TAMPA, Fla. — No line is too long for Bucs fans who want to get their hands on Super Bowl LV gear, and the payoff is sweet.
“We’ve got the conference champions, hat man,” said Rich Aranda, who was born and raised in Tampa. “Sold out, sold out! I got the last one.”
Aranda says his passion for the Buccaneers runs deep.
“I watched football with my grandparents, with my father, with my whole family. Football was life, football is life, Tampa Bay Buccaneers is life,” said Aranda.
That sentiment is shared among hundreds of people that showed up at the Fanatics pop-up store one day after the Bucs became NFC Champions and the taste of victory is stronger than ever.
“We were screaming the whole time from the beginning to the end,” said Reginald Stone, who also grew up in Tampa.
“I was watching it with Green Bay Packer fans, so I had to be a little subdued, but I was very excited inside,” said Sue Sullivan, a Tampa native.
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Staff at the Fanatics store says the NFC Champions shirt is by far the most sought after. Behind that is a shirt with Tom Brady’s face on it and a PG version of his signature saying, “Let’s go!”
It’s the first time a team is playing in the Super Bowl at their home stadium, but some folks believe that’s no coincidence — this is Tampa Bay’s time to shine.
“The three sports teams that have made it to the finals of their divisions, I think that’s unbelievable, I don’t think you’ll ever see that again,” said Tab Joyner, a Tampa Native.
The Fanatics store is typically located inside Raymond James Stadium, but because of the Super Bowl, it’s temporarily in the parking lot of the Bucs Training facility.
It will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day until the Super Bowl.
The fanatic store replaces items every day, including new super bowl jerseys, t-shirts, and masks.
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