Bucs' win fans more craziness Ernest Hooper, The St.Petersburg Times, published 3 October 1994 With a rain poncho and a water-proof pad, I was primed for the thunderstorms. Of course the thought of all that water made me thirsty, but I've been told that some may be offended by the constant mention of my favorite spirit, so I'll try not to bring up that certain brewed product. Since rain was expected, I figured there was no reason to pay prime money for a ticket. This will be good news to the big boss man, who had a tough time guzzling down those $40 tickets. Hmmm, wonder why I chose the word guzzling? Never mind. The amazing thing was that the game actually lived up to the $40 charge I had paid before. The overcast skies never led to rain, making the viewing far more pleasant than the two previous sauna Sundays. The Bucs won with the help of a historic punt return that made some of the craziest fans act crazier. And there were some off-the-wall fanatics at the game. Consider John Rodriguez, who combines his Bucs fanaticism with sexual advice. Rodriguez, and friends Mark Morman and Mike Sullivan, wear giant condoms on their heads at every game. "Everybody loves it," said Rodriguez, who said he's often greeted with an expletive that usually isn't a term of affection. "They call us that, but they really like us. They all scream stuff at us." Rodriguez said he's also met a few women. No doubt because he practices safe sex. Halftime offered the combined talents of every high school band in Sarasota County. Sarasota High's Fred Bilello and Sean Pearson said it was kind of hard playing with the bands they had competed against over the years, but they could deal with it. Asked who came up with the "marching with the enemy" idea Pearson said "the Bucs, of course." The show was good and the game was moving along. But midway through the third quarter someone mentioned the NFL draft to my sober mind and I thought "draft, suds, barley, hops, thirst-quenching?" But I fought the temptation, opted for Arizona Iced Tea. Something tells me tea flavored with raspberry is not the preferred choice of Buddy Ryan. It's a good thing, too, because consumption of the sudsy stuff appeared to get out of hand. An unidentified fan took a few bows at the 50-yard line before darting from security officials. He faked out one officer, left another diving in his wake, went to leap over the wall and I thought "he could . . . go . . . all . . . the . . . way." Alas, a burly security guard pushed him back. In handcuffs, the fan left the field to applause because Bucs fans appreciate a good runner. They don't appreciate a good fight - well, some don't - and there were too many Sunday. With the Bucs winning, everyone should have been happy. Maybe Dave Lomonica of Safety Harbor and Terry Hartel of New Port Richey had the right idea when they wore hockey masks to the game. Combining Bucs-logo construction hats with orange and red masks they painted themselves, the self-titled "Buccanators" said they may come out with a patent. Another diehard is Bobby Herring, whose pregame prediction of a 20-point Bucs win raised more than a few eyebrows. The Bucs 17-0 lead had people calling him a genius, but with the 24-14 final, he'll have to settle for pretty smart.