Buccaneers Book Review: “The Yucks!” By Jason Vuic
By James Yarcho
Tomorrow, author Jason Vuic will have his retrospective The Yucks! released nationwide. It is an absolute must have for anyone who is – or has ever been – a Buccaneers fan.
A few months ago, we at The Pewter Plank received an email from an author by the name of Jason Vuic. He wanted to let us know he had a book entitled The Yucks!: Two Years in Tampa with the Losingest Team in NFL History and it would chronicle the first two years of Tampa Bay’s NFL franchise. Our first thought was, “who on earth would want to relive those nightmare years for the Buccaneers?” After some communication and getting the chance to speak with Vuic ourselves, we can honestly say that every Bucs fan should want to relive those years the way Vuic tells it.
For myself, personally – having been born in 1985 – I was aware of a lot of what happened back in those early years. However, there was so much going on before Tampa was awarded the franchise that many won’t know. There were many different procedures that, essentially, set up expansion teams to fail that fans of my generation – and later – won’t even be able to fathom because of the way we watched the likes of Carolina, Jacksonville, and Houston enter the league.
With a gift to integrate history and misery with humor, Vuic makes that 0-14 team fun to follow. He finds a way to make a pathetic collection of cast-offs and has-beens entertaining. You can go in-depth into the mind – or lack thereof depending on who you ask – of Hugh Culverhouse and some of the atrocious decisions he made as the owner. Best of all, he allows you to relive the sarcasm, anger, humor, and the bite of head coach John McKay.
It’s not all doom and gloom, Bucs fans. You will get some reprieve when Doug Williams enters the picture. Well, that is until Culverhouse runs him out of town. Although the primary focus of this book is on those first few years, there is still some “light at the end of the tunnel” references to that infamous turnaround that culminated in a Lombardi.
Overall, this book was vastly entertaining and a smooth, easy read. There’s no “filler” to be cute or artsy – just the information pertinent to the topic that fans will want to know. Vuic knew that because, well, he’s a fan. Maybe that’s why this book isn’t painful when talking about that pathetic team. Maybe that’s why you can enjoy it so much as a fan. It’s the epitome of “for the fans, by the fans”.
For Buccaneers fans, this book is a must have. It easily gets a five out of five stars from a Bucs’ fan point of view. On the flip side, any football fan can enjoy this. Actually, my wife – who doesn’t even like football – found the book to be very entertaining and fun to read. Believe it or not, I even heard her laugh a few times while reading it.
Next: Bucs Cut Roster Down To 77
You can find out more about Jason Vuic here, and you can order it here.