner Warren Hanna. Safety Marcus Quinn disputed that Collins even made a catch, saying that the ball hit the ground. A second referee ruled the pass a catch, but said that he did not see any interference on the play.

"It was a real mess," Quinn said after the game.

The "catch" and declined pass interference call set New Jersey up at the Tampa Bay 18-yard line, almost certainly guaranteeing a Ruzek field goal attempt to win the game.

With 11:07 remaining in overtime, the Generals lined up for the game-winning kick. Punter Rick Patridge, on for the hold, fumbled the snap. Instead of dropping on the ball -- which because the play came on second down would have given New Jersey another chance to kick -- Patridge scooped up the football and made a break for the end zone. Diving towards the pylon, Patridge became the unlikeliest of heroes as his nine-yard rushing touchdown delivered New Jersey to victory.

It was a stunning end to another late-game collapse against New Jersey. The defeat cost the Bandits a chance to clinch a berth in the playoffs. The defense, which had kept Tampa Bay in the game despite a three-touchdown, 166 yard rushing performance by Walker, simply could not stop Flutie when it mattered most.

Defensive end Mike Clark called the game a "tough loss."

"It's going to be kind of tough to get over this one for the whole team."

Indeed, if the next few games were any indication, it may have been a loss from which the franchise never truly recovered.

USFL Votes to End Spring Football, 4/29/85

In the recent ESPN documentary “Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL,” director Mike Tollin postulates that the demise of the league came about by the hands of Donald Trump.

It was Trump, Tollin says, who led the effort to move the USFL to the fall and engage in head-to-head competition with the NFL, rather than remain a spring league. Trump, who viewed spring football as “small potatoes,” believed the only way to achieve lasting success would be to directly challenge the NFL.

This week 25 years ago, Trump and almost every other owner in the USFL got their wish and decided to leave spring behind and begin playing fall football in 1986. One owner in particular – the Tampa Bay Bandits managing general partner John Bassett – decided early on that he would not be joining them.

By April 29, 1985, when the owners voted to move to the fall, Bassett had long since made up his mind about keeping the USFL a spring league. And if the USFL did not want to remain in the spring, well then, Bassett was fully prepared to start a new league that would.

“If I have to,” he said, “I will form that new spring league. We will play as we do now, except when baseball starts we will always play in the evenings, mostly Friday and Saturday nights. There will be no live TV in a town with a home team playing and all away games will be televised back to the home town, like we wanted originally.”

Television proved to be both a blessing and a curse to the USFL. In the summer of 1982, ABC helped create the USFL as a way to satisfy America’s craving for football, as well as to fill some programming during the spring and early summer months. The league and ABC were joined at the hip, as the network provided operating capital to owners to make sure the league stayed afloat. Ratings were good at first, but by the league’s third and final year in 1985, ABC had shown signs that they would not be on board with the USFL whether it remained in the spring or moved to the fall.

This would have left ESPN -- which in 1985 had not yet become the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” it is today – as the league’s lone broadcast outlet.

Also hurting the league were rules mandated by both ABC and ESPN prohibiting blackouts of local games. In other words, whether 5,000 or 55,000 fans showed up to watch a game at Los Angeles Coliseum, the L.A. Express would be televised locally. Despite having a glut of future NFL talent spread throughout the league, attendance suffered in many of the USFL’s major markets and several franchises were more concerned with meeting payroll than wins or losses.

The Bandits, however, were the exception to the rule. Under Bassett, the Bandits were a model franchise on and off the field. Buoyed by a competitive and exciting product, the Bandits were consistently at the top of the league in attendance and fan support. Between 1983 and 1984, their co-tenant at Tampa Stadium, the Buccaneers, won a total of eight games. During their existence from 1983 to 1985, the Tampa Bay Bandits won 35 games and made two playoff appearances.

Fans fell in love with a winner and the Bandits found a comfortable niche in the spring. In this pre-Lightning, pre-Rays market, the Bandits shared the stage with only the Rowdies, who by then had begun their slide into mediocrity. Moving the USFL to the fall, Bassett argued, would put the Bandits in direct competition with high school, college and professional football.

“Who in their right mind would put another team in Tampa? I wouldn’t,” Bassett said. “You’d have to be a raving lunatic to do that.”

Other owners who did not share in Bassett’s success story felt no particular allegiance to the idea of spring football. The Bandits, for all of their successes, were not making money, and the majority of teams in the USFL were not breaking even.

For owners who spent money like drunken sailors in ill-advised bidding wars against the NFL for top-flight collegiate talent – the names Herschel Walker, Doug Flutie and Steve Young come to mind -- moving to the fall represented a chance to make some real money. Filing an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL – which enjoyed broadcast contracts with all three major networks -- would supposedly clear the way for the USFL to land a lucrative network deal of their own. For proponents of the move, in an ideal world the USFL would never play a down of football in the fall. The NFL would simply make their wildest dreams come true by merging with the USFL and absorbing several teams, making everyone very wealthy in the process.

Bassett believed none of this would ever happen, and along with Denver Gold owner Doug Spedding, vowed to vote against the move to fall. In a 12-2 vote on April 29, the USFL upheld their intention to play fall football beginning in September 1986. For his part, Bassett vowed to start a new spring football league with his Bandits as the flagship franchise.

