“I Loved COVID”
June 26th, 2025
Fond memories of awful year.
For Joe, living in the year 2020 was a nightmare.
You didn’t know if you would become a stat just driving somewhere to get a beer. You had to walk around a lot of places being choked and suffocated by a damn mask. You couldn’t even talk with those… things.
People were paranoid. Statistics of casualties were on TV daily, like YouTube videos of newscasts during the Vietnam War. Just sad and terrible all around. Well, except for in our little corner of the world for Bucs fans.
While the globe was in the grips of pure chaos, paranoia and a fear that not everyone has recovered fully from thanks to the global pandemic known as “The Sickness,” at the same time it was heaven to be a Bucs fan.
The Bucs became Super Bowl champs while many people felt imprisoned in their own homes.
In an interview with Field Yates of BSPN for his podcast, Jason Licht also remembers the good that came from 2020. And just like reality turned surreality, so too did normalcy turn into fantasy for the general manager and his Bucs.
Licht struggled to explain how 2020 was the height of his career without sounding crass or insensitive.
“Man, whenever the subject of COVID comes up, I mean, I don’t want this to sound [crass], I want to say this the right way,” Licht began.
“But I loved COVID. Nothing but fond memories of it. Almost.”
And why was that?
“I understand the seriousness,” Licht said in a somber tone. “Of course, I meant just [in] that period of time, Tom Brady wanted to come and play for us. That was pretty cool.”
Yates explained to Licht how he thought that was the ultimate prize for a general manager, recruiting the greatest quarterback who ever played. Licht cautioned it wasn’t so much him recruiting Brady; Licht believed the talent on the Bucs’ roster recruited Brady.
Brady wasn’t going to go to a team where he didn’t think he could win, Licht noted. He wasn’t chasing a check; he was chasing another ring or two.
“[Brady] did his homework,” Licht said. “He basically knew which teams needed him and needed a quarterback and wanted him and he chose [the Bucs]. Now, I don’t know if we were in first, second, third, you know, whatever it was, but he usually makes pretty good decisions.
“So he came here when he signed and we had an offensive line, we had Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin]. He saw that we had a coach, that was a veteran coach with a proven track record.”
Joe understands how weird it feels. The year 2020 was really nothing to celebrate. But Bucs fans were in their glory, the team gave fans every reason to celebrate.
Winning a Super Bowl on your home turf with Tom Brady leading the way? Beating three future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in a row to win it all? Joe doesn’t think that will ever be topped.
The year 2020 was like a Led Zeppelin song. You know, good times, bad times.
Ira Kaufman Talks Fresh Jason Licht Comments, Jamel Dean’s Odds, Doug Martin On His Top-50 Bucs List, His Chat With Rachaad White’s Mom, A Hugh Green Story, Ranking Bucky Irving, And More
June 26th, 2025 at 4:57 am
Licht, Pre-med and wanted to be a small town doctor. He is authentic, good guy. Perfect GM to have during COVID.
Good and bad with COVID. That is for sure. You picked the perfect song for the time.
June 26th, 2025 at 5:08 am
“In the days of my youth”. Yeah Joe, your Zeppelin reference has a bunch of us remembering fondly. Hope we win the Super Bowl this year and prove it wasn’t all Brady. I’m not the biggest Brady fan but I do like him more than Belidunce. And the dude sure could fling a football.
June 26th, 2025 at 5:52 am
COVID was overblown. If you died in a motorcycle wreck or got hit by a train but had a trace of COVID in your blood they chalked it up to another COVID death. The whole point was to control all the people.
June 26th, 2025 at 6:27 am
I remember that motorcycle wreck in Orlando.
June 26th, 2025 at 6:45 am
“”COVID was overblown. If you died in a motorcycle wreck or got hit by a train but had a trace of COVID in your blood they chalked it up to another COVID death. The whole point was to control all the people.””
It was a glimpse of what the evils of Govt are capable of. People should be in prison for what they did to American citizens. It was disgusting.
June 26th, 2025 at 6:56 am
It was just another example of a government over-reaction. That entire season was simply bizarre. Fortunately, since I had three season ticket accounts, I was able to attend every home game, including the Super Bowl, sitting next to my daughter on one side, and a cardboard cutout of some random person on the other. Plus, the mask patrol forcing me to wear a mask except when the air would miraculously clear to safe levels when I took a sip of pop. I’m with you BucU. At the very least these folks should admit they were wrong. Heck, even Fonzie and my mother-in-law owned up to it once.
June 26th, 2025 at 7:16 am
It was the only good thing I can remember through the whole covid hoax that I can remember
June 26th, 2025 at 7:17 am
Still remember Tom and company getting chased out of a PARK (parks are out&**23ing SIDE!) Where I live, they took the rims off the OUTDOOR basketball courts ..muttermutter
June 26th, 2025 at 7:23 am
I lost a former colleague to COVID. She was in good shape and an avid Bucs fan for many years. I knew many others that were weeks in the hospital. Sadly, COVID was no hoax. Millions died from it.
June 26th, 2025 at 7:35 am
Q – What was the worst thing about “2 weeks to stop the spread”??
A – The first 18 months……
“The sickness” was primarily just an ‘opportunity’ for a huge money transfer…
In 2020 the combined net worth of this country’s 10 richest individuals was $700 Billion. Exactly 1 year later in 2021, the net worth of those same 10 billionaires was $1.6 Trillion…..
June 26th, 2025 at 7:36 am
^^^^^^^^
Sorry for your loss HeyJude. My Wife is a Nurse and saw many people with Covid that during their last days on this Earth simply said “I should have gotten the vaccine-I was so stupid”. We are now seeing more examples of that stupidity.
