Felt Like Old Times
August 14th, 2025
Reminisces?
Once upon a time in the NFL, there were six worthless preseason games. For NFL players, that made for a grueling summer.
Back then, the season started on Labor Day Weekend. So six preseason games meant training camps opened up around the Fourth of July.
That’s a long, cruel tease for football fans.
Also in those days, it was common for teams to host camp at a small, remote college. The team would take over a dorm, with training camp sometimes hours from their home base. Wisconsin had several teams with training camps at small colleges, often teams from the south, like the slimy Saints, to escape the brutal summers.
Speaking yesterday after practice at Thornton Mellon University, Bucs coach Todd Bowles sort of got wistful for the bygone era of the NFL. The day at Thornton Mellon gave Bowles good flashbacks.
Bowles sort of suggested those may have been the good ol’ days of football.
“It gives the guys a chance to bond,” Bowles said of a practice in another city away from One Buc Palace. “It still builds chemistry and culture that way and you can get some work done at the same time.”
There are only four teams left that have their training camps at colleges away from team headquarters: Bills, Chiefs, Rams and Steelers. The Steelers have already wrapped up training camp and are back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, where they will host the Bucs today in a joint practice.
Joe joked with his good friend, local sports radio savant Rock Riley; when Kay Adams visited Chiefs camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Mo., aside from the Chiefs, Adams’ visit was the biggest thing to happen in that town since Jesse James was shot.
August 14th, 2025 at 1:33 am
Being nostalgic for that era doesn’t square with running camp cupcake yet tolerating a training and medical staff who has such injury proneness. So they practice soft to match their tissues. Nice.
August 14th, 2025 at 4:40 am
I remember when the Bucs stayed at University of Tampa for their camp,…
Vinny Testaverde and the gang.
August 14th, 2025 at 6:24 am
Ah, the good old days. I was just happy for something that resembled football after the long dry spell from January to training camp.
August 14th, 2025 at 7:08 am
When the Bucs had training camping UT, it was an upgrade of facilities for them.
August 14th, 2025 at 8:08 am
St Joseph also has the Pony Express Museum
August 14th, 2025 at 8:31 am
Nice Back To School Reference!
August 14th, 2025 at 8:34 am
remember the UT days…
GO BUCS!!!!
August 14th, 2025 at 10:38 am
This is also mentioned in Hard Knocks regarding the Bills. They also hold the dorm style training camp in high regards for building a close knit team.
Go Bucs!!!
August 14th, 2025 at 11:42 am
I don’t know about the whole dorm thing, this team has built chemistry from it’s leaders with out being there, still I get Bowles nostalgia thing. The biggest thing, as I’ve said before, is the team coming in later. If they come in early and work on conditioning, have walk through practice’s, do film study, etc I think that some of these injuries may be lessened. Getting used to the heat slowly, stretching in this heat, walk b-4 you run kinda thing. I just think the less time between walking and running is hurting some of these guys. That seems to me to be the common denominator.
August 14th, 2025 at 7:42 pm
Bills, Chiefs, Rams, and Steelers. A pretty good endorsement.