TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan is setting the bar high for Bucs pride!
Rick Clark, who was born and raised in Sarasota and has been a Bucs fan his whole life and a season ticket member since 2013, raised his Bucs flag 19,341 feet after summiting Mount Kilimanjaro.
Clark told ABC Action News he took the photo on Thursday, Jan. 28, just minutes before 8:30 a.m. Tanzanian time, which is eight hours ahead of Tampa, Florida time, in case you were wondering.
"The #RaiseTheFlags was all about showing your Bucs pride from wherever you were, and I thought what better place to raise it and show my love for my team than halfway around the world at the top of Africa," Clark said.
It took Clark seven days to summit, and he said he kept his Bucs flag in his backpack the entire time and used a rubber band to attach the bottom of it to his hiking pole.
"It was Five degrees Fahrenheit with about 35 mph wind gusts," Clark said, describing the conditions while taking his #RaiseTheFlags photo.
19,341ft. Challenging any Bucs fan to raise it higher #GoBucs #RaiseTheFlags #LFG!!! @Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/l0WayWC7cO
— Rick Clark (@88RickClark) January 29, 2021
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In his tweet, Clark challenged other fans to raise their flags higher. Andy Bain accepted the challenge.
From Ft. Myers and currently stationed at MacDill AFB, Bain raised his flag to 24,000 feet.
19,341ft? I accept and raise it to 24,000ft pic.twitter.com/7adCmDgj4f
— TheBainTrain (@AndrewBainn) January 29, 2021
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We asked both Clark and Bain what advice they had for the Bucs and they said:
"This team's identity is that they can do whatever it takes to win the game, so stick with what got you there. No risk it, no biscuit!" — Rick Clark
"Defense wins championships...and they should pick me to win the raise the flags contest 🤷🏻♂️" — Andy Bain
As for Clark, he said his next adventure is a five-day Safari into the Serengeti, "and yes I'm hoping to get a good Bucs flag photo when I do my sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti."
