St. Petersburg Times April 10th 1997

At least now they can dress for success. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers unveiled their new uniforms Wednesday, and darned if they didn't look like they belonged to a National Football League team.

Pastels are passe. Bold red and black will be worn over shoulder pads in the fall.

And if unique is what you seek, you'll simply love what the Bucs have done with pewter. That's right, pewter.

That's the dark gray color of the helmets and of at least one pair of pants.

Quarterback Trent Dilfer, linebacker Hardy Nickerson and fullback Mike Alstott served as runway models for Wednesday's fashion-with-passion show.

The new logo features a skull and crossed swords centered on a tattered red flag that is hung on a long, curved sword.

The uniform change is expected to lift the spirits of a forlorn franchise that has suffered through 14 straight losing seasons.

Now only if it could elevate the Bucs in the standings.

"I think the logo, the changes in the uniform exemplifies what we're all about and where we're headed," Nickerson said. "We're going to sneak up on everybody, we're going to raid them.

"We've got the best uniforms in the league, we've got the best ownership in the league, we've got the best coach in the league, and we're going to have the best team in the league."

Shortly after the uniforms were displayed for the media, Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer led a procession of players and coaches outside the Tampa Convention Center, where about 1,000 people had gathered to get the first glimpse of the threads.

Accompanied by cannon blasts, the procession took the stage to a thunderous ovation and overwhelming approval.

The team has incorporated legendary buccaneer items into the logo.

Bucs flags often bore images of skulls and swords, and they were used to intimidate their enemies into surrendering. Red flags often were flown to signal a raid.

In the logo, the flag is hung on a cutlass - a long, curved sword - and features an orange football at the point where the swords cross under the skull.

The red jerseys have white numbers trimmed in orange and black. The white jerseys have red numbers trimmed in orange and black.

The pewter pants and white pants have red stripes trimmed in orange and black.

On the sleeves of both jerseys is a secondary logo of a pirate ship in full sail with the skull-and-swords logo prominent on the front sail.

Coach Tony Dungy said the team likely will wear the red jerseys at home and white on the road, although he plans to let the players decide.

All four uniform combinations probably will be used during the preseason, general manager Rich McKay said.

"I guess I've got the final say, but I'm kind of democratic," Dungy said. "We'll let the players vote on it. We'll probably use the preseason to look at the different combinations. My favorite is the all-white. I thought that made it very clean. Very unique."

Even the lettering used for the team's name is different. Replacing the block letters is a pointy printing of "Buccaneers."

The Bucs traditionally have ranked last in the NFL in merchandise sales.

But judging from the reaction Wednesday, that's likely to change. New merchandise went on sale shortly after the logo was unveiled, and stores reported long lines and short supplies.

Lines started forming at the JCPenney store at Tyrone Square mall at 10:30 a.m., more than two hours before defensive tackle Warren Sapp arrived to sign autographs and items went on sale.

The store quickly sold out of $45 sweat shirts and ran low on caps.

The uniforms fulfilled a promise made more than two years ago when Malcolm Glazer purchased the team.

Working closely with NFL Properties, the league's licensing and design division, the team was presented with hundreds of drawings that evolved into the final product.

The logo essentially was completed in January, although a couple of weeks ago the team fought off a suggestion to close the crossed swords closer around the skull, McKay said.

"When we first bought the team, people would come up to us and say, `Do you think it's time for a change of the uniform?' " Glazer said. "Well, we weren't really sure. We wanted to make sure it was a consensus of all the fans that this was something they wanted. This was developed in a two-year project, in talking to thousands of fans, getting their opinions. The NFL gave us many, many designs.

"Now the day has come; it's two years later. We think we have the perfect uniform, for a perfect team in a perfect city.

Nickerson said he and his teammates were teased by opposing teams when they wore the old uniforms.

"They would call us Popsicles," Nickerson said. "Those days are over."

So get ready to raise your cutlasses and fly those red flags of invasion.

"I think they like the uniforms, so that helps," Dungy said of the players. "But the bottom line is, you've got to go out and play. The players make the uniforms, and we're excited about the players we have, as well as the uniforms."