The USFL, however, claimed that they owned the Bandits logo and that its roster was an “asset of the league.” If Bassett truly wanted to make a go of a new league, which he envisioned as an international league with teams in Mexico City and London, he would have to leave “Banditball” behind and start over. Few USFL owners believed his league had any chance of happening, much less succeeding.

With football stadiums across America sitting empty, a $1.7 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by the USFL against the NFL reached federal court in spring 1986. In July, a jury concluded that the NFL was, in fact, a “duly adjudicated illegal monopoly” and guilty of using predatory tactics. The jury, however, also concluded that the USFL’s own mismanagement, not the NFL, forced the league off television, and that the USFL changed its original business plan to directly compete with the NFL and force a merger. Finally, the jury awarded the USFL $1 in damages, which was later tripled, with interest, to $3.76 - that's right, three dollars and 76 cents.

Despite the merging of franchises in preparation for a fall season that would never come, the USFL essentially ceased to exist after the trial.

While Bassett’s predictions for the USFL’s fate were ultimately realized, sadly he did not live long enough to see the result. In failing health, he sold his stake in the Bandits and gave up plans for a new spring league. Bassett died in May 1986, after a nearly year-long battle with brain cancer.

Bandits Monday Night Showdown, 4/15/85

Through seven weeks of the 1985 USFL campaign, the Tampa Bay Bandits were one of the league’s hottest teams with a 5-2 record. Since their 50-28 defeat to the Houston Gamblers in Week 2, the Tampa Bay Bandits had reeled off four wins in five games. In their only loss of that stretch -- a 4-point setback to the New Jersey Generals -- Tampa Bay quarterback John Reaves threw for over 400 yards, but a Herschel Walker touchdown with just 24 seconds left gave New Jersey the victory.

Coming to town to try and slow down the Bandits would be the Denver Gold, who were also 5-2 and likewise known for their offensive prowess. Led by Head Coach “Mouse” Davis, considered the “godfather” of the run-and-shoot offense, the Gold presented an opportunity at redemption for Tampa Bay, whose defense struggled facing the run-and-shoot earlier in the year against Houston. They also presented an opportunity for more frustration, as the Gold put up nearly 500 yards of total offense a week earlier against the Arizona Outlaws, owners of the top-ranked defense in the league.

In the meantime, Steve Spurrier’s high-flying offense had been hitting on all cylinders, averaging a league-high 28.5 points per game. Spurrier, who seemed skeptical of the run-and-shoot, scoffed at the idea of his top-ranked offense taking a backseat to anyone.

“Mouse and his people think the only way to stop it (their offense) is to stop themselves,” he said. “We think the same way about our offense.”

Never one to mince words, Spurrier described the run-and-shoot as a boring offense, saying that he didn’t know if “the fans really want to see a team throw every down.”

He added, “I like to see a Gary Anderson run the sweep play, watch the offensive lineman block and see play-action passes and those things.”

Davis naturally disagreed with Spurrier’s assessment of his offense, saying, “Different strokes for different folks. People get more excited about it, and the fact that it is also very productive.”

Making their only Monday night appearance of the season, on April 15, 1985, the Bandits played to a season-high crowd of 54,267 at Tampa Stadium. The Bandits, who in previous weeks seemed to score at will, initially struggled against Denver’s defense. After Tampa Bay’s first possession resulted in a punt, the Gold capitalized with a 22-yard field goal just 3:54 into the game to take a 3-0 lead.

Surprisingly, this score would hold up for the rest of the first quarter.
The Bandits answered with a field goal of their own by Zenon Andrusyshyn just over a minute into the second quarter to tie the game, 3-3.

Following a missed field goal attempt by Denver, Tampa Bay finally got their offense untracked. The Bandits marched 63 yards in 12 plays, taking 6:41 off the clock, en route to a one-yard touchdown plunge by Gary Anderson. For Anderson, it was his 14th touchdown of the season and seventh in three games. Unfortunately for Anderson and the Bandits, he would suffer a sprained right foot late in the first half and be unavailable for the rest of the game.

Leading 10-3, the Bandits stifled Denver’s next possession, intercepting quarterback Vince Evans in the end zone. Adding injury to insult, Evans dislocated the ring finger on his throwing hand and would not return to action.

Tampa Bay took two plays to capitalize on the turnover, as Reaves found wide receiver Spencer Jackson on a 61-yard touchdown strike to give the Bandits a 17-3 lead with 29 seconds remaining in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff, Tampa Bay forced a fumble by Lonnie Turner and recovered the ball at the Denver 30. Andrusyshyn kicked a 24-yard field goal as time expired to give Tampa Bay a 20-3 lead after one half.

The Bandits had to feel good about their chances, holding the league’s fifth-ranked offense to a field goal and knocking their starting quarterback out of the game. Denver responded, however, under backup quarterback Bob “The Goose” Gagliano. It only took two offensive drives to get Denver right back in the game.

Gagliano led the Gold on an eight-play, 78-yard drive to open the half, which culminated in a 7-yard touchdown pass to Marc Lewis to cut Tampa Bay’s lead in half.

