Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Cincinnati Bengals 1980 Week 1

Watch as a monsoon appears late in the 3rd Qtr. Satellite feed continues as Curt Gowdy and Hank Stram react to lightening strikes. Despite the driving rain and wind, the game continues on.

[@scottruck5584]

All I can say is WOW.....mysteriously,I came across this.I was at the game with my mom and dad,who are sadly now deceased.I was 15 years old at this timeI am now 52.....Mom and dad surprised me with these tickets.......THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!!!....I'll always treasure this game,cause I was a Cincy fan,but also a bucs fan at that time.....I remember the storm coming in cause when the lightning cracked,the thunder was intense the way the stadium was built...it echoed loudly.......THANKS RICHARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@caponsacchi]

That's a wonderful memory--and it proves the value of nature, since I'm sure the storm ensured the event would stay with you for the next 40+ years. Sorry to hear about the loss of your parents. It's clear they wanted to spend the day with you in a memorable way. Lots of parents are too busy or distracted or tight with their money to take time out with their kids.

[@DC----be1ld]

That is a an amazing story Scott. So cool you were there. Man the thunder is crazy.

[@PerpetualArt]

I lost both of my parents before my 49th birthday. That's a wierd combination of teams to like, "Buccaneers and Bengals."

[@chtyan]

This game would have been delayed for an hour if it was played now. Lightning didn't even phase these players. Played in it all the time.

[@MrLittlebuddy]

That hair piece on Stram was legendary.

[@davidvonduesseldorf4527]

It's awesome. Should be in a museum

[@22_cincatt]

Wow what a find! Thanks for the upload. I was at this game with my brothers. We got completely soaked! I have never to this day been at a game with this kind of monsoon! I am 54 years old and had Bengals season tix 1970-74 and 1981-2002. Game started hot and humid then the monsoon came. Bengals made special teams mistakes to lose this game. The game was blacked out locally so I have never seen this telecast until now! Thx!

[@survivor5044]

You are a true Bengals fan for supporting your team in this rare monsoon. They were a number of other Cincinnati fans who braved the elements as well. Thank you for sharing this memory in your life with me.

[@marksymbala1193]

Richard Waldrup would you have the chiefs at bucs 1979?

[@andyprovin9108]

2:12:44 i guess people didn't see lightning as a threat in 1980

[@rustykuntz94]

I mean I can almost say I get it cause the Bucs had a game just 4 nights later on Thursday night (In the 80's there was always a Thursday Night game to start Week 2) and wanted to get them out of there but once that first lightning and immediate thunder smack hits you know it's extremely dangerous now and that storm is right above them. Then another even LOUDER & CLOSER & still the game goes on.

[@rustykuntz94]

This was the last year the Bengals wore these jerseys, 1981 was when they went to the Bengal stripes.

[@DIMP11]

They should return to these 1980 helmets but go back to their 1981 through 1996 shirts and pants.

[@raydeen1]

uh, no....their helmets were awful until they got the bengal stripes...which is why they've never brought back the awful "BENGALS' helmets sinc.

[@JohnDoe-nj3vj]

@JBSptfn I agree. I like these uniforms the best though.

[@davidcobb2693]

@@raydeen1 The Bengal stripes helmets are clownish and scream, " We're too lame to have a helmet logo but we ain't in Cleveland "! The " BENGALS " helmet was a quieter way of saying, " We're not really Cleveland Junior " and it should be brought back to hopefully cure Phil Simms from saying, " the Bingles ".

[@jlh4jc]

Meanwhile on the local Cincinnati radio broadcast, "Your Cincinnati Bengals, sponsored by Shady Hills Rest Home, because there might not be a tomorrow. Red Wigglers, The Cadillac of Worms. Oh, and one more thing..BOOGERRRRRR!"

[@vhsmaniaman6986]

When the NFL didnt give a shit about weather delays

[@bansheesioux5569]

2:12:44 lightening,

[@steven2212]

Just amazing all around, inside look at production is so cool. Great game, superior booth crew, weather, and the uniforms! Great post. Thank you!

[@DIMP11]

Now that the Bengals are back in the Super Bowl tonight, I actually miss these 1967 to 1980 Bengal uniforms. Simple, more like Cleveland, Syracuse and Illinois.

[@CharlestonHestons]

So cool, behind the scenes from the booth, love it, thanks for posting!

[@chrisuncleahmad]

Anthony Munoz not wearing the striped helmet is quite the sight.

