The UK's oldest NFL fan club celebrates 40 years

In 1984 an unassuming appeal for Tampa Bay fans was placed in a UK American football magazine. It was during a season when the NFL team had lost more games than they had won and were being called one of the worst franchises in American sport.

Despite the team's poor form, it struck a chord with fans, and the first supporters club for an NFL outfit this side of the Atlantic was set up. Forty years later - having supported the Buccaneers through heartbreak and two SuperBowl wins - the 500 Bucs UK members say it is like being part of a family.

"I was 13 when I replied to the advert," Gareth James, one of the club's first members, said.

Now 53-years-old, the NFL fan was looking to connect with other fans of a sport that was not readily available in the UK.

"I used to watch the Channel 4 coverage, which was an hour-long show on a Sunday night, that showed the highlights from the week before," Gareth, from Wilmslow, in Cheshire, said.

Gareth said while it was "a challenge" to keep up to date with the team's progress, it also "made you a bit more of a hardcore fan, because you consumed absolutely everything you could find out about the team".

From its humble roots in the 1980s, the club now has an online forum, a weekly podcast, numerous fantasy football leagues and watch parties - where fans gather to see live games on TV. It even organises trips to the USA to see the team in action.

To mark the club's 40th anniversary, the Buccaneers, through their chief operating officer Brian Ford, held a birthday bash in Tampa in September.

It included a private meal at the Raymond James Stadium, a private tour of the team's headquarters and an opportunity to go on the field after the game against the Denver Broncos.

Mr Ford said it was a way to say thank you to the club that had shown a great "loyalty and passion" for the organisation.

"We have come a long way together in these past 40 years and look forward to strengthening our bond even more into the future," he added.

Gareth said the club and its relationship with the team meant he had met some of his heroes - including Derrick Brooks and Mike Alstott - something he never thought possible when he joined as a teenager.

However, the highlight for him is meeting fellow fans in the UK.

"It's all about those friendships. It's people within the club who I've known for 20 or 30 years," he said.

Josh Clarke, 33, from Swindon, Wiltshire, said the club and its friendships had elevated his experiences as a fan.

"On a trip to Tampa in 2022, some of us club members were in a bar when Buccaneers and NFL hall of famer, Warren Sapp, walked over to our table.

"Turns out Brian Ford had organised the whole thing. It was a complete surprise and it made me realise how the organisation go out of their way to make everything an experience for us."

While he feels incredibly lucky as a fan, Josh said sometimes he feels like he's the team's unlucky charm.

"Every time I've seen them play in person, they've lost," he joked.

But losing is something Josh has gotten used to.

He became a fan of the sport in 2014, a season where the Bucs only won two games.

"I told my friends and they said 'good luck with that - they are the worst team in football'," he said.

"More fool them - we've won a Super Bowl since and their teams haven't."

In 2021 Josh joined the fan club.

For Christie Thomas, 26, from Gorseinon, Swansea, the club and its connections allowed her to live out a "dream come true".

"I was going to Florida on my own and I thought 'oh wouldn't it be funny if I just ran a flag' - so every time I had an opportunity I would tweet the team saying 'I'll run the flag for you'," she said.

The team's official account eventually replied, saying if she got 1,000 likes they would allow it.

"I got 3,000 in half hour. I was so overwhelmed," she added.

Running out to a home crowd during the Bucs V Carolina Panthers game in December 2023, Christie said she "never in a million years thought it would happen".

Christie said the whole experience was "amazing" and had cemented why she loves the Bucs so much.

"I wouldn't even say it's a fandom. It's just being part of a massive community," she said.

It's a thought shared by Sarah Taylor, 34, from Tranent, East Lothian, whose love of the team even influenced the theme of her wedding.

"Ross, my husband, is a Cowboys fan. Our top table was called 'Bucs V Cowboys' and the top of our cake had a Bucs player and then a Cowboys one," she said.

While fiercely loyal, the fan club's members haven't always been easy to find.

The team holds the longest losing streak in NFL's history - losing 26 games over the 1976 and 1977 seasons.

Kieron Hyams, 47, from London, a fan since 1989, runs the club's website, social media and hosts the club's podcast.

He said the group was all about "the shared experience" and while they already have a diverse membership, his aim is to reach more people.

"It's not growth for growth sake, but to be inclusive and to have that bigger family of Bucs fans," he said.

Kieron said while the Bucs haven't always been taken seriously, he wears it as a "badge of honour".

"We're not glory hunters," he said.

He added it is always nice to experience the wins and the losses on the field as a collective on both sides of the Atlantic.

"You'll come to a watch party on your own but you will go home with 40 brilliant friends and that's what the club's really about."

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