A fumble by John Reaves on Tampa Bay’s following possession quickly turned into seven more points for Denver. Capitalizing on the turnover, Bill Johnson scored on a 23-yard run to cap a 62-yard drive, narrowing Tampa Bay’s lead to 20-17.

With momentum clearly in hand, Denver had another golden opportunity when Reaves threw his only pick of the game on Tampa Bay’s next possession. Brian Speelman could have tied the game for Denver with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, but his miss of a 39-yard field goal attempt re-energized the Bandits.

An 11-play, 78-yard drive by Tampa Bay followed the missed goal, capped by fullback Greg Boone’s first touchdown of the season. His 12-yard run helped extend Tampa Bay’s lead to a more comfortable 27-17.

The Gold put up a late rally, but Dwayne Anderson forced a Denver fumble deep in Bandit territory to snuff out a potential scoring drive with 6:52 left in the game. The Bandits basically ran out the clock the rest of the way, adding a rushing touchdown by Ricky Williams with :48 seconds left, to ice the game, 33-17.

Despite the win and having held Denver’s vaunted offense to under 400 total net yards, Spurrier felt less than pleased with what he called his team’s lack of killer instinct in letting Denver creep back into the game.

“Mediocre teams let up and we hope not to be mediocre,” he said. “We’ve still got a long way to go as a championship team. We can’t put anybody away.”

Still, at 6-2 the Bandits were riding high atop the USFL standings. Few people, except perhaps their naturally cautious head coach, could have anticipated the pitfalls awaiting this team in the final 10 weeks of the season.

Long Day at the Sombrero, 3/3/85

By the spring of 1985, the Tampa Bay Bandits – then in the third season of their existence – had come to be known as one of the most innovative and entertaining teams in all of the USFL. Their style, which under the leadership of head coach Steve Spurrier featured the use of trick plays, unique formations and reliance on a vertical attack, became known as “Banditball.”

On March 3, 1985, a different but equally entertaining kind of offense rolled into Tampa, one which generated an obscene amount of yardage and for which most defenses had no way to consistently stop. The offense – dubbed the run-and-shoot and quarterbacked by former University of Miami star Jim Kelly -- had become the talk of the league.

Just one week earlier, Kelly led the Houston Gamblers to a 34-33 come-from-behind win over Steve Young’s Los Angeles Express. In that game, Kelly threw five touchdown passes, going 35-for-54 with a league-record 574 passing yards. For some perspective, Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams, who threw for 554 yards in a game in 1951, still holds the NFL record for most passing yards in a game.

The run-and-shoot offense seemed like a perfect fit for Kelly, a smart quarterback capable of making quick decisions and having the accuracy to hit receivers who would adjust their routes based on what the defense gave them. The offense – which thrived on creating mismatches – featured four receivers and a lone running back, while eschewing tight ends or fullbacks.

This created the potential for a big play on any play, and Kelly excelled in the system. The season prior in 1984, Kelly earned USFL MVP honors after throwing for 5,219 yards and 44 touchdowns.

Needless to say, the Bandits understood that they would have their hands full while entertaining Kelly and the Gamblers at Tampa Stadium. Free safety Zac Henderson, one of the defensive players responsible for making on-field defensive adjustments to Houston’s varied formations, anticipated a challenging afternoon.

“Everything happens so quickly,” he said before the game. “They can flood the field with three receivers on one side, so it will be important for us to take the deep pattern away and make them throw short.”

Nearly 30,000 fans endured what Spurrier called the “longest day in Bandits history.” Simply put, Tampa Bay was outplayed by Houston in all facets of the game and found themselves down by two touchdowns in the first quarter. While the defense held the Gamblers to just one first-quarter touchdown -- a four-yard pass from Kelly to Richard Johnson -- Tampa Bay’s special teams contributed greatly to its early hole.

Right after Gary Anderson 5-yard rush provided the game’s opening touchdown for Tampa Bay, the Bandits surrendered a 94-yard kickoff return touchdown by Clarence Verdin to even the score at 7. Then, trailing 14-7, the Bandits gave up another touchdown, this time a 79-yard punt return by Gerald McNeil to make the score 21-7.

“It started getting out of hand after that,” Spurrier said.

Houston extended its lead in the second quarter, this time on Kelly’s second touchdown toss of the day, a 13-yard pass to Vince Courville that made the score 28-7. The Bandits answered on their ensuing drive, as quarterback John Reaves found Spencer Jackson for a 14-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit in half. Houston then tacked on a 31-yard field goal at the end of the quarter and took a 31-14 lead into the locker room.

If any team in the USFL had a chance to make up a 17-point deficit, it was Spurrier’s Bandits. The third quarter began promisingly enough as Reaves connected with Eric Truvillion for a 3-yard touchdown pass to make the score 31-21.

The Bandits had life, but not for long as Kelly engineered two touchdown drives in 2:30, connecting on strikes of 58 yards to McNeil and 20 yards to Verdin to give Houston a commanding 45-21 lead.

With the game out of hand, Spurrier pulled Reaves to start the fourth quarter in favor of backup quarterback Jimmy Jordan. Jordan found rookie receiver Steve Carter for a 52-yard touchdown pass, but that would be the high point of his afternoon. Jordan would throw four interceptions in his stint and get sacked in the end zone for a safety.