[@astrosjer822]

This was the first game after the Bucs were one game away from the Super Bowl in 1979.

[@bconni2]

Rams typically fair pretty good against the Bucs in the post season.

[@dougjennings1517]

would never happen today @ playing thru the lightning lol,,,, great stuff, and another great rare game!!!!

[@survivor5044]

No way, because Roger Goodell and the league office would have a fit!! #Rainstorm

[@mariepavlov9144]

our CBS station in Youngstown (WKBN) had this game, and surprised that no lightning delay occured in Cincy that day. I guess someone had to say to Mr. Rozzlle whenever they're is lightning within a 10 mile radius of the ballpark, the game must stop at that point from here on.

[@rustykuntz94]

I was at a game in 2010 at Met Life Stadium w the Jets & Vikings on a Monday night game that got delayed because of low level lightning. Crazy

[@LogoAttitude]

@@mariepavlov9144 one station that did not have this game was WCPO in Cincinnati (now with ABC) this was because Riverfront Stadium did not sell out

[@americantoeball3672]

My favorite Bucs teams. players and uniforms. NFC Central days

[@chriszito334]

Jack Thompson put up some monster numbers!!!!😂😂😂

[@PaulBlomJr]

Long before the NFL ever thought about weather delays...although the HOF game of 1980 got halted due to a thunderstorm, Packers-Chargers.

[@eric829]

2:46:40... L-l-l-l-Lord, we sure are melanc-c-c... melanc-c-c... melanc-c-c (bonus points if you know the referfence)

[@LogoAttitude]

What is the reference

[@deputay]

That's from Football Follies, correct?

[@eric829]

@@deputay Son Of Football Follies, 1976. Very good!

[@Hallrk63]

What a storm! I had never seen a game played through a storm quite like that. Probably shouldn't have played through the lightening but games didn't stop for anything back then. The storm livened up the game. It was pretty dull to that point. I had forgot about Gowdy going to CBS at the end of his career. He and Stram made a pretty good team. I like those Bengal helmets. They should go back to those.

[@marcoiacobuzio4075]

Gotta love those Tampa creamsicle jerseys

[@brianschocke9642]

I never knew Curt Gowdy worked for CBS. That's a rare find in itself.

[@johnmanier7968]

Only for two seasons, 1979 and 1980.

[@fourzip]

Gowdy also worked baseball for CBS Radio back then till 1986

[@steven2212]

Jack Thompson, the throwin Samoan, was the first quarterback selected in the 1979 NFL Draft, taken third overall by the Cincinnati Bengals, and played there for four years, which included the Super Bowl season in 1981.

[@NerdsofManyColors]

That thunderstorm might be the worst I've ever seen for a football game...unfortunately, it was the only interesting thing about this game. (A lot of fun once it started though!) RIP Ricky Bell...his story was tragic.

[@NerdsofManyColors]

@Derrick Jones He developed a rare skin and blood disease. He went from borderline All-Pro to gone by age 29. :-(

[@rustykuntz94]

And it came on out of nowhere and was brutal for 10-15 mins real time and then by games end it was sunny again! That's Florida summer weather, everyday almost....I remember a game also Week 1 in 1985 with the Cardinals (still in St. Louis) playing in Cleveland. Very similar thing bright and hot, muggy day. Very late 3rd Quarter into the 4th suddenly a near monsoon hits and with the Brown sharing a stadium w the Baseball Indians the infield dirt was showing and there was a huge mud pool that developed.

[@bansheesioux5569]

Rain

[@magicmike5879]

Could Curt and Hank be any closer in the booth

[@randyjohnson6845]

Archie Griffin won his second Heisman as a senior and his total touchdowns scored was 4

[@caponsacchi]

