Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gloom and Doom Gives Way to Holiday Spirit

Sure, it was only one day, but gloom and doom were banished from One Buccaneer Place on Monday.

Gloom was sent on his way, doom had to take the day off.

Raheem Morris said there were "rays of sunshine" on the inside of the building that houses the remnants of a once-proud football team. It was hard to take Morris at his word until you read about the happenings on Monday.

Thirty families were invited under the guise that they and their children were going to take a "tour" of the building, maybe even meet a couple of the players.

What they got was an out-pouring of giving. The organization calls it a "Day of Giving."

These were needy families, families who would not otherwise have much during this season, families who struggle and we all know there is a lot of struggling going on out there. There are more families on and below the poverty line in this country than ever before.

It is news like this that makes football seems pretty irrelevant. There are no needy players on this football team, they are all well compensated, some way more than others. Still, they fall into that upper one percent of wealthy Americans. The families they hosted on Monday were not.

Monday they saw the faces of children light up when they were surprised with gifts, a shopping spree at a local retailer and then there were the bicycles. Every child received a new bike. There's nothing like a new bicycle, a first set of wheels, a move toward independence. You can go places on a bike.

Hopefully, this boost will help those families, give them hope, for this is a season where we need hope, we need to know that there are better days ahead. We need to know there is a future.

In a way, it's symbolic of what has to happen within this building in the months to come.

This season has crushed the fan base, it has taken spirit and hope from them.

Perhaps a "Day of Giving" will give way to future hope for this entire football team.

Ownership needs to consider that.

The money spent Monday went a long way to create happiness, it created hope for a few in need.

With that in mind, that's how they need to start mapping their plans for 2012.