The Gamblers went on to win the contest 50-28, the most points ever given up by the Bandits in their three-year history. The teams also combined to set two USFL records: most passing attempts in a game (103) and most return yardage (370).

For his part, Kelly posted only “pedestrian” numbers by his standards, completing 19 of 31 attempts for 261 yards and four touchdowns in just three quarters of action. The Bandits conceded after the game that Kelly, and the run-and-shoot offense, more than lived up to the hype.

“It was frustrating,” said nose tackle Fred Nordgren. “When he rolls back there and delivers the ball as fast as he does, you have to sprint back to the ball. You don’t just rush the passer. You have to read which way he’s going to roll. It’s a simple offense. What makes it tough is the way they execute.”

Cornerback Alvin Bailey put it more bluntly.

“We knew going in that we weren’t going to stop them,” he said. “We just wanted to slow them down some.”

Strong safety Doug Beaudoin, even more so.

“Thank God we only play them once a year,” he said.

In two seasons in the USFL, Kelly racked up 9,842 total passing yards and 88 touchdown passes. While he would go on to see even more success during a prolific career in the NFL, it would not come in the run-and-shoot system. Instead, Kelly helped revolutionize the no-huddle attack as a member of the Buffalo Bills en route to his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Doug Williams Returns to Tampa, 5/14/84

On May 14, 1984, former Buccaneer quarterback Doug Williams returned to Tampa Stadium as a member of the USFL's Oklahoma Outlaws. The game against the Tampa Bandits should have been an occasion for local football fans to offer one last salute to the man who led the Buccaneers to three playoff berths in four seasons. If only life were that simple.

Instead of a hero's welcome, Williams returned to town as public enemy number one. A bitter contract dispute with Buccaneer owner Hugh Culverhouse following the 1982 season, sadly, forced many fans to choose sides.

At the time, Williams made less money than every other starting quarterback in the NFL -- including 12 backup quarterbacks -- and wanted a substantial raise from his base salary of $120,000. Culverhouse failed to meet his contract demands as the two parties were just $200,000 dollars apart. Publicly, Williams asked for $875,000, but had been willing to settle for $600,000. Culverhouse offered $400,000 with a chance to make $600,000 by the third year, an offer which Williams said at the time made him feel unwanted.

Things eventually turned ugly when Williams wondered whether racism was really at the core of Culverhouse's offer, suggesting that if he was white, "Don't you think I'd have gotten what I wanted?" He also questioned whether Head Coach John McKay did enough on his behalf, as McKay called the Culverhouse's bid to keep Williams a "fair offer."

The situation had become untenable by August 1983. Unsure of their quarterback situation, the Buccaneers traded a number one draft pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for backup quarterback Jack Thompson. On August 9, Williams announced his intention to play the following spring in Tulsa for the Oklahoma Outlaws of the USFL. On his way out of town, the quarterback declared that he hoped Tampa Bay would finish 0-16 without him. The team came pretty darned close, finishing the 1983 campaign a disastrous 2-14.

This all set the stage for Williams' dramatic return to Tampa for a Monday night contest against the Bandits at Tampa Stadium. A local coin dealer named Art Arbutine got into the spirit by offering 50 silver dollars -- worth $750 -- to any Bandit player for each sack of Williams. The offer, made purely out of fun, paled in comparison to the vociferous booing Williams endured by Bandit fans.

Many in the local football-watching populace called Williams greedy and selfish, blaming him for turning his back on the Buccaneers and leaving the team a disaster. Williams got an earful from the majority of the 45,000-plus fans as he took the field for his opening offensive drive against the Bandits.

Despite a chorus of boos, Williams completed six of his first seven pass attempts while leading the Outlaws to touchdown on their opening possession. The quarterback did his part to silence the detractors in the stands by tossing three touchdowns in the first half to keep his team -- a 13.5 point underdog -- within seven points of the Bandits, trailing just 28-21 at the half.

For all his heroics in the first half, however, Williams fared just as poorly in the second half, throwing three interceptions and no additional touchdowns. Williams lost his cool after two of the interceptions, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct for arguing with a referee and later an unnecessary roughness call for tackling Bandit safety Tim King out of bounds. The later offense resulted in debris being thrown at Williams from spectators behind the visitor's bench.

On the night, Williams finished 25 of 48 for 347 yards with three touchdowns, but it clearly was not enough against a Bandit offensive-machine that racked up a team-record 511 yards of total offense en route to a 48-21 victory.

While local football fans earned a measure of revenge that night, Williams ultimately found redemption in his career by leading the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl championship in January 1988, earning the game's Most Valuable Player award in the process. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, would endure a string of 14 consecutive losing seasons from 1983-1996.

Welcomed back to the Buccaneer family with a front office position in 2004, today Williams serves as the team's Coordinator of Pro Scouting, proving that despite the bad blood and hard feelings of the past, it truly is possible to come home again.

“Coming back to play here was emotional because I felt I never should have left anyway,” Williams recalls today. “Playing the Bandits, who were one of the most productive and well-supported teams in the USFL, made it even better. You knew they’d bring their best because I was coming to town.”

The response from the fans that night, he says, was expected and he doesn’t let that cloud his perspective on the present.