This game is almost "too real" but a welcome addition, nonetheless. If the game seems a little slow and boring, that's traceable to two main causes: 1. the strong defensive game of both teams, esp. Tampa Bay; 2. the source of this video, which appears not to be a tape made on a home machine (although VCRs were just beginning to come into their own as common household commodities). The video seems to be sourced from a studio master-tape, since there are no commercials, not even a break to the network for half-time scores and updates. As a result, it's kind of fun to hear numerous "off the air" comments made by Curt Gowdy and/or Hank Stram from in the booth at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium. Twice before the end of the first half, Gowdy can be heard exclaiming "this is impossible"--apparently a reference to the hot weather and the tight accommodations in the booth, where he appears to resent having to put his suit jacket back on for a quick 2-shot (a tight shot of Gowdy and Stram in the same frame) of the pair discussing the game. Meanwhile, Stram seems more concerned about whether he will or will not be required to appear on camera, asking several times "Will I be on camera?" Gowdy also shows impatience and some annoyance--about the intrusion of music, for example, where it isn't supposed to be played or normally isn't played. But as a result, you at home can feel the slow pace of a real game in real time--all 3 hours' worth--including the baton twirlers and the on-field marching band during half-time. (In case no one has noticed, band and music programs around the country are suffering as a result of little interest in instrumental music. Saxophonists and trumpeters no longer have a claim to listeners' ears when music has been so devalued through the "inflationary" consequences of streaming and the rising importance of not only hip-hop but of singer-songwriters who perform--with guitars and/or synthesizers--music that, as Bob Dylan has pointed out, would not have made the grade even as "commercial music" during the time that Crosby, Ella, and later Sinatra were performing with 16-piece jazz and dance bands, singing the music of Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and the outstanding composers of the first 60 years of jazz and American popular song. Nevertheless, this video is another one of the excellent complete NFL games from the 1970s and 1980s--when football was played by courageous athletes with marginal protective equipment and minimal medical attention compared to the blimplike head-gear worn by football players today along with the close monitoring of every athlete to assure his health meets its "baseline" as measured by digital monitors. If more like this were available from or through KZbin, the KZbin subscription service would be worth the price. The video quality is quite good, tho the audio gain is low and crackly. If Ken Anderson had been fit to start this game, there probably would have been more scoring. It was Anderson who, on Nov. 17, 1975 treated the nation to a glimpse of professional football of the future when, in a duel with O.J. Simpson and the Bills, he passed for 447 yards (exceptional at the time) to overshadow O.J.'s 197 yds rushing (not unusual for him) to lead the Bengals to 3250 yards passing at a time when no other NFL team could reach the 3000 mark via the pass. It would be wonderful to see the later game between these same teams when, after trading Jack Thompson to the Buccaneers, the Bengals with Ken Anderson would play the Buccaneers and Thompson. Frankly, with pro-football looking more and more like the imitation of a video version of the game--esp. with the outsized headets, iridescent pant-suits, and overhead aerial shots--the games from the '70s and '80s look more dramatic and heroic than ever before.

[@bconni2]

the reason the game seems slow and boring, is because compared to todays game, it is.

[@shanetrimble9265]

@@bconni2 Today's game is boring and not visually pleasing.

[@shanetrimble9265]

I agree the modern game looks like a video game with the uniforms, camera angles and horrible announcers.

[@mrtnt3462]

@@shanetrimble9265 TODAY'S GAMES BLOW THESE 70s GAMES OUTTA THE WATER NEARLY EVERY SUPER BOWL IS ENTERTAINING!! THE UNIFORMS WERE BETTER BACK IN THE DAY THOUGH!! I DO THINK TODAY'S NFL IS AS OVER OFFICIATED AS THESES OLD SCHOOL GAMES WERE UNDER OFFICIATED!! THE VISUALS TODAY ARE SUPERIOR IN EVERY WAY...GET TF OUT OF THE STONE AGE ALREADY!!

[@vonschleppin]

I have always loved both these unis. The Buccaneer’s creamsicle colors look fantastic and the understated Bengals were cool just because of that very thing. Today, most teams are black on black or silver. They all want to look like the Raiders.

[@randyjohnson6845]

I bet it will be 40 years from this game before Tampa gets to there second super bowl

[@baronbrrrrett]

This is not the first time Archie Griffin has played in a storm like this... ⛈

[@smg1665]

This is the last time that Tampa would win at the home of an AFC opponent until 1993. Talk about futility!

[@untexan]

Back then if you finished 5th in a 5-team division, as the Bucs often did, you only played two interconference games the next year instead of four. So in addition to being a very bad football team, they usually only got one chance per year to win in an AFC stadium.

[@smg1665]

It turned out to be twenty games in a row lost at AFC opponents during this period from 1980-1993.

[@84sp84]

Lol, good to see officials sucked back in 1980 too. How they called that a fumble by Eckwood was amazing.

