From the couch in the front room Paul Stewart, BUCPOWER.COM, published 24 December 2002 There is something just so British about staying up until 5am to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Particularly when they lose. Especially near Christmas. So home field advantage probably disappeared out of the window with the 17-7 defeat to the Steelers. There'll be no champagne next week if the Bucs can win in Champaign, Illinois against the transplanted Bears, but you can bet as hell there'll be a lot of ice. The current over/under on how many times the 0-20 record in under 40 degrees will be mentioned is 85 per hour. But if you think as a Bucs fan, you are depressed this morning, spare a thought for John Davies. He makes the Fantasy League play-offs for the first time and holds a 15-point lead against Martin Dodds prior to the Monday Night Game. The only way he can lose is if Plaxico Burress catches a TD, or he gains over 120 yards receiving. First play from scrimmage, Maddox hits the Steeler wideout for 40+ down the left sideline and it just went downhill from there. Last I heard, John was last seen on a Nuneaton window ledge threatening to nut anyone he saw in a red suit and a white beard. Shaun King was..... well, he was King useless. I got castigated on one UK NFL website for daring to suggest that Shaun didn't have the arm to be successful in the NFL. He spent the first half yesterday proving it. The words "cow's arse" and "banjo" sprang to mind as the Bucs went three-and-out all too often. Shaun described his play as "inconsistent". I actually thought the only inconsistency was that he didn't miss receivers in the same place - high, low, short, long, hell he probably missed them every which was but loose. Never did you need more proof that the two Johnsons are the MVPs of the Buccaneers than last night. Forget the defense - they did their job for the final 50 minutes as they always do. But without Brad, there was no offense. And watching Keyshawn go across the middle on every play, pick up over 130 yards in receptions and pay for it every time, well, just give him the damn ball. And the award. And our respect. So now we root for the Jets to turn over the Packers next Sunday. There are enough ex-Bucs on their sideline, Herman Edwards, Damien Robinson and thankfully, Vinny watching too, so we can hope for a miracle on 34th Street. And by the time we kick off, we will know if we still have a chance of the bye week and a realistic chance of the Super Bowl. I mean, can we really lose to a team with Henry Burris at QB? But this is a season of the unexpected. The Eagles lose Donovan McNabb and then his replacement, Koy Detmer, and become a better team. The Rams go through three QBs and self-destruct, the Jaguars go through four kickers and self-destruct, the Bucs play the Steelers and .... you know the rest. But Christmas is a time for celebration, for giving and sharing. OK, so we could have done without Shaun extending the compliments of the season to Chad Scott with that wounded duck of an out pass, but there is a lot to smile about. The Bucs are 11-4, they are in the playoffs, they have won the NFC South division and will in all probability, get the cold weather monkey off their backs next Sunday night. 2002 has been good to the Buccaneers and 2003 could well be even better. Three hours sleep and back to work. The life of a Buc fan on this side of the Atlantic. And marginally, just marginally a happy one too this Christmas Eve. For when Keenan McCardell caught an innocuous 11-yard pass late in the first quarter, I clinched my Fantasy League Super Bowl place. I just don't think John Davies is going to be that pleased for me - happy Christmas everyone.