“People weren’t really sure why I left Tampa,” he says. “It was a lot different back then. The team really controlled the spin, not the player. People understand that now though and you go forward.

Some people respect what I did, some maybe not, but at the end of the day you just have to roll with the punches. I have enjoyed my time being back here and the respect that has been given to me.”

Bandits v. Federals, 4/28/84

On paper, the April 28, 1984, showdown between the Tampa Bay Bandits and Washington Federals seemed like a sure mismatch. The Federals, one of the worst teams in the USFL at 1-8, came to town for a Saturday night ESPN tilt against the surging Bandits, winners of three straight. While the 6-3 Bandits were jockeying for playoff position in the competitive Southern Division, the Federals merely hoped to be competitive.

Although Washington captured their first victory just a week prior against the winless Oakland Invaders, Tampa Bay refused to look past the downtrodden Federals. Quarterback John Reaves knew the stakes were too high for a letdown.

“We’re in a position where we have to go out every week and win,” Reaves said. “Washington looks good on film. They’ll be all fired up after their first win last week.”

Tampa Bay head coach Steve Spurrier acknowledged the threat of his team becoming complacent as well, particularly given their short week of practice following a Monday night road win over the defending USFL champion Michigan Panthers.

“There’s a definite chance to get complacent if you don’t watch for it,” Spurrier said. “If you go out there and play lazy, they can give you a hard time. We’re planning on this being a tough game.”

On “Tax Relief Night” at Tampa Stadium, the Bandits offered to pay up to $25,000 in taxes for 15 lucky fans. On the field, however, the Bandits would show no such leniency to their guests from Washington, D.C.

The Bandits, a 16.5-point favorite in the game, had little chance of becoming complacent early on as the Federals committed three turnovers on their first three offensive possessions. Tampa Bay boasted one of the hottest defensive units in the league since switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme in Week 9, and their stellar play continued against Washington.

Tampa Bay’s defense capitalized early on a Washington miscue, recovering a botched center-snap at the Federals 27 yard line. It took just six plays for Tampa Bay to take advantage. Running back Gary Anderson scored the first of his two touchdowns on the game, leaping into the end zone from one yard out to give the Bandits the early lead.

On the ensuing possession, cornerback Jeff George intercepted Washington quarterback Mike Hohensee in Tampa Bay territory and returned the ball 31 yards to the Washington 43. The Bandits would need only five plays to score this time, the drive capped by a one-yard pass from Reaves to fullback Greg Boone.

Following two turnovers and trailing 14-0, the Federals coughed up the football once again, this time on the ensuing kickoff. The Bandits recovered the ball at the Washington 30 yard line, and would only need four plays to set the rout in motion. Gary Anderson notched his second touchdown of the quarter, this time a 17-yard run, to give Tampa Bay a commanding lead.

The Bandits had run only 15 plays and controlled the ball for just 5:32, but were already up by three touchdowns. The 21 first quarter points tied a team record set during a 45-17 victory over the Birmingham Stallions in 1983.

After surrendering a 51-yard field goal to the Federals on the first play of the second quarter, the Bandits answered with an eight-play, 80-yard drive. Reaves tossed his second touchdown pass of the night, a 20-yard strike to tight end Marvin Harvey, to extend Tampa Bay’s lead. In one Tampa Bay’s few miscues, placekicker Zenon Andrusyshyn botched the extra point leaving his team with a 27-3 lead.

Leading 27-6 after one half, Tampa Bay had been virtually assured of victory. The Bandits were historically 11-0 to that point in games they led at the half and this game would prove no different.

John Reaves tossed his third touchdown pass of the game in the third quarter, an 18-yard strike to receiver Larry Brodsky, and Andrusyshyn added a 44-yard field goal to account for the rest of Tampa Bay’s scoring output. Late meaningless touchdowns by Washington, long after the game had been decided, made the final score of 37-19.

While Reaves’ passing numbers were mostly pedestrian (12 of 24 for 172 yards), his three touchdowns and command of the offense were all Tampa Bay needed to win the game. With the victory, Reaves improved to 12-3 as a starter in a Tampa Bay uniform.

“John had them guessing all night,” said wide receiver Eric Truvillion. “He was on target.”

The victory propelled the 7-3 Bandits into a tie for second place in the Southern Division with the New Orleans Breakers. The Bandits would travel to Jacksonville in Week 11 before returning to Tampa Stadium on May 14 for a game of special interest to the local football watching populace.

The Monday night showdown against the Oklahoma Outlaws, who were quarterbacked by Doug Williams, would mark his first appearance at Tampa Stadium since being released by the Buccaneers following the 1982 season.

Bandits v. Bulls on ESPN, 3/10/84

In their second season of existence in 1984, the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League got off to a running start. After barely missing the playoffs in 1983, the Bandits opened the next campaign with a pair of victories against the Houston Gamblers and Arizona Wranglers.

The Jacksonville Bulls -- owners of a 1-1 mark -- came to Tampa Stadium on March 10, 1984, for a Saturday night contest broadcast nationwide on ESPN. With a Country & Western Night theme featuring a Dolly Parton lookalike contest, the game billed as "The Battle for Florida" featured the two best offensive attacks in the league. The Bulls, behind the arm of former University of Georgia quarterback Matt Robinson, led the USFL's Eastern Conference in passing. The Bandits, led by former Robinson High School and University of Florida standout John Reaves, were second only to the Bulls in that department.

