Enjoy the Ride with Holland the Pup: An Open Letter to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Holland writes a letter to her favorite NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in this edition of her column.

Wowsers! The year 2020 (now rolling into the year 2021) has been a spectacular year for my favorite sports teams. My favorite hockey team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, brought home the Stanley Cup (I was even able to put my paws on it a few weeks ago); my favorite soccer team, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, made it to the USL Championship Final (that was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19); my favorite baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays, made it to the World Series; my favorite college team, the Florida Gators, made it to the SEC Championship Game; my favorite basketball team, the Toronto Raptors, made the decision to begin their season in Tampa; I won the league championship with my first ever fantasy football team, Holland’s Huddle; and last but not least, my favorite football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play in the Super Bowl later today! I am literally one lucky dog! With all that being said, I want to present this open letter to my beloved Buccaneers:

Dear Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

It’s your number one doggo fan, Holland the Pup here to wish you good luck later today as you take on the talented Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in our hometown of Tampa, Florida. I know this season has brought forth challenges none of us could have predicted, but it is evident that you have come together as a team building chemistry each and every week.

I was fortunate to experience a Kansas City Chiefs tailgate last season at Arrowhead Stadium (with some good food) and I have no doubt some of their passionate fans will be in the stands during the game tomorrow but I hope our pirate cheers are louder than any of their war chants. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy and you are able to play your best during what will be the first Super Bowl for many of you (with the exception of Tom Brady who has been playing in Super Bowls long before I was even born). A big shout-out to Tom Brady by the way for being a doggo-dad. I really admire that in athletes (check out the photo of Tom and his dog and me and my dad I posted on my Instagram page earlier this year).

I also had the chance to visit Lambeau Field back in October (wearing my Bucs jersey) and although that was a couple months before you played there in the NFC Championship Game, it made watching you become NFC Champions at Lambeau Field pretty special for me. It certainly seems that each week throughout the season a different player has stepped up and I can’t wait to see who that person will be in Super Bowl LV. All season long you have grown as a team and helped each other out and that’s my favorite part of this 2020 Buccaneers squad.

So congratulations on an amazing season and for all the great memories you have created for me and all the other Bucs fans during a time when many of us needed a nice distraction. I know this doggo appreciates all your hard work that you put in behind the scenes to help make all this success happen. Win, lose, or draw I know I am one happy doggo no matter what happens later tonight (but I gotta say it would be nice to put my paws on that Lombardi Trophy just like I did with the Stanley Cup). No pressure though 🙂

Peace & Love,

Holland the Pup

Check with Dog O’Day throughout the day for the latest coverage of Puppy Bowl 17 and Super Bowl 55.