June 26th, 2025 at 7:40 am
Thank you, Bucsfan. Fully agree with your comment.
Thank you to your wife! Nurses are all our heroes.
June 26th, 2025 at 7:55 am
Yeah, let’s follow the $cience on that one..
June 26th, 2025 at 8:03 am
Good time to be a Bolts fan too. But yeah the scamdemic wrecked alot of things. Go Bucs!!
June 26th, 2025 at 8:12 am
I am “Shocked” the title was not “I loved the Illness!” Your First On Race Day dealer give you permission to use that term now? “What a wonderful world”, as Satchmo sang… huh?
I am excited about our upcoming season.
Go!!!!!BUCS!!!!!!
June 26th, 2025 at 8:15 am
By the time the vaccine came out, covid was not as powerful as it was at the beginning. It also doesn’t work. Everyone I know that got the vaccine caught covid sometime after. I never vaxxed and I only caught COVID during delta variant. I was sick for about a week, worked from home but I’ve always had a decent immune system. My whole family got sick but no one had to go to the hospital.
The initial spread of the covid vaccine was real and people didn’t have the immune system to deal with it at first in all the cases that led to death. But was China involved in the release of it, was it extremely political and was money tied to the root of it… I have no doubts but also no inside facts. It’s all conjecture but it was all very suspicious at the same time.
Bucs winning the super bowl was a bright spot inside all of it.
June 26th, 2025 at 8:18 am
Somebody got an extension
June 26th, 2025 at 8:34 am
Covid wasn’t a scam. Millions of people died from it.
June 26th, 2025 at 8:35 am
I loved being stuck at home with my family for months. I’d be super okay going back to that tbh.
June 26th, 2025 at 8:46 am
Mr Licht, don’t feel guilty. I feel the same way. I got to go to that Super Bowl game. FREAKING WOW!!! That is the first thing I think of whenever COVID comes up. That game. My team kicking azz. Confetti falling from heaven. I will never forget it.
June 26th, 2025 at 9:17 am
Jude, I agree. And experienced the same. And maybe it’s just me, but I don’t remember this huge spike in motorcycle deaths and deaths from Trainwreck.
June 26th, 2025 at 9:28 am
Amazing the amount of Public Health experts commenting today. Isn’t there another site you morons could use to spout your nonsense conspiracy theories on. This is a football website and a damn good one. Who gives a rats ass about the older and weaker among us anyway?
June 26th, 2025 at 9:51 am
2020 was a magical year for the Bucs –
Not just because of Brady, but also Gronk and Antonio Brown, the drafting of Wirfs and Winfield Jr, the re-signing of Suh and JPP and getting Vea back from injury for the SB.
Great memories!
June 26th, 2025 at 10:25 am
The Bucs were a bright shinning light during a very dim period of time. I’ll always appreciate that team for that. It’s funny that it would be a team coming off a lost decade of awful football that was able to provide that light. That 2020 season was the beginning of the culture change. Real turning point for the franchise
June 26th, 2025 at 10:31 am
@ BucU
“It was a glimpse of what the evils of Govt are capable of. People should be in prison for what they did to American citizens”
Agreed. Somehow that same government is in office destroying and defunding the medical research community that can better prevent such tragedy.
June 26th, 2025 at 10:37 am
And here come all the internet doctors….
June 26th, 2025 at 10:54 am
Bucsfan Says:
“I should have gotten the vaccine-I was so stupid”.
.
.
😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂
June 26th, 2025 at 11:42 am
covid=where prices quality and customer service started rapidly going to shytt.
June 26th, 2025 at 12:29 pm
The first wave of the virus was brutal. I had it for 2 months. Lost several older friends with health issues. Some government manipulations maybe, hoax no.
June 26th, 2025 at 1:31 pm
We won 3 road games on that playoff run. The fact that those stadiums were empty or half empty almost certainly helped.
June 26th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
I hate to agree and sorry to sound insensitive, but that Bucs seasons was one of the greatest years of my life. Between getting to spend more time with my young family than I ever will again, going to watch the PreQuel to the Superbowl (KC @ Bucs regular season) where you could literally go grab a beer, take a whiz, and make it back to your seat without missing more than one or two plays, and for all that craziness to cultivate into the ultimate football Glory on our homefield.. Man what a year. You don’t have to explain to me Jason, I get it.
June 26th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
Covid was not a hoax.
The hoax was the Fear campaign in order to implement lockdowns, shutdowns and mandates.
People will accept any B.S. if it makes them feel “safe”.
June 26th, 2025 at 2:23 pm
I remember getting shamed by a client in California because I was going to a “Super Spreader” party. I was like, “listen, lady—when the Bucs are in the Super Bowl, we don’t stop living! It may be the last one for a while and we are going to Cel-e-BRATE! Also, we’ve been open in Florida since May, so get off my a$$!”
Grateful for Messers Licht and Arians, and for the whole Glazer family, for delivering us the whole experience. The Golden Age of Tampa Bay Football doesn’t look to be ending anytime soon. I count it a blessing to have experienced the first multi-year success when I was in high school, college, and as a young adult…and though my kids weren’t born yet then, they now get to see this Golden Age while *they* are in high school and college. I grew up an Astros fan (we didn’t have the Rays yet, and I love them too), so my kids are too—and so they haven’t known anything but success with their teams! And I hope they never do!
June 26th, 2025 at 4:55 pm
Those dirty cheating Astros. Granted, I’m a Rangers fan.