As an expansion team in 1984, the Bulls quickly became the talk of the league. Jacksonville shocked everyone in Week 1 against the Washington Federals, scoring a USFL-record 53 points in a rout. The following week against the New Jersey Generals, the Bulls broke a USFL attendance record at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville with a crowd of more than 73,000. If not for a controversial finish in which a Jacksonville field goal was ruled no good despite video evidence to the contrary, the Bulls could have easily carried a 2-0 mark into the showdown with Tampa Bay.

"I think there was a false sense that expansion teams were going to be a year behind us," said then-Tampa Bay head coach Steve Spurrier. "There's a competitive group of owners in this league and they realize that if their teams don't play well, people aren't going to come out to the games."

The Bulls were certainly playing well, and the Bandits had their work cut out for them against the first-year upstarts. In front of a team-record crowd of 51,274, Jacksonville put Tampa Bay in a hole early, capitalizing on two interceptions by Reaves in the game's first six minutes. Linebacker Fernando Jackson picked off an underthrown pass by Reaves at Tampa Bay's own 31 yard line. This play set up the the Bulls first score, a four-yard touchdown reception by Michael Whitting. Kicker Dan Miller missed the extra point wide right, resulting in a 6-0 lead for Jacksonville.

Andy Hendel's interception on Tampa Bay's ensuing possession set up the Bulls at the Bandits' 8-yard line. Running back Larry Mason ran the ball in from the five for the score, and following a failed two-point conversion, Jacksonville held a lead 12-0 lead over Tampa Bay.

The Bandits answered by making the most of their best offensive weapon, running back Gary Anderson. The former University of Arkansas star led the Bandits on the ground and through the air on a 16-play, 85-yard drive to answer the Bulls. Anderson capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run -- his fifth of the young season -- to cut the defecit to 12-7.

Jacksonville's lead slipped to three points when Alonzo Johnson blocked Rich Hendley's punt out of the end zone for the first registered safety in Bandits history. Following the free kick, the Bandits were on the move when Reaves threw his third interception of the half to thwart a promising drive.

The Bulls capitalized on the mistake with a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Matt Robinson provided the points -- but was lost for the rest of the game to injury -- on his one-yard touchdown plunge that gave his team an 18-9 lead.

With just 54 seconds left in the first half, the Bandits drove the length of the field to set up a field goal attempt for kicker Zenon Andrusyshyn. His kick from 28 yards out was good and the Bandits, despite three turnovers, went into the locker room trailing by only six points, 18-12.

The Bandits tied the game with 6:15 left in the third quarter when Reaves tossed his first touchdown pass of the season, a 33-yard strike to wide receiver Eric Truvillion. Andrusyshyn shanked the extra point attempt, leaving the game tied at 18.

On Jacksonville's next possession, the Tampa Bay defense forced Robinson's replacement at quarterback, Robbie Mahfouz, into a costly interception deep in their own territory. Fullback Greg Boone capped the short Tampa Bay drive with a 9-yard TD run to give Tampa Bay their first lead of the game.

Leading 25-18 with a chance to pull away from the Bulls, Reaves threw his fourth interception of the game. Jacksonville's Willie McClendon then carried the ball five times on a six-play, 61-yard drive that concluded with his six-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to notch the score at 25.

Once a hero, McClendon became the goat for Jacksonville when he fumbled at the Tampa Bay 40 with 5:21 left. After exchanging punts in a field position battle, Tampa Bay capitalized with time winding down in the game. Reaves, whose four picks nearly cost Tampa Bay the game, led the Bandits down to the Jacksonville 13-yard-line with just six seconds remaining. Despite a poor snap from center, Willie Gillespie made a great hold and Andrusyshyn's 30-yard field goal was true, giving the Bandits a hard-fought and harrowing 28-25 triumph.

The win propelled the Bandits to a 3-0 mark, the same record it held after three weeks in 1983. The previous edition of the Bandits ended up finishing 11-7 and out of the playoffs. Still, players on the team believed there was plenty of improvement ahead for Tampa Bay.

"We can be a whole lot better," Reaves said.

Added Greg Boone, "I don't think anybody is better than us on offense, and I don't see anybody physically better than us."

Undefeated and atop the Southern Division, the Bandits certainly had reason to feel 1984 would make the disappointments of 1983 a distant memory.

Tampa Bay Bandits vs Denver Gold, 6/27/83

As the first regular season in the history of the United States Football League neared its conclusion 25 years ago this week, the Tampa Bay Bandits found themselves on the cusp of a playoff berth. With a 10-6 record and two games left to play, the Bandits needed wins in both games, and a lot of help from other teams, to force a three-way tie atop the division along with the Chicago Blitz and Michigan Panthers.

Multiple losses to the Blitz, as well as a disappointing setback to the Boston Breakers in Week 16, threatened to derail Tampa Bay's once-promising season. With virtually every tie-breaker working against the Bandits, even victories in their final two games offered no guarantee of a playoff berth. Despite the long odds, the Bandits had much to look forward to as they prepared for a Week 17, Monday-night showdown against the Denver Gold on June 27, 1983.

