Never give up! Perseverance! Patience! Being a Tampa Bay Bucs fan takes all three of those characteristics sometimes. All one has to do is go back to when the franchise began in 1976 - goodness, I don't want to go back to all those loses (0-26) and blunders (not to mention the old Buccaneer orange jerseys). Growing up in the Tampa Bay area, I remember those years well!
But today, in their 32nd season and on the 1,865 try, Tampa finally returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Never giving up! Perseverance! Patience! It was bound to happen one day. The 1,865 attempts over the 32 years were made by 141 players. Before today, Tampa Bay's kickoff returns had covered 37,395 yards, or more than 21 miles. Michael Spurlock returned the kickoff back 90 yards in the first quarter for the touchdown!
And to top everything off, with the 37-3 win over the Falcons, the Bucs clinched the NFC South division title.
The Bible talks about never giving up - God never gave up on us, but while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The Bible talks about perseverance - mankind should be faithful to God unto death. And yes, the Bible talks about patience - patience on the part of God to us and mankind to one another.
OK, I know that the Scriptures are not applying it to a football team! But sometimes events that happen today help remind us of Biblical characteristics. Even during a football game!
