Is the Bucs’ opening game blackout a sign of things to come?

The supposed heightened excitement amongst Tampa Bay Bucs fans with the hiring of former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano didn't translate into selling out Raymond James Stadium, or even filling it the required 85 percent to prevent a blackout for this Sunday's game at 4:25 p.m.

That's despite the fact that Carolina features one of the NFL's most exciting players, quarterback Cam Newton. Newton is the current GQ cover boy, at least on the issue I purchased (Tim Tebow is on the cover of other editions). The Panthers are also a strong rival of the Bucs in the NFC South.

Though people in this region talk about the possibility of Stu Sternberg and the Tampa Bay Rays going somewhere else if they can't get a new stadium, NBC football analyst Mike Florio wrote that a lack of fan participation could also spur the Bucs to look to a city that would better support the team.

This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2012.