On June 22, news broke that the Bandits had reached an agreement with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver - and former University of Florida standout - Cris Collinsworth on a multi-year deal worth nearly $3 million. The team would have to wait for Collinsworth until 1985, however, as his contract with the Bengals ran through the 1984 season. Luring away one of the National Football League's premier wide receivers was a major coup for the Bandits and the USFL. The Bandits planned to formally announce the Collinsworth deal during halftime of the nationally televised Monday-night game.

Of more immediate concern to the Bandits and their fans was the impending return of quarterback John Reaves. While the summer blockbuster "Return of the Jedi" packed theaters and dominated the public consciousness, Bandit wide receiver Danny Buggs likened the comeback of Reaves, who had missed nine weeks with an injury, as their very own "Return of the Jedi."

Missing nearly 2½ months with a broken right wrist, Reaves expressed excitement about returning with his team still in the thick of the playoff chase. Tampa Bay head coach Steve Spurrier, however, coyly offered no guarantees that Reaves would start against Denver, even though he took a majority of repetitions in practice that week with the first-team offense.

Spurrier also hinted that even if Reaves started over backup Jimmy Jordan, the quarterbacks could possibly split time under center.

"If we have a little trouble, if we fall two touchdowns behind or something, we're going to have to put somebody else in," Spurrier said.

In his one previous appearance against Denver, Reaves set a league record with 63 passing attempts -- completing 38 for 357 yards -- in a 22-16 overtime triumph. Reaves would struggle to match those numbers in his second go-round against the Gold.

In front of a Tampa Stadium crowd of more than 46,000 on "Fan Appreciation Night," Reaves encountered a rocky reception from the Denver defense. The clearly rusty quarterback struggled to get into a rhythm, throwing two interceptions while completing 7 of 13 passes for just 72 yards. Fortunately, Tampa Bay managed to stake itself to an early two-touchdown lead.

Nose tackle Greg Nordgren intercepted a Craig Penrose pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. The Bandits then converted the two-point attempt to take an early 8-0 lead. Running back Gary Anderson added a rushing touchdown from the one-yard line with 6:55 left in the first quarter to cap a six-play, 56-yard drive.

The Gold, however, stormed back and took the lead before the half. Opting for six points over a field goal attempt, Denver successfully converted a 4th-and-2 from the 3-yard line when Penrose hit tight end Bob Niziolek across the middle for the score. Following a touchdown plunge from the 1-yard line by Harry Sydney and a failed two-point conversion, the Bandits held a 15-13 lead.

With the first half winding down, Reaves' second interception of the game gave Denver the ball back with a chance to take the lead. After a promising start to the game, a 41-yard field goal by the Gold with just 17 seconds left before intermission sent Tampa Bay into the locker room trailing 16-15.

True to his pre-game warning, Spurrier relieved the ineffective Reaves and put Jordan in at quarterback to start the second half. But Jordan fared no better than Reaves early on as his first pass was intercepted by Denver in Tampa Bay territory. The Gold quickly marched down the field and Sydney's second score of the game - this time from two yards out - increased Denver's lead to 23-15.

Zenon Andrusyshyn's 47-yard field goal with 13:03 left in the game cut the Gold lead to 23-18, and with Tampa Bay's playoff hopes dwindling by the minute, Mother Nature intervened on behalf of the Bandits. Despite a forecast that only predicted a 20-percent chance of thunderstorms, the fourth quarter featured a mega-downpour typical of the summertime in Tampa.

The severity of the storm, coupled with thunder and a few nearby lightning strikes, prompted Spurrier to take his team off the field and into the locker room with 8:32 remaining. A 50-minute delay followed, which allowed enough time for the team to regroup and come up with a key offensive play to put them over the top.

On the Bandits' second play after the game resumed, Jimmy Jordan lofted a perfect touch pass to Eric Truvillion for a 44-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion run by Greg Boone gave the Bandits a 26-23 lead with less than 7 minutes remaining.

"During the break, we talked about that long pass," Spurrier said. "We hadn't tried to go long that much. (Eric Truvillion) ran a curl-and-go and Jordan made a great throw."

Fortunately for Tampa Bay, the three-point lead held up and the Bandits were able to run out the clock to preserve the much-needed victory. Unfortunately, it would be their last one of the season. With the playoffs on the line the next week at Birmingham, the Bandits fell to the Stallions, 29-17, to end their inaugural season with an 11-7 record. It was a bitter finish for a team that won nine of its first 12 games, only to stumble down the stretch and fall short of the playoffs.

Unbeknownst to the Bandits at the time, the future had more bad news in store: prized acquisition Cris Collinsworth would never play a single down for Tampa Bay. Immediately prior to the 1985 season, he failed a physical for the Bandits because of an ankle injury, voiding his contract with the Bandits. Collinsworth went on to play four more years in the NFL, while the Bandits and the USFL folded after the 1985 season.

Debut of Tampa Bay Bandits, 3/6/83

“So, come on folks, let’s get the fever, be a Bandit Ball believer. We believe you're gonna love Bandit Ball.”
– Lyrics from “Bandit Ball” by Jerry Reed.

