Tampa Bay Buccaneers bond over paintball
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers bonded over the course of three hours at a paintball park a few miles from Buccaneers headquarters on Thursday morning, according to buccaneers.com.
Head Coach Raheem Morris had chosen to cancel the final day of practice at the team's mandatory mini-camp and instead take his crew out for a morning of team-building and camaraderie. Very competitive camaraderie.
"Coach Morris let us come out and spend our last day of mini-camp playing paintball," said wide receiver Maurice Stovall. "We get a little team camaraderie and we're just having a good time. Competition doesn't change. As it is in the football field, you bring it right to paintball. Everybody wants to win and it's all about you and your teammates executing."
The Buccaneers had taken similar outings to cap their offseason programs in recent years under former Head Coach Jon Gruden, but always to a bowling alley. The trips to the lanes were always a good time, but Thursday's paintball outing more thoroughly brought out the competitive side of the Buccaneers' players, coaches and football staffers. Howls of victory were common – Adam Hayward, Cadillac Williams, Maurice Stovall and Jameel Cook were usually the loudest – and challenge matches were arranged every few minutes.
[Photos: courtesy Tampa Bay Buccaneers]
Bucs Beat is the online destination for Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans interested in the latest news about the team. St. Petersburg Times reporters Rick Stroud, Stephen Holder, Dave Scheiber and Joe Smith will provide regular updates. Readers can comment on players, coaches, the front office - all of it.
Caddy must be doing well if he is out on the paintball field! I think we are going to have a top 3-5 run game this year. If we are going to win we are going to have to run the ball and shorten these games!
Posted by: Robert | June 18, 2009 at 05:50 PM
Anyone ever seen the movie "The last Boyscout"? I hope they leave those guns at home on game day instead of pelting the other team with them.
Posted by: Dspkable | June 18, 2009 at 06:13 PM
Paintball day at the ballpark. Who can't see the fun? Free paintball gun and 100 rounds for the first 50,000 fans. Would go down with 10 cent beer night as the most epic promotions of all time.
Posted by: aj | June 18, 2009 at 08:43 PM
aj, the ref's would have polka dotted uniforms then! Unfortunately the 10 cent beer night would be for not, cause we have no primetime games. Still would have been epic though.
Posted by: OAR | June 19, 2009 at 01:24 PM
Grudemb never ran this kind of deal with the fear of being shot with real bullets. Kind of like that Chucky movie...
Posted by: DR | June 20, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Ah there's the hater we all know!
Posted by: OAR | June 22, 2009 at 08:23 AM