[@NkrumahTure]

It was good to see the late USC Trojan Ricky Bell in that Buccaneer backfield. Archie Griffin playing like he's an two time Heisman Trophy Winner. I think it was in part because two former USC backs were on the other sideline, (Bell and Davis)😁

[@brettshepherd5240]

Someone has to find that 1976 mnf game between st louis and Washington....muddy monsoon

[@cthomson500]

Bring Back the Bucs uniforms

[@davidvonduesseldorf4527]

Killer Rug Hank

[@timkaczmarowski8151]

gregg was total shit as packers coach

[@rustykuntz94]

At almost exactly the 2:00:00 mark is when the weather suddenly turns. I mean when they showed the sky there that looked like a tornado sky

[@rockyfortune3537]

Awesome upload sir!

[@DIMP11]

Buccaneers thinking "Lightning ? Now we feel at home".

[@veggieoilerfan2940]

Hank Stram pronounced Cincinnati the same way Earl Weaver did. They both pronounced it Cincinnatah. Earl Weaver pronounced it that way on his prank episode of Manager’s Corner from 1982.

[@martinfelsenfeld6012]

First time in Bengals history they would wear the small numbers on their uniforms, but would still lose. Only a year later, they would appear in their first Super Bowl in a snap--lol!

[@ScorpioBornIn69]

Had to turn the volume way up to hear it. Appears this was from a very old VHS recording back in 1980. I still have old VHS tapes from the 1980's and some still play good.

[@exposethenwo6491]

U enjoy watching these old games. I don't like Bengals uniforms and Bucs uniforms are okay. Prefer the later versions.

[@halwarner3326]

Everyone is great ask hank steam. God bless the old ball coach. Everyone can "do it all ".

[@terrymiller8597]

steam?

[@danielrause1310]

Jack Thompson aka "The Throwin' Samoan"!

[@jimcash1610]

Incorrect.....The " Overthrowin Samoan"..

[@marksymbala1193]

Daniel Rause iquebuike

[@higgy04]

In Canada, Joe Paopao was known as 'The Throwin' Samoan'.

[@MrRays35]

would be nice if it had sound

[@LosAngeles-yz1yn]

great game:) do you have 1989 bills vs bengals or 89 Vikings vs bengals?

[@PredatorKingdom]

What's the name of the song CBS uses at 1:13:57-1:14:20?

[@deputay]

The song is "Mama Can't Buy You Love" by Elton John

[@PredatorKingdom]

@@deputay OMG! Thank you been looking for that song ever since!!!!!

[@deputay]

@@PredatorKingdom you're welcome! Glad I could help!

[@davidlofdahl2875]

that was something eh? great stuff ..

[@Skannerz]

What is this, "The Orange Bowl?!" 😁

[@davidcobb2693]

No, Riverdump Stadium in Cincinnati.

[@rustykuntz94]

The Orange Bowl 1982 AFC Championship game, the Mud Bowl. Also in 1989 at Joe Robbie Stadium the Dolphins played Pittsburgh in a monsoon in the 2nd Quarter. HUGE puddles and lakes of water on the field

[@VinnieBoombatz374]

These games are becoming increasingly random.

[@halwarner3326]

WEBB defense.

[@ciesaro]

Roger Goodell would postpone an NFL game there is a sign of a drizzle within 100 miles

[@survivor5044]

Listen to that lightening at 2:12:46!!! #LMAO

[@davidcobb2693]

The storm cloud over the Bucs must have traveled with them to Cincinnati, LIGHTNING like that is very common in Florida!

[@rustykuntz94]

@@davidcobb2693 yep just another day in Orlando

[@gregmazienias8043]

Tampa Bay lost

[@DC----be1ld]

At 2:06 it really starts coming down. 2:08:46 mannnnnn. Thunder!!!!! Hank don't like being there. " Satellite recordings are great 2:08 or so .... Curt " You got any other music? " Hank " What the hell does that matter? " Hahahahaha. 2:12:45 Curt " WOW that almost hit the stadium!!!!" Then right after that Tampa does not have a punter to punt. David Lewis LB reaction is classic.

[@marksymbala1193]

100 yard slip n slide.

[@bconni2]

the two worst looking uniforms i think i've ever seen on the field together

[@untexan]

Back then the referee had full discretion to continue or suspend a game for weather, and it rarely happened. (See: Bucs-Redskins 1982, also on KZbin. Loads of rain and lightning in that game.) Now the league gets a lot more involved.

[@dwightlove3704]

untexan Players safety

[@untexan]

Dwight Love Well, now they have sensors that can tell how far away a lightning strike was and if it’s within X number of miles they stop the game. Before that, it would take a really close strike to stop the game.

[@rustykuntz94]

First game I can recall getting delayed cause of lightning was the Jets at home against the Vikings on a Monday Night early in the season, I think 2002