On March 6, 1983, Tampa Bay football fans got their first formal introduction to the concept of “Bandit Ball.” When the Tampa Bay Bandits of the newly formed United States Football League arrived on the scene 25 years ago, nobody knew quite what to expect. At least with movie icon Burt Reynolds as general partner and former University of Florida quarterback Steve Spurrier as head coach, fans knew Bandit football would be anything but dull.

There was certainly enough pre-game hype leading up to the team’s season-opening debut at Tampa Stadium. In the week before the game, an executive with the New England Patriots of the rival National Football League took a verbal shot at the Bandits, describing their roster as that of a semi-pro football team. Bandits’ owner John Bassett, in an act of equal parts defiance and showmanship, challenged the Patriots to a $1 million game after the completion of the USFL’s season. The winner would take home $500,000, and the other half would go to the charity of the loser’s choice.

Although that game never happened, Basset wanted to prove the USFL was more than a semi-pro league. Rosters throughout the league were dotted with former NFL players and newly drafted college stars, such as 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker from the University of Georgia. The Bandits’ roster featured numerous players with NFL experience, including its starting quarterback, John Reaves. A local product who attended Robinson High School, Reaves starred at the University of Florida, and then played 10 years in the NFL with Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Houston.

The Bandits could not have asked for more ideal conditions for their debut against the Boston Breakers. On a sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s, more than 42,000 fans gathered at Tampa Stadium for the spectacle that would become known as “Bandit Ball.” Although Reynolds missed the game because of a scheduling conflict, his friend, Jim Nabors of “Gomer Pyle” fame, drew a rousing ovation for his rendition of the National Anthem. One of the few glitches of the day occurred before the game, when windy conditions scuttled a planned delivery of the game-ball to midfield by parachutists.

In contrast to the 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who struggled to move the ball on offense and put points on the scoreboard, the Bandits showed early on that they would have no such problems. On the Bandits’ first drive, Reaves showcased a no-huddle attack that provided a glimpse of “Bandit Ball” excitement.

However, in a sequence that undoubtedly caused flashbacks to the first season of Buccaneers football, the Bandits’ initial scoring attempt, a 42-yard field goal try, was blocked as the result of a low snap.

Boston took advantage of the miscue, scoring the first points of the game with 58 seconds remaining in the first quarter, a 30-yard field goal by Tim Mazzetti.

The Bandits answered at the 8:59 mark of the second quarter with a six-play, 75-yard drive that produced a 6-yard scoring pass from Reaves to running back Ricky Williams. Williams, who took over primary tailback duties when starter George Ragsdale broke his ankle on the opening kickoff, earned a spot in the USFL record books with the first touchdown in league history.

Boston retook the lead before halftime with a 6-yard touchdown pass of its own from quarterback John Walton to tailback Anthony Steels. The score capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive that put the Breakers on top 10-7 at halftime.

Then the Bandits and Breakers provided a wild and memorable second half of football. The Bandits marched down the field from their own 17, behind the arm of John Reaves, who connected with receiver Eric Truvillion from 6 yards out to put Tampa Bay back on top, 14-10.

Truvillion provided one of the highlights of the day on Tampa Bay’s subsequent drive. With the Bandits threatening to score from Boston’s 4-yard line, a Reaves pass attempt was batted and intercepted in the end zone by Terry Love, who scampered the other way for what looked to be a 102-yard touchdown return. But Truvillion, a former quarterback at Florida A&M, tackled Love at Tampa Bay’s 2-yard line to prevent the score. Unfortunately for the Bandits, it didn’t take long for former Buccaneers running back Troy Davis to punch it in from the 1-yard line to give his team a 17-14 lead.

Boston had a chance to increase its lead in the fourth quarter, but a field goal attempt by Mazzetti hit the uprights. After that gaffe, it wasn’t too long before Tampa Bay scored the go-ahead touchdown on its ensuing possession. From Boston’s 33-yard line, Reaves found a wide-open Willie Gillespie, who made an acrobatic catch for a touchdown after blowing past Breakers cornerback Charles Harbison.

Ahead 21-17, Tampa Bay turned to its defense to ice the game. Safety Ken Taylor disrupted a John Walton pass at the Bandits’ 5-yard line on fourth down to prevent a potential game-winning score late in the fourth quarter. The change of possession would result in yet another dramatic example of “Bandit Ball.”

With just 1:36 left and facing fourth-and-inches at their own 29, Spurrier decided to keep the Bandits’ offense on the field rather than punt. Fullback Greg Boone was stuffed for no gain, but to the delight of all those wearing the Bandits’ colors of red, silver and black, the Breakers had lined up offsides on the play. The penalty resulted in an automatic first down and allowed Tampa Bay to successfully run out the clock.

Tampa Bay fans were not only treated to a successful 21-17 victory by the home team, but were given an entertaining brand of football that would become the franchise’s hallmark during the three years of its existence. Reaves put on a passing clinic in his debut, completing 28 of 39 passes for 358 yards and three touchdown passes. Williams gained 97 yards on 25 carries, while catching six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.

It may not have been the NFL, but it certainly wasn’t semi-pro quality. The combination of Spurrier’s daring coaching style and Reaves’ cannon arm helped make everyone in attendance that day a “Bandit Ball” believer.